Markwayne Mullin makes history as Cherokee heading Department of Homeland Security

Earlier this week, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary, replacing Kristi Noem. His recent confirmation marks another milestone for Indian Country.

Inside the Oval Office, the undefeated MMA fighter and Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Famer promised President Donald Trump that he will not be outworked by anyone, adding “I won’t let you down.”

“I love that expression: ‘No one’s going to outwork me.’ That’s a wrestler’s expression, isn’t it?” said Trump while Mullin took his oath on Tuesday. He called Mullin strong and tough enough to lead DHS, but also fair.

“He’s now the first member of the Cherokee Nation ever to serve as a member of the Cabinet,” added Trump. “I didn’t know all these things. I would have picked him faster – if I had known.”

Weeks prior, Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. congratulated the appointee, writing that his Senate tenure has demonstrated Mullin’s “unwavering commitment to progress and the well-being of all communities, including Indian Country.”

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

On Monday, the U.S. Senate confirmed him in a 54-45 roll call mostly along party lines.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly sided with all but two Democrats — New Mexico’s Martin Heinrich and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — who opposed the nominee, while his chamber colleague, Ruben Gallego, didn’t cast a vote.

He was the only absent lawmaker.

During Mullin’s recent confirmation hearing though, Gallego pressed him about DHS building the Southern border wall without consulting the Tohono O’odham Nation. He urged for DHS to “reestablish tribal sovereignty.”

“I respect tribal sovereignty,” Mullin responded. “We will work with tribal nations, because there’s other ways to have a physical barrier — where you can have technology there, too. And I don't think anybody would complain about that.”

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Under Noem’s prior leadership, the federal agency responsible for ICE has been accused of targeting and detaining Indigenous peoples amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Mullin, who is Cherokee, is the first Indigenous man to become a Cabinet member.

He’s now the second Native American to ever hold such a position, behind Joe Biden’s Interior Secretary, Deb Haaland, who was born in Winslow, Arizona, and from the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico.