The Senate voted Monday to install one of its own, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, as the new secretary at Homeland Security, giving President Trump a chance to change the narrative of a department many Americans say has crossed lines in its zeal to arrest illegal immigrants.
Mr. Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican and a plumber by trade, has little in the way of direct experience in homeland security issues, but he brings a fierce loyalty to Mr. Trump’s agenda and a friendship with the president himself.
Congressional Republicans, who will have to face voters later this year, hope Mr. Mullin can cool things off at the Homeland Security Department, which has been rocked by slayings of two Americans in Minneapolis, a constant drumbeat of judges accusing the department of flouting court orders, and a series of contracting and management scandals involving former Secretary Kristi Noem.
Mr. Mullln told lawmakers what they wanted to hear during his confirmation hearing last week, saying he hoped the department would not be front-page news six months from now.
The Senate confirmed him on a 54-45 vote.
“Markwayne is tough. He is hardworking. He works with others to solve problems. You always know where you stand with Markwayne Mullin,” said Sen. John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican.
For five weeks, Democrats have been filibustering to block funding for the Homeland Security Department, leaving most of its employees working, though many of them are without pay.
Lines at airports have surged as Transportation Security Administration employees call in sick or quit altogether.
In his confirmation hearing, Mr. Mullin promised some changes of direction. He said he would curtail the use of administrative warrants to seek out deportation targets.
He said he does not support calls to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency but thinks major reforms are needed.
Before coming to Congress Mr. Mullin ran a plumbing company in Oklahoma. His employees totaled in the hundreds.
At Homeland Security he will be in charge of a sprawling department with more than 250,000 personnel, covering emergency management, the Coast Guard and cybersecurity, as well as the U.S. Secret Service and other agencies.
It’s the immigration sphere where the Homeland Security Department plays an outsized role in the public’s mind. It oversees the border, interior arrests and deportations, and the handling of legal immigration passes.
The department has been a pawn in a colossal tug-of-war between Democrats, who have often pushed for a more lenient approach to illegal immigration, and Republicans, who generally back stricter enforcement.
Ms. Noem oversaw a massive flex of her department’s resources, leading to record numbers of arrests and deportations from within America’s interior. The border, meanwhile, is calmer than at any other time in modern history.
Ms. Noem was buffeted by accusations of overzealous enforcement that targeted illegal immigrants with minor or nonexistent criminal records, save for their entry without a legal visa to do so.
She also was hurt by the deaths of two U.S.-citizen protesters in Minneapolis in January and growing scandals over her management of contracts and personnel.
The final straw for Mr. Trump apparently was Ms. Noem’s testimony to Congress, where she defended her purchase of luxury aircraft and said Mr. Trump gave personal approval for a set of no-bid contracts that paid $200 million to plaster Ms. Noem’s face on television screens, urging illegal immigrants to self-deport.
Mr. Trump said he did not approve the ads.
Ms. Noem was the first member of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet to depart, underscoring a remarkable stability for the president, who defied the predictions of critics that many of his top aides wouldn’t last a year.
Mr. Trump gave the Senate an end-of-month deadline to get Mr. Mullin in office.
The chamber easily beat that deadline, with Sen. Rand Paul moving the nomination quickly as chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee — even though he opposed the pick.
Mr. Paul was infuriated when Mr. Mullin called him a “freaking snake” earlier this year and said he understood the rage of a neighbor who viciously assaulted Mr. Paul, leaving him with six broken ribs and years of pain and recovery work.
Many Democrats said their issue wasn’t with Mr. Mullin but with Mr. Trump. They cast the secretary confirmation vote as a protest of the president’s pursuit of mass deportations.
“Sen. Mullin has not criticized the department’s past violence or the tactics of the president’s mass deportation campaign. He has issues with managing his temper. And he has virtually no experience with DHS, a sprawling agency with vast responsibilities that employs hundreds of thousands of people,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Mullin does maintain close relationships with many Democrats, including in the House, where he served for a decade. Some of those friendships were forged in the early-morning workouts Mr. Mullin — a former mixed martial arts fighter — has led for years.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, called Mr. Mullin a “consensus-builder.” He also offered advice to the incoming secretary.
“Run the department, don’t let the department run you,” he said.
