The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday night, the 38th day of the department’s partial shutdown.
The Senate confirmed Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin as DHS Secretary the same day the administration sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to airports to assist with security while thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees work unpaid through the shutdown. There has been little movement in negotiations over Democrats’ demands to reform the department’s law enforcement policies despite some bipartisan meetings on Capitol Hill the previous week.
The upper chamber voted 54-45 with two Democrats, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, joining Republicans to push Mullin’s nomination over the finish line. Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul voted “no” with the rest of the Democratic Caucus.
“I’ve depended on Markwayne as a colleague and friend during his 3 years here in the United States Senate. And I’m profoundly sorry to lose him, but the Senate’s loss is the Department of Homeland Security’s gain,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on the floor ahead of Mullin’s Monday confirmation. “I want to thank Markwayne for his service here in the Senate and wish him the very best as he continues to serve our country at DHS. And I hope whoever gets assigned to his security detail is ready to keep up.”
In his confirmation hearing, Mullin took a stark departure from Kristi Noem, the department’s former secretary, and made commitments to follow through with two of Democrats’ biggest demands: enforcing the law requiring federal law enforcement agents to obtain judicial warrants before entering homes and preventing agents from being present at sensitive locations such as polling sites.
Mullin was sure to clarify if a target being chased were to run into a home, law enforcement would follow and agents would be present if there was an active threat at a sensitive location.
“[Mullin] will bring the same focus, urgency, and consistency to lead the Department of Homeland Security,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said on the Senate floor Monday. “At his confirmation hearing, Markwayne laid out a clear vision. He said, ‘My goal is for people to understand we’re out there, we’re protecting them, and we’re working for them.’ That’s exactly what he should do – and will do.”
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has participated in multiple meetings throughout the last week with a bipartisan group of Senators to discuss Democrats’ DHS reforms. Republican North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven participated in the talks and told the Daily Caller News Foundation there was “progress” being made in the bipartisan meetings and the White House has made some “real serious offers.”
The administration, in addition to Mullin’s two commitments, has offered Democrats expanded use of body cameras on ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, congressional oversight of DHS facilities, visible officer identification and no deportations or detentions of U.S. citizens.
“If [Democrats] decide to walk away, they’re giving up some really common sense things,” Hoeven told the DCNF.
White House aides, and later Thune, pitched Trump a bipartisan plan to fund all agencies under DHS except ICE — which Democrats have repeatedly pushed for — and secure funding for ICE separately through a second reconciliation bill. Trump poured cold water on the idea and said Republicans in the upper chamber should not make a deal with Democrats unless they provide the necessary votes to pass the SAVE America Act, which has a 60-vote threshold.
A group of Republican senators including Katie Britt of Alabama — who has led negotiations with Democrats throughout the shutdown — Steve Daines of Montana, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bernie Moreno of Ohio all traveled to the White House Monday afternoon to reignite discussions on the funding proposal.
The confirmation vote occurred during a break in debate over the SAVE America Act, which has been ongoing since Tuesday and is expected to continue throughout the week.
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