Heinrich Statement on Vote to Advance Nomination of Markwayne Mullin for DHS Secretary

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement on his vote to advance the nomination of U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to be the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary.

"This is going to surprise some people, but I consider Markwayne Mullin a friend. We have a very honest and constructive working relationship. We have authored legislation together, such as the Tribal Buffalo Management Act, and we crafted the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill together this year. We often disagree and when we do, we work to find whatever common ground we share.

"I have also seen first-hand that Markwayne is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views, and I look forward to having a Secretary who doesn't take their orders from Stephen Miller.

"For five years, under this and the previous Trump Administration, I have lacked any constructive relationship with the Secretary of Homeland Security. This is despite my state being home to hundreds of TSA, CBP and Border Patrol constituents and many miles of the U.S./Mexico border. I want someone who recognizes the necessity of judicial warrants, as he has. I would like a Secretary who I can call and have a constructive conversation with about my state and the unique terrain that exists in the southwest and the proper mix of structure, technology and personnel necessary to effectively secure our border.

"For these reasons, I will vote to confirm Markwayne Mullin to be Secretary of Homeland Security."

Heinrich has been vocal in his criticism of outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Heinrich voted against Noem's nomination to lead DHS and has demanded that Noem be fired due to DHS' lawlessness.

Heinrich remains committed to reforming and reining in DHS to get them focused on human traffickers, not harassing children, attacking communities, and killing American citizens.

This month, Heinrich supported Senate Democrats' many attempts to fund parts of DHS - including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and U.S. Coast Guard - that are not responsible for immigration enforcement. Senate Republicans blocked all of these attempts.

Heinrich has firmly stated that, "I will not vote to give another dollar to ICE until they are committed to the rule of law."

For months, Heinrich, a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, has voted against advancing funding for DHS without any commonsense reforms to address lawlessness by the agency.

In January, Heinrich opposed funding for DHS because it did not include commonsense reforms and made it clear that, "We need a restoration of the rule of law within immigration enforcement." Heinrich also called on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to resign or be fired due to DHS' lawlessness, including the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.

For more information on Heinrich's actions to protect Americans, Tribal members, and Dreamers from wrongful searches and harassment by ICE, click here.

For more information on Heinrich's actions to support local law enforcement with the tools they need to keep our communities safe, click here.

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