Trump turns to an Oklahoma senator with a fighter's reputation as his next choice to lead DHS

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — President Donald Trump's plans to nominate Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to take over as Homeland Security secretary follow a notable political rise for the plumbing company owner who was first elected to Congress in 2012.

Mullin, 48, has become one of Trump’s fiercest defenders in the U.S. Senate and is now positioned to join his administration after the president on Thursday fired embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who had come under mounting criticism over her leadership of the department.

A former mixed-martial arts fighter and collegiate wrestler, Mullin has earned a reputation as a fighter in the Senate and has grown friendlier with Trump since they attended an NCAA wrestling event together in Tulsa in 2023.

“Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

Mullin told reporters at the Capitol Thursday that he would get DHS “focused on protecting the homeland.”

“No matter if you support me, you don’t support me, I’m going to be laser-focused on getting that done,” he added.

A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Mullin emerged from a crowded GOP field in 2022 to win Oklahoma's vacant U.S. Senate seat. He was running a successful plumbing company in Oklahoma — known for its red vans with “The Red Rooter” logo on the side — when he first ran for the U.S. House and painted himself as a political outsider fed up with government regulations strangling businesses like his.

He ultimately won the seat representing Oklahoma’s sprawling 2nd District, a rural seat that was once a Democratic stronghold but has become increasingly conservative over the last decade.

His fiery exchanges in the Senate included a 2023 hearing with the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, when Mullin told the union leader to “stand your butt up," before standing from his seat and appearing to take his ring off.

“If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults," Mullin told Sean O'Brien, the union's president, with whom Mullin had previously engaged in a back-and-forth on social media. "We can finish it here.”

Months after his confrontation with O’Brien, the two reconciled. Mullin called the union leader a “new friend.”

The interaction underscored how Mullin is one of Trump’s most aggressive defenders in Congress and often spars with people on social media, but also often is an affable presence in the Capitol. He’s known to walk the halls in a cowboy hat and boots, sometimes bouncing a rubber ball as he chats with reporters.

He’s also a conduit between the White House and Senate Republican leadership and maintains relationships from his days in the House. He still leads workout sessions sometimes in the House gym.

At the State of the Union last month, Mullin took a swipe at a sign held by Rep. Al Green that said “Black people aren’t apes”, a reference to a racist video the president posted that depicted former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as primates in a jungle.

During the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Mullin made headlines when he attempted to enter the country from multiple locations and was denied. Mullin said he was trying to help an American family flee Afghanistan.

Mullin initially vowed to only serve three terms in Congress, a promise he later broke when he announced plans to run again, saying then that he “didn't understand politics” when he originally made the initial pledge.

Mullin also has faced criticism for receiving at least $1.8 million from a federal rescue program designed to keep small businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

Data from the U.S. Treasury Department showed four separate businesses owned by Mullin received a total of between $800,000 and $1.9 million from the Paycheck Protection Program. A Mullin spokeswoman said at the time the congressman was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the companies and referred questions to the companies’ chief financial officer.

Mullin has supported legislation important to tribal citizens and advocated for tribal sovereignty, and he stumped for Trump in 2024, describing the president as strong on issues affecting Native communities.

“It is deeply encouraging to have someone with a keen understanding of federal Indian policy, law and justice elevated to such a critical leadership role within a powerful federal agency,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said Thursday.

As a tribal citizen, Mullin could address recent allegations that members of federally-recognized tribes have been targeted by ICE officers, including some documented cases of their detainments and arrests.

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Associated Press reporter Graham Brewer in Norman, Okla., contributed to this report.