Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-Okla.) is about to gain confirmation from the US Senate….
The concerns from Democrats who will join Republicans to confirm is NOT Mullin….
It IS Stephen Miller, the Trump White House Assistant ….
Ted Cruz wants to split TSA from Homeland?
The Senate voted Sunday to advance Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-Okla.) nomination to succeed Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), taking a step toward restoring stability at a department that has been in turmoil since the fatal shooting of two protesters in Minneapolis earlier this year.
The Senate voted 54 to 37 to advance Mullin, setting up a final vote on his nomination for Monday or Tuesday….
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Democrats generally like Mullin, who’s known as a straight-talking negotiator among his colleagues, but they have serious concerns about the management of the Homeland Security Department, which they have refused to fund since Feb. 14 unless the White House agrees to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) praised Mullin as “competent” and “honest” and suggested that Mullin’s confirmation could open the way to more productive talks to reform DHS’s immigration enforcement operations.
“This is going to give us an opportunity to have real discussion about what’s going on with the Department of Homeland Security,” Welch said during a CNN interview earlier this month.
But some Senate Democrats have expressed concern that the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement will continue to be dictated by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, whom they view as a hard-liner on the issue.
Sen. Chris Coons (Del.), a centrist Democrat who has traveled with Mullin on congressional delegation trips and worked with him on various issues, said he voted “no” because Mullin hasn’t committed to making major reforms at the department.
“DHS needs a foundational shift, and I am unsure if Senator Mullin — or any Trump-appointed nominee — is capable of carrying it out. I consider every cabinet nominee with the same criteria: qualifications, independence, and vision for the department. Unfortunately, Senator Mullin is not willing to commit to the kind of independence and reforms that DHS needs, and I will be voting no on this nomination,” Coons said in a statement explaining his vote….
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Mullin said at the time that he would try to pick up Democratic support for his nomination by listening to the concerns about the management of DHS.
“We’re going to try to earn everybody’s vote. I want people to understand, when I go into this position, yes, I’m a Republican, yes, I’m conservative, but the Department of Homeland Security is to keep everybody [safe], regardless of if you support me or you don’t support me, regardless of what your thoughts are,” he said….
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Cruz proposes splitting ICE from Homeland Security funding bill to end airport chaos
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a leading Senate conservative, is proposing to colleagues the idea of splitting off Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from the rest of funding for the Department of Homeland Security to end growing chaos at airports around the country.
The proposal appeared to be gaining momentum within the Senate Republican Conference on Saturday as GOP lawmakers grow increasingly pessimistic about reaching a deal with Democrats to reform federal immigration enforcement operations.
“What I’ve suggested is that the Democrats have gotten so extreme and unreasonable that I don’t know that they will ever be willing to fund Department of Homeland Security,” Cruz told The Hill on Saturday.
“If that’s where the Democrats are, I’ve suggested let’s fund ICE and CBP through reconciliation. That Republicans can do with just 50 votes, we can do that relatively quickly and the Democrat lunacy on open borders can be put to an end,” he added. “I’m interested in any strategy to get the government open, to pay the Department of Homeland Security.”
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Republicans already allocated $172 billion for immigration enforcement operations through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed into law, providing extra funding for ICE over four years.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) didn’t rule out the proposal to split ICE and CBP funding from the rest of the Homeland Security appropriations bill, but he would prefer to reach a deal with Democrats to fund the entire department…
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GOP lawmakers on Saturday said those talks are beginning to make more progress….
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