Markwayne Mullin is Another Reckless Choice to Lead DHS 

Washington, DC — Today, the Senate voted to confirm Markwayne Mullin as the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Trump and Kristi Noem have politicized and slashed disaster funding since the day Trump took office, and Americans have been less safe as a result. With zero experience in emergency management and a record that is in lockstep with Trump’s dangerous agenda, Mullin won’t do anything to turn the department around after Trump and Noem’s failures. 

Climate Power Senior Advisor Mia Logan issued the following statement: “Markwayne Mullin’s record shows that he will happily rubber-stamp Trump’s agenda, leaving families on their own to deal with disasters. Mullin will continue to enact Trump’s agenda in the cabinet, meaning communities will be left behind based on partisan politics, disaster aid will be redirected for political purposes, and relief agencies will be underfunded. Our work does not end with Mullin’s confirmation — we will continue holding Trump and Mullin accountable for leaving us vulnerable to extreme weather, blocking aid, and allowing ICE to terrorize American communities.” 

A new analysis from POLITICO found that it is three times harder for Democratic-led states to get disaster funding under Trump. Mullin’s record of voting against critical disaster relief and undermining FEMA shows that he will continue to do Trump’s bidding and prioritize partisan obstruction over public safety. 

Mullin is unfit to lead a department tasked with protecting Americans from increasingly frequent and destructive extreme weather: 

• Mullin has no experience in emergency or disaster management, with reports finding that “[DHS] staff expect considerable chaos as DHS transitions leadership.” 
• Mullin voted against the September 2024 CR, which provided $20 billion to FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund and repeatedly voted against providing aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, including the $60.2 billion aid package for victims.
• Mullin previously suggested that states would be more effective at handling disaster response than FEMA and even “questioned whether the federal government should even have a role” in disaster preparedness. 
• Mullin previously wrote a letter to FEMA opposing a new policy requiring states to consider climate change impacts in their State Hazard Mitigation Plans, calling the policy “excessive.”
• Mullin is known as a “fierce, unquestioning ally to Trump and his immigration agenda” and is expected to carry out the same chaotic and reckless agenda as his predecessor.
• Mullin praised Trump’s response to extreme weather in Oklahoma, even though Trump denied disaster mitigation funds to Oklahoma. 
• Secretary Noem has consistently mismanaged FEMA and fumbled the agency’s response to major disasters. As of January 2026, Noem’s requirement for her personal approval on all FEMA expenses exceeding $100,000 was creating a $17 billion bottleneck, causing months-long delays in delivering federal disaster funds to states. 
• Noem and DHS leadership redirected over $600 million from FEMA to build migrant detention centers and forcibly reassigned dozens of key FEMA staff to work for ICE on deportations, putting communities at further risk from extreme weather.
• Secretary Noem’s mismanagement has caused aid delays in communities across the country – from Missouri, Texas, New Mexico, Alabama, Arkansas, to even North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene recovery continues. 
• Under Trump and Noem, pending FEMA disaster applications are sitting longer on average than at any other point in the previous 37 years.
• Before being fired, Kristi Noem did not approve contracts for critical tornado-tracking technology, hindering life-saving search-and-rescue efforts during tornadoes in the Midwest this month.
• Earlier this month, Trump canceled all FEMA emergency manager trainings, except for those related to the FIFA World Cup — leaving communities more vulnerable to extreme weather.