President Donald Trump removed Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary and announced he would replace her with Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS),” Trump posted on social media. “I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland.’”
Trump said the move would become effective on March 31.
He also announced that Kristi Noem would take a role as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere.
Also Read: What is ‘Shield of the Americas’? Kristi Noem’s new role explained
Markwayne Mullin’s stance on immigration and border security
Markwayne Mullin is known for his strongly conservative positions on immigration, advocating for strict border security and law enforcement. He has aligned closely with Trump on these issues, emphasizing that “the first step to combatting illegal immigration is to secure our borders.”
On his official website, Mullin states, “I have visited the southern border and witnessed firsthand the challenges our border patrol agents face. We are a nation of laws and those laws must be upheld. We must ensure our immigration laws our enforced, bring back the Remain in Mexico policy, finish building the wall, and end the liberal incentives that are fueling the worst border crisis in American history.”
Mullin has praised Trump’s immigration policies and defended Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents amid protests and threats.
In January, he publicly supported the federal immigration officer who fatally shot Renee Nicole Macklin Good, arguing the officer acted in self-defense.
Speaking to Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union, Mullin said ICE officer Jonathan Ross “had the right to defend” himself after Macklin Good drove her vehicle toward him.
“Did she know [Ross] was in front of her? We don’t know, but we do know that she accelerated and she hit the [officer]. At that point, that vehicle is a lethal weapon,” the Oklahoma Republican added.