New DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin walked the halls of Congress as a senator just days ago, which might put him in a unique position to help bridge the divide between the Trump administration and Senate Democrats.
by CORY SMITH | The National News DeskPresident Donald Trump shakes hands with newly sworn-in Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office on March 24, 2026. New Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin walked the halls of Congress as a senator just days ago, which might put him in a unique position to help bridge the divide between the Trump administration and Senate Democrats over his department’s funding and immigration enforcement policies.
But political experts said the real hurdle to a funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security is President Donald Trump’s insistence thatis part of the conversation. And they said the key reason a breakthrough in negotiations may come soon is public pressure amid long waits at airport security checkpoints. “That's gonna really compel them to figure out what the deal is, is just pissed off Americans,” Oklahoma State University politics professor Seth McKee said.But McKee said Mullin could offer Trump valuable insight about what kind of deal is possible in the Senate to end the stalemate. And McKee said Mullin is an improvement for senators on the other side compared to former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. McKee called the recent senator from his state “a good old boy,” personable and likable, but lacking notable close relationships with Democrats in the Senate.Todd Belt, the Political Management program director at George Washington University, said Mullin does have an advantage as a former senator in dealing with lawmakers, though he said Mullin’s relationships in the Senate aren’t especially strong.“They do have a relationship,” Belt said. “It may not be the best relationship, but it's certainly, probably, better than what they had with Kristi Noem.” DHS includes the Transportation Security Administration, and snarled airport checkpoints disrupting Americans’ travel plans have gotten the headlines in recent days. TSA officers are working without pay through the shutdown, but resignations and callouts are up the longer they’re being asked to report for duty without a paycheck.to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement practices. They want to ban masks for officers, require body-worn cameras and displayed IDs for officers in the field, block funds from being used to conduct enforcement operations near “sensitive” locations like hospitals and schools, and require officers to get judicial warrants before entering private property, among other proposals. Belt said Mullin has already expressed his willingness to require judicial warrants for home searches. He could act as a bridge between the Senate and the administration, even if his influence is limited, Belt said. “I think that indicates that he can kind of be the good cop to Trump's bad cop when it comes to the negotiations,” Belt said.Belt said that a compromise over DHS funding is absolutely possible if the SAVE Act doesn’t get in the way. “Trump paints himself into a corner,” McKee said, “because you've got this partial government shutdown, and it's getting worse at airports. And he's trying to say, ‘Well, we're not going to do anything until we pass the SAVE Act.’ And the chances of passing the SAVE Act, if you maintain the filibuster, are zero.” Senators are slated to leave Washington soon on an Easter recess, which Belt said might not happen if a DHS funding deal isn’t delivered first. “If they go on Easter recess, and the Easter travel season is terrible, that looks really, really bad that they're not getting things done while ... common people are stuck in the airports,” Belt said.McKee said the DHS shutdown could end quickly as traveler disruptions worsen and political pressure mounts, comparing the situation to “a frog in a pot on a slow boil.”Crews in Lancaster County were busy Wednesday night with a fire at Tyson Foods, according to dispatch.A Lebanon County native known for his 'bright smile' leaves behind his daughter, girlfirendThe Pennsylvania House passed house bill 1800 Wednesday, which if signed in to law would repeal a current section of law that defines marriage as only being betA telephone pole crash shut down a Felton Borough roadway late Wednesday, according to the police.Columbia Borough police claim they have identified the driver of a pickup truck that hit a minor on March 20 in Hellam Township.
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