Who is Markwayne Mullin, named by Trump to replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary? | CNN Politics

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he was ousting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and that GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma would replace her. Mullin, a first-term senator who has served in that role since 2023, is a former mixed-martial artist and business owner who is a strong supporter of Trump’s hardline immigration policy. An enrolled member of Cherokee Nation, Mullin is the first tribal citizen to serve in the US Senate in nearly two decades. He will inherit an agency that is an integral cornerstone to Trump’s domestic policy agenda – the most well-funded federal law enforcement agency in the country and one which has come under intense scrutiny during the first year of Trump’s second term for how it has conducted itself. Shortly after Trump announced his intention to have Mullin serve as Homeland Security secretary, Mullin said his focus would be to “keep the homeland secure.” “There’s a lot of work we can do to get the Department of Homeland Security working for the American people,” Mullin said. “The Department of Homeland Security has a very broad jurisdiction, and I think there’s a lot of work that we need to do