ICE "course correction"? Markwayne Mullin isn't it

[marmar]

ICE “course correction”? Markwayne Mullin isn’t it
The department of homeland security shutdown shows Republicans still answer to Stephen Miller

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published March 18, 2026 6:45AM (EDT)


(Salon) Republicans really want America to believe that Markwayne Mullin will be a breath of fresh air at the Department of Homeland Security. Oklahoma’s junior senator was nominated as DHS secretary by Donald Trump at the same time that his predecessor, Kristi Noem, was publicly fired without her apparent knowledge. Her tenure at the agency saw her become the heavily worked-over face of Trump’s disastrous mass deportation policies, which led to the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, racially charged and violent arrests of other Americans citizens and the imprisonment of small children — including infants — in detention camps.

....(snip)....

Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Kennedy of Louisiana, who had condemned Noem when she testified before Congress for the final time, gushed about their colleague from Oklahoma, calling him “smart” and a “good guy.” Tillis joked that Mullin “likes dogs,” a jab at Noem, who infamously shot her own 14-month-old dog to death.

But no one should be fooled by this happy talk. There is no reason to think that Mullin will change course in any significant way at DHS. Like Noem, he will be answering primarily to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, a man who spends all day on X implying that non-white immigrants are the primary source of crime and economic deprivation.

....(snip)....

There is no indication that Miller is backing off these expectations. Instead it appears that Mullin was hired for the same reasons as Noem: a belief that he’ll be unfailingly loyal to Trump and shameless with belligerent performances on TV. Like the former secretary, Mullin has no background in law enforcement or immigration policy, but he’s fond of pretending to be a cowboy or a war veteran. Mullin plays at being a tough guy for the cameras, such as when he challenged a labor leader to a fistfight during a recent Senate hearing. But like any Republican who wants a spot in Trump’s orbit, he seems to have no limits in self-debasement for the boss, including saying he “misspoke” when he called the Iran war a “war.” .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/03/18/ice-course-correction-markwayne-mullin-isnt-it/

[UTUSN]

1. K&R

[sboatcar]

2. What actual qualifications does he have?

From what I've seen, he might be even less qualified than Kristi Noem

[Wednesdays]

4. He's loyal to The Felon.

That's the only qualification needed.

Oh, and he inherited his dad's plumbing business.

[allegorical oracle]

3. Yep -- another tough guy warrior whose lips are firmly planted on djt's rear end. He's

equivocating like crazy to please the committee -- admitted that he spoke too hastily against the protesters murdered in Minneapolis. Once in office; tho, he'll be banging heads and spending our tax $$ to purchase more detention centers.

Wish one of the committee members would ask why we need all those detention centers if Miller's thousands of deportations are ongoing.