Markwayne Mullin Might Soon Be as Unloved by Trump as JD Vance Is

Tis the sweltering, grisly season of daddy issues, and it looks like we’ve got another giant baby in the administration that’ll soon have to vie for the attention and approval from big ol’ man-baby Trump. The original baby, of course, being Vice President JD Vance—formerly the single occupant of the roster.

Per a new report from NBC News, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin is the latest to run into problems with “growing tensions” between himself and Trump—only a short four months after he began at his post. According to senior officials in the administration and at DHS, the White House is particularly upset at Mullin for making unauthorized decisions, and several officials “aren’t thrilled with him.” 

Earlier this month, for example, Mullin imposed a pause on ICE traffic stops after two people in Maine and Texas were shot and killed by federal agents in the span of a week. While it seemed unusual that Trump rescinded the policy decision immediately after it was announced, the NBC report reveals he was actually furious that he nor Border Czar Tom Homan was involved, and that it could show signs of weakness in the administration’s deliberately cruel deportation campaign. It was “100% a bad move,” an administration insider told NBC News.

Also in the report is Mullin erring during a CNN interview in June, during which he said 350,000 immigrants from Haiti and Syria could apply for legal status in the U.S., right after the Supreme Court eviscerated temporary protected status for both those countries. The DHS official said this was considered by the administration as “annoying”—and caused confusion. 

Mullin’s personnel decisions was also raised as a source of concern. When he was picked to lead DHS, immediately after Kristi Noem was fired, he started his tenure with nominating Lance Schroyer, an Oklahoma law enforcement officer, to run ICE—a decision that apparently had “a lot of people talking.” Specifically, it raised eyebrows as Schroyer had no actual experience with federal law or immigration enforcement. Which is interesting, considering DHS doesn’t usually care about appointing unqualified, inexperienced, and inept individuals throughout its posts.

The DHS secretary may have an uphill battle ahead if he’s to not meet the same fate as his predecessor—who could have been fired for any number of reasons, such as making up a story about deporting a cannibal; spending eons of cash on ICE PR; and calling two Americans who were shot and killed by federal agents “domestic terrorists.” But then again, he’s a man…

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