{"id":2581461,"date":"2026-03-18T17:57:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mullin-keep-fema-and-bring-ice-operations-in-line-with-homans-vision\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T17:59:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:59:49","slug":"mullin-keep-fema-and-bring-ice-operations-in-line-with-homans-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mullin-keep-fema-and-bring-ice-operations-in-line-with-homans-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Mullin: Keep FEMA and bring ICE operations in line with Homan&#8217;s vision"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmullin-keep-fema-and-bring-ice-operations-in-line-with-homans-vision%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2581461&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Teh article reports on Sen. Markwayne Mullin\u2019s Senate confirmation hearing for the Department of homeland Security (DHS) secretary, were he outlined a series of proposed reforms to DHS and its agencies. Key points include:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Aiming to calm the controversies surrounding DHS under outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem and to change how immigration enforcement and disaster response are run.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Freeing up FEMA: Mullin would end Noem\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >contract-review micromanagement<\/a>, arguing he is not a micromanager and that FEMA needs leadership and structural reforms rather than elimination.he called for restructuring FEMA to improve disaster response and asked colleagues to give a future FEMA nominee a fair chance.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; DHS reforms with bipartisan appeal: He said reforms to FEMA and other DHS components could garner bipartisan support, while acknowledging FEMA\u2019s essential role in natural disasters.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Changing ICE\u2019s role and presence: Mullin advocated prioritizing arrests of illegal immigrants who are already in jail or prison rather than nationwide raids for at-large individuals. He suggested ICE should operate more as a transport agency to detention and work more closely with other law enforcement, including sanctuary-city policy makers, while retaining strong enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Border enforcement approach: he discussed shifting some enforcement duties toward Border Patrol\u2019s targeted operations (as opposed to broad community sweeps) and cited recent shifts in leadership and strategy under Noem and the influence of the Trump management\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Community and leadership concerns: Mullin noted the need for capable leadership at FEMA and pledged to work with Democratic and Republican lawmakers to advance reforms, even as he referenced past votes on disaster aid and his advocacy for disaster funding in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The piece includes related context,such as commentary on the broader DHS debates and a mention of political stalemates over border policy.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">How Markwayne Mullin would lead DHS differently than Kristi Noem<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2536474\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/markwayne-mullin\">Markwayne Mullin<\/a> (R-OK) promised to make a number of changes in how Department of Homeland Security agencies operate if confirmed as secretary, assuring lawmakers during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday that he would calm the controversies that surrounded the DHS under his predecessor.<\/p>\n<p>Mullin tried to appeal to his Republican and Democratic colleagues during his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\">Senate<\/a> confirmation hearing with repeated vows to address the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-judge-grants-gop-lawmaker-standing-to-sue-biden-administration-over-unrwa-funding-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Texas judge grants GOP lawmaker standing to sue Biden administration over UNRWA funding ... Washington Examiner\">federal government&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s immigration enforcement and natural disaster response following a brutal year of press under outgoing Secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kristi-noem\">Kristi Noem<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4495994\/democrats-move-to-force-dhs-funding-vote-without-ice-and-border-patrol\/\">Democrats move to force DHS funding vote without ICE and Border Patrol<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4495502\/state-department-roll-out-bond-visa-program\/\">State Department rolls out $15,000 bond visas<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4495349\/georgia-officials-thwart-social-circle-ice-facility-turning-off-water\/\">Georgia officials thwart Social Circle ICE facility by turning off water<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;My goal in six months is that we&rsquo;re not in the lead story every single day,&rdquo; Mullin, 48, told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. &ldquo;My goal is for people to understand we&rsquo;re out there. We&rsquo;re protecting them, and we&rsquo;re working with them. My goal is to make every one of you guys proud.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>DHS agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, topped Mullin&rsquo;s list of agencies that need immediate attention.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (Right: Graeme Jennings\/Washington Examiner; Top left: A Federal Emergency Management Agency sign outside a government building. (Associated Press); Bottom left: A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/d-c-mayor-congress-must-open-a-probe-into-security-failures-at-u-s-capitol\/\" title=\"D.C. Mayor: Congress must open a probe into security failures at U.S. Capitol\">federal law enforcement<\/a> officer stands with a hand on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement vest (Associated Press).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-free-up-fema\">Free up FEMA<\/h2>\n<p>Mullin said he would rescind Noem&rsquo;s unprecedented requirement that she and special government employee Corey Lewandowski personally review and approve all DHS contracts exceeding $100,000. That move in and of itself has held up billions of dollars&rsquo; worth of contracts across the department&rsquo;s nearly two dozen agencies, crippling the agencies as they try to implement the Trump administration&rsquo;s agenda.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s called micromanaging,&rdquo; Mullin said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a micromanager.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) noted that DHS has operated for nearly 14 months under Noem&rsquo;s instruction &ldquo;to eliminate FEMA,&rdquo; which she later clarified as having meant that she intended to &ldquo;get rid of FEMA the way it exists today.&rdquo; Noem made little progress overhauling FEMA during that time, but she did significantly cut staff at FEMA, hurting the agency&rsquo;s ability to respond to disasters nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think it needs to be restructured, not eliminated,&rdquo; Mullin said. &ldquo;I think there is going to be bipartisan support for reforms.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A tattered American flag flaps outside a home with furniture and household items damaged by Hurricane Helene piled outside along the street awaiting pickup ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island, Fla., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That comment boded well for senators who believe the agency has a legitimate purpose supporting survivors of natural disasters, including floods, hurricanes, fires, and tornadoes.<\/p>\n<p>FEMA remains without a Senate-confirmed leader. Mullin pointedly asked his colleagues to give a future FEMA nominee a &ldquo;fair shake&rdquo; and promised to bring someone who was &ldquo;capable&rdquo; and experienced.<\/p>\n<p>Despite his vows to help FEMA, Mullin has a record of repeatedly voting against FEMA funding for victims of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/ktul.com\/archive\/oklahoma-congressmen-defend-voting-against-sandy-aid\">Hurricane Sandy<\/a> in 2012. However, Mullin was quick to request FEMA funding following storms in his home state of Oklahoma in 2024.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-changing-ice-s-presence-in-communities\">Changing ICE&rsquo;s presence in communities<\/h2>\n<p>Mullin advocated that ICE prioritize arresting illegal immigrants who are already in jail or prison, rather than going into communities nationwide and searching for specific individuals who are at-large.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I would love to see ICE become a transport more than the front line,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If we get back to just simply working with&nbsp;law enforcement, we&rsquo;re going to them, and we&rsquo;re picking up these criminals from their jail.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That change, coupled with covering costs incurred by county jails detaining criminal illegal immigrants, could happen without any action from Congress. <\/p>\n<p>Between June 2025 and January 2026, Noem and Lewandowski allowed a Border Patrol official based in California, Greg Bovino, to lead Border Patrol&rsquo;s immigration enforcement efforts in a handful of cities, including Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Minneapolis.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike how ICE operates &mdash;&nbsp;officers with ICE go into a community to find a specific individual &mdash; Border Patrol descended on businesses and sites that agents suspected may be prime locations to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/louisiana-men-arrested-for-human-smuggling-after-texas-dps-troopers-find-illegal-immigrants-in-car\/\" title=\"Louisiana Men Arrested for Human Smuggling After Texas DPS Troopers Find ... in Car\">find illegal immigrants<\/a>, such as Home Depot, where people not authorized to work in the country frequently seek out odd jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Border Patrol was accused of racial profiling and became increasingly aggressive against activists and rioters who impeded its operations in Chicago and Minneapolis. Two U.S. citizen activists were fatally shot by employees of ICE and Customs and Border Protection in January.<\/p>\n<p>Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4445440\/dhs-pulling-700-ice-border-patrol-officials-minnesota-unprecedented-cooperation-state-tom-homan\/\">sent<\/a> in White House border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis from parts of January into February to centralize command of all immigration enforcement operations. Homan vowed that all enforcement going forward would be targeted, meaning that federal law enforcement would leave government facilities looking for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-releases-migrants-who-overwhelmed-texas-national-guard-in-border-stampede\/\" title=\"Judge frees migrants who caused chaos for Texas National Guard at the border\">specific illegal immigrant<\/a>, not just anyone they suspected of being in the country illegally.<\/p>\n<p>He also secured deals with the state and county sheriffs to access prisons and jails, respectively, to transfer immigrants in custody to federal detention, rather than having to find an individual after they have been released from custody.<\/p>\n<p>Mullin&rsquo;s proposals for ICE suggested that he is supportive of Homan&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4455878\/homan-trump-approved-wrapping-ice-cbp-operation-minnesota\/\">changes<\/a> toward working with Democratic leaders of sanctuary cities and states, which are places that have imposed policies that curtail local or state police from working with ICE to transfer people in custody.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Federal immigration agents detain a man during an operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Jan. 27, 2026. (Photo by Octavio JONES \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/4492783\/texas-republicans-and-democrats-unite-block-border-wall-big-bend\/\">TEXAS DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS UNITE TO BLOCK BORDER WALL IN BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They still love their community. They still love their cities. They still love this country,&rdquo; Mullin said. &ldquo;So maybe it&rsquo;s a misunderstanding we can work by, and I&rsquo;m going to start with that. That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to start with. If we have to do something different, then we will.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Mullin is expected to be confirmed by his Senate colleagues during a vote on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mullin pledges DHS reforms, less micromanagement. <\/p>\n<p>Want a longer paraphrase? I can expand it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2655,"featured_media":2581462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-collage-uhsvpobxr-1773862958351-e1773863209696.jpg?1773853621&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[70102,18818,44787,8364,56760],"class_list":["post-2581461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-border-security-2","tag-fema","tag-homan","tag-ice","tag-mullin-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-collage-uhsvpobxr-1773862958351-e1773863209696.jpg?1773853621&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2655"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2581461"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2581465,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581461\/revisions\/2581465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2581462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2581461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2581461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2581461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}