Why It Matters
The confirmation of Markwayne Mullin as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security carries significant consequences for federal immigration enforcement, national security operations, and the ongoing government funding dispute affecting agencies across the country, including those with operations in North Dakota. Mullin takes the helm of DHS at one of the most turbulent moments in the department’s history, stepping into a leadership vacuum created by a five-week shutdown that has left thousands of federal workers in limbo.
The confirmation also marks a historic milestone in American governance, as Mullin becomes the first Indigenous person to lead the Department of Homeland Security, a distinction that carries cultural and political weight across Native communities from Oklahoma to North Dakota and beyond.
What Happened
The United States Senate voted Monday evening, March 23, 2026, to confirm Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The vote followed weeks of political tension surrounding the department’s operations amid a prolonged funding shutdown.
Mullin will replace outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem, whom President Donald Trump reassigned to a different role within the administration. Shortly after the Senate adjourned, Mullin submitted his resignation letter from the Senate, formally vacating his seat to assume leadership of DHS.
Trump expressed confidence in his nominee earlier Monday, telling reporters that Mullin is “gonna be fantastic” as DHS secretary. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota acknowledged the difficulty of the moment on the Senate floor, stating that Mullin would be entering the department under challenging conditions while crediting Democratic opposition for the shutdown’s prolonged duration.
Two Democratic senators broke with their party to support Mullin’s confirmation. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico both voted in favor. Mullin himself cast a vote for his own confirmation before submitting his Senate resignation.
By the Numbers
- 54–45: The final Senate confirmation vote in favor of Mullin’s appointment as DHS Secretary.
- 2 Democrats: Senators Fetterman and Heinrich were the only members of the Democratic caucus to cross party lines and support confirmation.
- 5 weeks: The length of the DHS shutdown that has been in effect since mid-February 2026, leaving much of the department without standard appropriations.
- $175 billion: The separate funding stream passed by the Republican-led Congress specifically for immigration enforcement, which has kept ICE and Customs and Border Protection fully operational despite the broader DHS shutdown.
- 2 U.S. citizens killed: Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24, both in Minneapolis, in separate incidents involving federal immigration agents — deaths that have fueled Democratic calls to restrict federal immigration enforcement authority.
Zoom Out
Mullin’s confirmation arrives as the Trump administration continues to pursue an aggressive immigration enforcement agenda that has drawn legal challenges and political opposition in states across the country. Democrats triggered the DHS shutdown in mid-February following the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis — Renee Good, shot and killed by an ICE agent, and Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse at a Veterans Administration medical center, who was killed during an altercation with Border Patrol officers.
Despite the shutdown, ICE and CBP have continued full operations, funded through the separate $175 billion immigration enforcement appropriation Congress passed last year. Over the weekend, President Trump directed his administration to deploy ICE agents to several airports to assist Transportation Security Administration personnel, who have been working without pay. Both ICE and TSA operate under the DHS umbrella, illustrating the uneven impact of the partial shutdown on the department’s various components.
Nationally, the confirmation underscores the central role immigration enforcement is playing in the current political landscape, with border security and deportation policy serving as defining issues heading into the next election cycle. North Dakota, like many states in the interior of the country, has seen increased federal immigration enforcement activity as the administration expands operations beyond traditional border regions.
What’s Next
With his Senate resignation now submitted, Mullin’s Oklahoma Senate seat will likely trigger a state-level process to determine his successor, which Governor Kevin Stitt will oversee under Oklahoma law. Mullin is expected to be sworn in and assume leadership of DHS in the coming days.
His immediate priorities will include navigating the ongoing shutdown negotiations, managing the political fallout from the Minneapolis incidents, and continuing the implementation of the administration’s mass deportation agenda. Whether the Senate can reach a bipartisan agreement to fully reopen DHS funding remains the most pressing legislative question facing the new secretary’s department.