‘You Should Be Put in Your Place!’ Moody Teen in Charge of DHS Explodes at Congresswoman

If ever there was a perfect antonym for “nonbelligerent,” it would be… Markwayne Mullin.

Before he became secretary of Homeland Security, Mullin infamously challenged a union leader to a duel on the Senate floor, joked about killing journalists over “fake news,” and said he “understood” why Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was attacked by a neighbor in 2017—an event that left the lawmaker with several broken ribs and serious injuries. During Trump’s State of the Union address in February, he also tried to wrestle a sign from Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) that read “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES.” 

Somehow, and because none of the above has managed to send him down the rungs of government, Secretary Mullin appeared before the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday to talk about his leadership at the DHS—and clashed with lawmakers, got defensive, and embarrassed himself. Throughout the entire two hours, he also held onto a squishy pink stress ball—gripping it at times for dear life.

During one particular flashpoint, Mullin was being asked about children being separated from their families by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), during which she was repeatedly interrupted by him attempting to divert blame to the Biden administration.

“3,900 children were separated from their families—” DeLauro said, when Mullin interjected. “450,000 kids were lost during the Biden administration and you didn’t say a word about it.”

“Mr. Secretary, do not interrupt,” DeLauro replied, gesturing towards him.

“Don’t you point your finger at me,” Mullin said. “I will point my finger at you,” she shot back, asking also the Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), the committee’s chairman, to intervene.

“You should be as upset about the 450,000 kids that were lost, Mullin said, as DeLauro continued asking Amodei to jump in. “You didn’t say a word about it. For four years you never said a word.” 

Then, when DeLauro asked Amodei to put Mullin in his place, the DHS secretary said—to the lawmaker 35 years his senior: “You should be put in your place.” Ah, love us an unfragile man.

DeLAURO: Do not interrupt!

MARKWAYNE MULLIN: Don’t you point your finger at me

DeLAURO: I will point my finger at you! Mr chairman, could you put him in his place?

MULLIN: You should be put in your place

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) June 25, 2026 at 4:45 PM

 

Mullin’s tenure, which began in March, has already been mired in controversy from when he began—right after his predecessor, Kristi Noem, was fired in March. With him at the helm, the DHS quietly got rid of its own misconduct and abuse watchdog, has aggressively continued to conduct Trump’s cruel deportation campaign, and has also responded to hunger strikes in a New Jersey facility with further crackdowns on protesters and detainees.  

“The death rate in ICE custody has doubled during President Trump’s second term,” Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) said during the hearing. “Will you commit to reporting detainee deaths as required by law?”

“We do report them, ma’am,” replied Mullin. “What you’re talking about is what Congress has asked us to do, which we’re not required to do is report the deaths after they’re released, that doesn’t make any sense. They’re not under our watch at that point. If they die in our release, we report them,” referring to a relatively new policy change wherein ICE is no longer reporting the deaths of individuals recently released from custody.

And Mullin’s statement that these deaths are systematically reported in a timely manner is also wrong. Earlier this year, we reported that for months, ICE had been ignoring its detainee death reporting page—and when the agency updated everything in one go in February, the information was missing many details required by law.