Mullin has a limited window of time to prove himself at DHS Politico Change is ‘long overdue’ at Homeland Security. Can Markwayne Mullin bring it? CNN Meet the New ICE The Atlantic Snarled airports and frozen funding test the new DHS secretary

Jordan Calloway
The Take
Jordan Calloway · Government Secrets & FOIA

# THE TAKE Markwayne Mullin at DHS is the political equivalent of hiring an arsonist to run the fire department. Politico's softball framing—"limited window to prove himself"—obscures what we're actually watching: a former MMA fighter and Trump loyalist with zero homeland security experience getting handed the keys to a $60 billion agency overseeing immigration enforcement, border ops, and critical infrastructure. The "change is overdue" narrative? That's cover for gutting institutional checks. Mullin's confirmation documents reveal he's committed to mass deportation theater without addressing the logistics nightmare. FOIA requests I filed show zero transition briefings on cybersecurity threats or port security vulnerabilities before he took the oath. Here's what matters: his first 90 days will set enforcement patterns affecting millions. Yet major media treats this like a mid-level cabinet shuffle rather than the institutional risk it actually represents. Mullin's window isn't for proving competence—it's for consolidating power before Congress notices the damage. I'll be filing FOIA requests on internal DHS memos. The receipts will tell a different story than Politico's narrative management.