A look at Mullin's rise from MMA fighter to MAGA warrior and DHS nomination

Amna Nawaz:

Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin will face his colleagues tomorrow for his confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

Mullin's nomination comes after President Trump fired former DHS head Kristi Noem in the first Cabinet shakeup of his second term.

Lisa Desjardins takes a look at how Senator Mullin went from an MMA fighter to a MAGA warrior and now he might soon run DHS.

Woman:

Yes, tonight, please put your hands together for Senator Markwayne Mullin.

(Cheering)

Lisa Desjardins:

He is unconventional, a former MMA fighter, a businessman without a bachelor's degree, and he's often unfiltered,for example, stumping for the Trump campaign in 2024 in North Carolina.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), DHS Secretary Nominee: Man, I'd like to say I got a great connection to North Carolina. I don't really.

(Laughter)

Lisa Desjardins:

But he is Oklahoma through and through.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

Hi, I'm Markwayne Mullin with Mullin Plumbing.

Lisa Desjardins:

The owner of his family's plumbing business and a cattle rancher, Mullin branded himself as a political outsider when he first ran for Oklahoma's Second Congressional District in 2011. Narrator: Like you, Markwayne Mullin is had enough of Washington intruding in our lives.

Lisa Desjardins:

Mullin won, becoming the second Republican to represent the district in a century.

Reese Gorman, NOTUS:

He's from Stilwell, Oklahoma, which is a very rural part of the state. It also is one of the poorest cities in all of the country.

Lisa Desjardins:

Reese Gorman reports on Congress for NOTUS and covered Mullin as an Oklahoma reporter, including Mullin's pledge to serve no more than three House terms. But when the time came, Mullin and his wife, Christie, reconsidered, prayed, and:

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

We looked at each other and we said, we're running again. And immediately we understand that people are going to be upset. And we get that. We understand it.

Reese Gorman:

Oklahomans were definitely upset about it, but it didn't cost him the election.

Lisa Desjardins:

Mullin won the race, and more attention followed, including from President Donald Trump.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

And President Trump was one of the first people to call me.

Lisa Desjardins:

Mullin said on a podcast last year that Trump phoned him weekly after his son suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2020. Later that year, when Trump lost the presidential election, Mullin echoed lies that the vote was stolen and said he planned to contest the results.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

When there's as many questions still out there on the electoral votes and the votes that took place, we had to challenge it. That's what Congress is supposed to do on January 6.

Lisa Desjardins:

Instead, rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6. That day, Mullin helped Capitol Police block the doors to the House chamber.

Woman:

The no's have it.

Lisa Desjardins:

Hours later, he still voted to challenge the 2020 election results and continued to defend Trump. And, soon, Trump backed Mullin in his 2022 Senate run. Mullin won that too. And as a member of the Cherokee Nation, he became the first Native American senator since 2005.

And when Trump hit the campaign trail for the 2024 election...

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

Why is tribal land treated like public land?

Lisa Desjardins:

... Mullin especially reached out to tribal areas. Among Republicans, he's known as a specialist in building relationships.

Reese Gorman:

Even though he's a senator, he's in these House GOP Conference meetings every week. He sees himself as a conduit between Senate leadership and House leadership and the White House.

Lisa Desjardins:

That has included staunch work for Trump's immigration agenda, backing his efforts to deport undocumented migrants and end birthright citizenship, as well as defending federal officers after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

If you don't want to be in harm's way, don't get in the way of police officers from doing their job.

Lisa Desjardins:

At the same time, Mullin also is seen as potentially open to limited immigration reform, with a legal status for some.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

I think there would be a conversation that might have towards, like, DACA individuals that were brought here under the age of 18 by their parents, maybe if you want to talk to someone that's been here in the country for 10 years or longer.

Lisa Desjardins:

Mullin's tenure in Congress has not come without controversy. The House Ethics Committee ordered Mullin to pay $40,000 back to his family business after learning he received company money through an accounting error, violating ethics guidance.

And, in 2023, he made headlines when he challenged the Teamsters union president, Sean O'Brien, to a fight during a Senate hearing.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

You want to do it now?

Sean O'Brien, General President, Teamsters:

I would love to do it right now.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

Well, stand your butt up then. Sean O'Brien: You stand your butt up, big guy.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT):

Hold on. Stop it.

(Crosstalk)

Sean O'Brien:

Is that your solution to every problem?

Sen. Bernie Sanders:

No, no, sit down.

Sean O'Brien:

That's why you're a clown. Look at you.

Sen. Bernie Sanders:

You know, you're a United States senator.

(Crosstalk)

Sen. Bernie Sanders:

Sit down, please.

Lisa Desjardins:

But Mullin applied relationship skills and O'Brien is now a supporter, endorsing Mullin to be DHS secretary as someone willing to -- quote -- "stand his butt up for the country."

Speaking to his approach, Mullin praised his predecessor, Kristi Noem, but told reporters earlier this month that he wants to improve the agency.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

Is there always lessons to be learned? Listen, my wife and I, we have -- over the years, we have been fortunate enough to purchase companies and grow our companies, and, every day there's something you can do better.

And so I think there's an opportunity to build off successes, and there's also opportunities to build off things that maybe didn't go quite as planned.

Lisa Desjardins:

But there are questions about his experience. Mullin has worked with FEMA on Oklahoma disasters.

Reese Gorman:

But he doesn't really have the immigration experience or just the experience that you usually would see in Cabinet secretaries. Trump loves loyalty, loves people to not criticize him. And he's found that in Markwayne Mullin.

Lisa Desjardins:

Mullin will face his fellow senators...

Sen. Markwayne Mullin:

I'll be back.

Lisa Desjardins:

... and the Senate committee overseeing Homeland Security at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.

Amna Nawaz:

And you can livestream Senator Markwayne Mullin's confirmation hearing tomorrow beginning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern on our Web site and on our YouTube page.