Durbin Delivers Floor Speech Outlining His Concerns Over Markwayne Mullin’s Nomination To Lead DHS Ahead Of Confirmation Vote

Durbin Delivers Floor Speech Outlining His Concerns Over Markwayne Mullin's Nomination To Lead DHS Ahead Of Confirmation Vote

Durbin: "The problems at DHS are larger than any one person, and I remain concerned that my colleague will not rein in ICE abuses. Senator Mullin has not criticized the Department's past violence or the tactics of the President's mass deportation campaign."

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the confirmation vote of Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor outlining his concerns regarding his nomination. Durbin announced that he will vote against Mullin's nomination.

Durbin began his speech by reflecting on Secretary Kristi Noem's failed job as DHS Secretary. Earlier this month, Durbin referred Noem to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for investigation into potential perjury charges and for knowingly making false statements under oath following her appearances before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees on March 3 and 4, 2026.

"His [Sen. Mullin's] predecessor, Secretary Kristi Noem, presided over a Department that steamrolled civil rights and violated court orders to carry out Stephen Miller and the President's mass deportation campaign. In pursuit of that campaign, communities-including my city of Chicago-were terrorized by masked, militarized agents whose presence did not establish the 'law and order' that the President promised. Instead, indiscriminate, violent roundups swept up citizens, legal residents, American citizens, and people with no serious criminal backgrounds-not just the 'worst of the worst' that the President did promise. In Minnesota, two American citizens were killed by these occupying, paramilitary forces… simply for exercising their constitutional rights. Failure will be the defining feature of Secretary Noem's legacy at DHS. But so, too, will be the lasting pain she inflicted across the country who bear the scars left by rogue federal immigration agents under her watch," Durbin said.

Durbin then spoke about the ongoing DHS funding negotiations to fund all agencies within the Department besides the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. According to reporting, Senate Republicans seemed to have agreed to that plan only to have President Trump reject it over the weekend.

Durbin continued, "Did you hear the White House announcement? They're going to take ICE agents and deploy them to the airports. TSA has said they are not trained to do [their] job… We have tried to rein in the lawlessness of DHS by recommending common sense measures to change it, but, unfortunately, the White House and some of my Republican colleagues have allowed TSA agents and the Coast Guard to go without pay. On 10 separate occasions in the last several weeks, we have come to the floor of the United States Senate, the Democrats, [and] offer[ed] to fund the entire Department of Homeland Security [except for] ICE [and] CPB. We are going to fund the others, which would include TSA agents who had missed a paycheck, and each time, a Republican Senator stood up and objected."

"Democrats have said repeatedly that we will work with the Administration to change the standards for ICE so that they are consistent with law enforcement [standards] across the United States. How many state troopers in your state wear masks when they stop people on the highway? None of them. So, the demands that this ICE agency should be treated differently than police forces across America just doesn't make sense," Durbin continued. "Yesterday, the President reportedly rejected a bipartisan offer brought to him by the Majority Leader of the Senate, which would fund all of DHS except ICE. President Trump wants Senate Republicans to hold DHS funding hostage until the Senate passes his SAVE America Act… Instead of taking the deal, the President announced via social media that he would deploy ICE agents to major airports, as I mentioned earlier," said Durbin.

In response to the President's announcement that ICE agents will be deployed to airports, the Flight Attendants Union said, "[t]he introduction of ICE agents into airports creates contradictory missions, as attempts to question passengers about immigration status may distract them from ensuring airport security." They continued to say, "There's one solution that immediately solves the problem at our airports. Pay the people who are already trained to protect us… today."

Durbin then outlined the reasons he will vote against Senator Mullin's nomination to lead DHS.

Durbin continued, "The problems at DHS are larger than any one person, and I remain concerned that my colleague will not rein in ICE abuses. Senator Mullin has not criticized the Department's past violence or the tactics of the President's mass deportation campaign. He has issues with managing his temper. And he has virtually no experience with DHS, a sprawling agency with vast responsibilities that employs hundreds of thousands of people."

Durbin concluded, "I cannot look in the eyes of my constituent, Marimar Martinez, an American citizen who was labeled a 'domestic terrorist' after being brutally shot five times in Chicago, Illinois, by a masked Border Patrol agent… or Lia, the high school student from North Lawndale who has spoken out against immigration raids after her community was tear gassed, and her friends and neighbors were arrested by masked ICE and Border Patrol agents. I cannot turn to them and promise to hold this Administration to account while also voting to install someone who might be another yes-man who will only enable this President to continue. For that reason, I will not support Senator Mullin's confirmation to lead the Department of Homeland Security."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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