Kristi Noem may still be making headlines, but we shouldn’t overlook her replacement at DHS, Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. Here are four reasons why Mullin, who was confirmed by the Senate in record time, could be the right man for the job.
He’s the real deal.
Unlike many other politicians, Mullin has worked with his hands and broken a sweat. He can ride a horse, drive a truck, transport Sheetrock and, unlike Chuck Schumer, probably grill a burger. He ran a company that employed more than 150 people in the state he represents – a plumbing company that provides real services that everyone can understand, not a consultancy or lobby group or NGO that feeds on government subsidies. Clinton once told voters, “I feel your pain,” but like millions of ordinary Americans, Mullin really knows what it’s like to suffer from arbitrary, stupid or unnecessary policies. He reportedly entered politics after an Obama-era scheme shuttered one of his businesses.
Although he is a staunch Trump supporter and conservative Republican, he could not deal with those who illegally entered the Capitol on January 6, 2021. At the time, he reportedly helped Capitol Police barricade the House chamber, and from the looks of him at the time, the first man to breach wouldn’t have done a good job. His appearance is that of a man who went to Washington because he felt it was a duty, not because of perks, fame and future financial rewards.
DHS SECRETARY MARKWAYNE MULLIN SIGNALS CLOSE MONITORING OF CUSTOMS AT MAJOR SANCTUARY CITY AIRPORTS
He becomes the good cop.
Just as Hulk Hogan came in to save the day, Mullin was just roped into the remaining three years of Trump’s term — and the boss’s promise to deport millions of illegal aliens. Mullin follows a DHS secretary who has had a tough time in the ring. Noem inherited a nightmare. She went from governing a state of less than a million people to leading 22 federal departments and 260,000 employees. It would have overwhelmed most people.
After four years of an open border, rampant abuse of pardons and paroles, and a mix of deliberate mismanagement and incompetence, Noem was tasked with cleaning up the mess. The Augean stables were a newly detailed late model Bentley in comparison. Noem has achieved a lot: under her leadership the border was largely closed. The number of illegal arrivals fell by more than 90%. Fake parole programs were shut down. Fraud was investigated rather than tolerated. Domestic immigration enforcement, moribund under Biden, resumed with much fanfare.
Perhaps too much fuss, because the enormous challenge of enforcing deportation was the Achilles heel of Noem’s actions, bringing a poisoned arrow in the form of the shootings of Ryan Pretti and Renee Good by ICE officers in Minnesota. The Democratic mainstream has hardened its position from Clinton’s “just enforce reforms” to now opposing virtually all immigration enforcement.
Whatever really happened in the Twin Cities, the net result was a public relations disaster. By playing to the base with swing voters, making the show look over the numbers, and being in charge of the agency when things in Minneapolis spiraled out of control, Noem had become a burden on Trump and Republicans’ midterm hopes. Mullin gets to shed this baggage and make his own impression.
He has a welcome degree of self-control.
Ben Franklin once said that three people can keep a secret, as long as two of them are dead. He died the year Congress decided that the future capital of the United States would be located within 6 square miles of what was then literally, and still figuratively, a swamp. Scandals plague Washington like malaria once did. But the vaccine that prevents this is clean living and a skeleton-free closet. No doubt Mullin will be under extreme scrutiny as DHS secretary. But provided his past is the no-nonsense Westerner we’ve seen so far, he can survive the spotlight. He seems immune from capture by the Washington establishment.
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Although he is affable and sincere, he does have a temper. He is indeed “blunt and to the point,” as he testified at his confirmation hearing. But his relatively calm and measured response to Senator Rand Paul’s prodding showed some growth. “Let me earn your respect,” he asked Paul, using “sir” throughout, as people in his part of the country still do. At a time when elitist politicians use profanity in a symbolic attempt to be “real,” Mullin’s attempt at restraint stands out – even if he doesn’t always succeed.
He is a fighter and can take a beating.
In his short career as an MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter, Mullin had a 5-0 record and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Senate is no fun, but being a political appointee in a Trump administration is like smearing yourself with honey and hitting a beehive with a stick. You have to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Democrats want your seat, and other Republicans want your job.
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Mullin has Trump’s trust. He knows how the Hill works, and he has allies in the Senate. The half of America that still respects borders and puts public safety above left-wing ideology hopes he will succeed.
Let’s give him a chance and see what he can do.
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