Frost: Mullin accepting DHS nomination ‘shows us who he is’

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) weighed in on President Trump’s decision to tap Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), claiming the senator’s acceptance of the nomination “shows us who he is.”

“Him accepting, right, this nomination, and sitting there and wanting to be in the Cabinet, already shows us who he is, right? Donald Trump, in this second term especially, accepts nothing short of 100 percent loyalty,” Frost said Wednesday during an episode of the “Raging Moderates” podcast.

Trump announced earlier this month that he would replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the department with the Oklahoma Republican. Noem, who was reassigned to serve as an envoy in Trump’s war on drugs, came under intense scrutiny after two U.S. citizens were killed in Minneapolis by federal immigration authorities during enforcement operations.

Mullin on Wednesday faced tense questioning during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee — including a fiery exchange with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) over previous comments he made calling his GOP colleague a “snake.” Paul also cast doubt on whether he had the right temperament to lead DHS.

Despite the rocky reception, Mullin’s nomination advanced out of the committee early Thursday.

The change in leadership at DHS also comes as the department is under a partial shutdown after funding lapsed more than a month ago.

Democrats have pressed the Trump administration for reforms to the tactics used by federal immigration officers when enforcing the president’s mass deportation agenda.

House Democrats on Thursday unveiled a separate proposal that would fund the various agencies under DHS that are impacted but do not deal with immigration — including the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and U.S. Coast Guard. Republicans, however, have pushed back on the effort.

Following DHS’s recent troubles, Frost said he believes that “in the immediate, they’re obviously pivoting and changing tactics.”

“And it’s not because it’s the right thing to do, it’s because Donald Trump is seeing how it’s going to impact him in the midterms, and how it’s impacting his personal polling, which is the main thing he cares about,” he added.

The Hill has reached out to the DHS, the White House and Mullin’s office for comment.

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Frost: Mullin accepting DHS nomination ‘shows us who he is’

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