Sen. Markwayne Mullin's hearing for DHS secretary

At his Senate confirmation hearing, Markwayne Mullin outlined plans for immigration enforcement and FEMA and addressed his earlier remarks about Alex Pretti. The committee chair said he might delay the confirmation vote over Mullin’s answers about a past classified trip.

At a Senate Homeland Security Committee confirmation hearing, Senator Markwayne Mullin said he would work with lawmakers and described plans for DHS. He proposed closer coordination between federal immigration agents and local law enforcement, said agents should generally need judicial warrants to enter homes or businesses for immigration arrests, and advocated reforming FEMA rather than eliminating it. He also discussed expediting disaster payments.

The article reports that DHS is facing a funding lapse amid Democrats’ demands for changes to immigration enforcement after federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, and that thousands of federal workers are working without pay. Mullin called the partial shutdown “unconscionable.” He said he regretted calling Alex Pretti a “deranged individual” before knowing all the facts. Committee chair Rand Paul indicated he might pull the scheduled confirmation vote, citing Mullin’s answers about a classified trip from 10 years earlier.