Sen. Markwayne Mullin survived a 54-37 cloture vote Sunday to advance his nomination as the next Homeland Security secretary, setting up a final confirmation vote as early as Monday evening while the department he would lead sits dark for the 36th straight day.
The rare weekend session underscored how badly the White House needs a confirmed leader at DHS. The agency has been shut down since Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, blocked its funding five times in a standoff over Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms. Tens of thousands of federal workers remain off the job. Airport delays keep climbing. And the nation's border and security apparatus is running on fumes.
Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma and a close Trump ally, would replace Kristi Noem, whom President Trump fired after explosive oversight hearings and the deaths of two people, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, during immigration operations in Minnesota. Fox News Digital reported that a final confirmation vote likely won't come until Monday evening, but the cloture tally showed Mullin has the votes to get through.
The vote was largely party-line, with two notable exceptions. Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico crossed the aisle to support advancing the nomination. Fetterman had already been the key vote earlier in the week to move Mullin out of committee, and he framed his support in blunt terms.
As the Washington Examiner reported, Fetterman said:
"We must reopen DHS. My aye is rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Sen. Mullin for our nation's security."
Heinrich offered a similar rationale. Breitbart noted that the New Mexico Democrat said he had "seen first-hand that Markwayne is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views." That kind of bipartisan endorsement is rare for any Trump nominee, and it says something about the dysfunction Democrats have created by leaving DHS leaderless and unfunded.
On the Republican side, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky stood as a holdout. Paul, who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, did not vote Sunday. He had grilled Mullin during the confirmation hearing, and the two have a history; Mullin once called Paul a "snake."
Mullin's path to this vote ran through what the primary source described as an explosive confirmation hearing. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, pressed Mullin on whether he would commit to requiring judicial warrants for ICE agents entering homes and businesses. Mullin didn't flinch.
"Judicial warrants will be used to go into houses, into place of businesses, unless we're pursuing someone that enters in that place. I have not mixed words with that, and I haven't changed my opinion about that."
That answer gave Democrats a talking point but also gave Mullin credibility with senators on both sides who wanted a straight answer. He was equally direct about his own record.
"I'm not perfect. I don't claim to be perfect. I make mistakes just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from them and you can move ahead. And I'll make that commitment to you."
He also told the hearing he could protect everyone regardless of political disagreement. The Washington Times reported Mullin's pledge: "I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as secretary of homeland I'll be protecting everybody." That's the kind of plain talk that tends to play well with the public and poorly with Washington's permanent class of objectors.
While Mullin's confirmation moved forward, the larger crisis at DHS remained unresolved. Senate Democrats have demanded sweeping ICE reforms as the price for restoring the department's funding. Their central demand: that ICE agents obtain judicial, not administrative, warrants before entering homes or businesses in the field. Five times, they have blocked funding bills to press the point.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune accused Democrats of treating the shutdown as a political weapon.
"It's not politically good for anybody to have literally tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people out of work and important functions of our government not being carried out on a daily basis and functions that are important to our homeland security and our national security."
Thune said Democrats believed the standoff was "politically good for them." The numbers suggest otherwise. With airport delays stacking up and TSA operations strained, voters are feeling the consequences in real time. Johnny Jones, AFGE Secretary-Treasurer and a TSA agent, raised concerns about rising delays and the potential impact of ICE agents at security checkpoints, a sign that even the government's own workforce sees the shutdown grinding down basic services.
After more than two weeks of radio silence, Senate Democrats finally made a counteroffer to the White House on DHS demands. Earlier in the week, the shutdown stalemate showed signs of thawing. Sens. Susan Collins and Katie Britt, along with border czar Tom Homan, sat down with a cohort of Senate Democrats in back-to-back meetings on the Hill. A third meeting was slated for Saturday but was canceled at the last minute, a reminder of how fragile any progress remains.
The pattern is familiar. Frustration has been mounting among Senate Democrats over Schumer's strategy in spending fights, and this standoff may be testing the caucus's patience. Fetterman and Heinrich breaking ranks on the Mullin vote hints at cracks in the blockade.
AP News reported that Mullin would take over a department facing funding problems, airport delays, and controversy over enforcement practices, all at once. He inherits the fallout from Noem's tenure, the political wreckage of the Minnesota operations that killed Good and Pretti, and a workforce demoralized by weeks without pay.
Trump needs a confirmed secretary who can walk into the building and start making decisions. Newsmax noted that Mullin is expected to carry out the administration's immigration agenda while managing turmoil at FEMA and the broader DHS apparatus. That's a tall order for anyone, let alone someone stepping in mid-crisis.
But Mullin's profile fits the moment. He backed Trump's immigration enforcement stance before the nomination, and his willingness to engage skeptics, including Paul and Blumenthal, during a combative hearing suggests he won't shy from the fights ahead. Senate Democrats have tried various tactics to derail Trump's agenda, and the DHS funding blockade is their most aggressive play yet. Confirming Mullin won't end the shutdown, but it puts a named, confirmed leader in the chair.
The broader Senate dynamic matters here, too. Earlier episodes of Republican defections on Trump priorities made this kind of vote less than certain. That Mullin held the caucus together, and peeled off two Democrats, counts as a win, especially during a weekend session where attendance itself was a test of commitment. Recent Senate votes on Trump-backed legislation have shown the chamber can still move when the pressure is on.
Mullin's final confirmation vote should come Monday evening. Barring a surprise, he'll be confirmed. The harder question is whether Senate Democrats will keep holding DHS hostage after the new secretary takes the oath.
Shutting down the department that guards the border, screens air travelers, and responds to disasters, all to extract concessions on ICE warrant procedures, is not leverage. It's sabotage dressed up as principle. And the people paying the price aren't senators. They're the workers sent home without paychecks and the travelers stuck in security lines that grow longer every day.
When you shut down homeland security to score political points, don't be surprised when voters decide you're the threat.
