Trump's new DHS pick is an illegal immigration hawk who's ‘all about the mission’: Expert

By Fox News · Fox News

Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump ’s new pick to lead the embattled Department of Homeland Security, is a supporter of strict immigration enforcement who, in the last year, has proved invaluable in getting key pieces of the president’s agenda across the finish line. A first-term senator who identifies as Native American, Mullin is a self-described "bull in a China cabinet" who was instrumental in the Senate’s passage of the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill. Lora Ries, a border security and immigration expert at the Heritage Foundation, predicted to Fox News Digital that Mullin will have a focused leadership approach as head of DHS. " It won't be about him, it’s about the mission, and it's about carrying out the president's agenda to maintain a secure border, but also mass deportations," she said. Shortly after news of his appointment broke, Mullin called it a "big surprise" but said he is "excited" to take on the role. TRUMP NAMES MARKWAYNE MULLIN NEW DHS SECRETARY, REPORTEDLY UNHAPPY WITH KRISTI NOEM TESTIMONY "The president and I have a really good relationship; we talk all the time anyway. I wasn’t, to be quite honest with you, expecting the call today. But it's super exciting," he told reporters outside the Capitol. He said that his focus as DHS secretary will be to "keep the homeland secure." "Nothing is going to prevent me from doing my job," he continued. "I’m going to enforce the policies and the laws that Congress has passed, and we’re going to protect the homeland." Ries said that Mullin’s appointment signals Trump doubling down on his agenda of maintaining a secure border. Ries also said she does not expect the transition from outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem to Mullin to disrupt the agency’s enforcement operations. " We can't waste any time, given we're concerned with sleeper cells from Iran and other locations, terrorist threats that Joe Biden let into the country," she added. SCHUMER, DEMS HOLD FIRM ON DHS FUNDING DESP…