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Washington.- Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin was confirmed this Monday to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to replace outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem, who was removed after directing the controversial immigration policy of President Donald Trump's Administration.
With a vote of 54 in favor and 45 against, Mullin received parliamentary approval for a new Republican figure to assume this key position within Trump's cabinet.
Mullin ends a 13-year career in Congress, where he was known as a key negotiator between both chambers to pass Trump's tax plan in 2025.
Furthermore, he has generated expectations of a calmer or more pragmatic leadership on immigration issues in view of his confirmation in the Senate.
The president chose the Republican senator from Oklahoma to replace Noem at the beginning of the month and now his appointment is official, with all Republicans voting in favor, as well as the support of Democrats John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.
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"My goal in six months is that we are not the main news every day. My goal is for people to understand that we are out there, that we protect them and that we work with them," Mullin said last week when interviewed by the Senate.
The new secretary arrives at the Department in the midst of a crisis caused by a partial shutdown, which began on February 14, after divisions between Republicans and Democrats to approve a budget due to a lack of agreements regarding changes in the control and limits for the agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE).
The closure led to the absence of transportation personnel at the country's main airports and has caused enormous lines at security checkpoints and delays of up to two hours on hundreds of flights.
Noem spearheaded a tough immigration policy that included significant deployments of federal agents in Minneapolis as part of a series of interventions that generated controversy after two U.S. citizens died during operations in January.
