Senate Committee Advances Mullin 8-7 with Fetterman's Decisive Vote; Floor Confirmation Followed March 23

The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted 8-7 on March 19, 2026, to advance Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security, with the outcome hinging on two members who broke with their respective parties. Sen. Rand Paul cast the lone Republican “no” vote, following through on his objections from the previous day’s contentious hearing. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the lone Democrat to vote “yes,” making his crossover the decisive vote that sent the nomination to the full Senate floor.

Fetterman’s vote drew sharp criticism from progressive colleagues and immigrant rights organizations, who argued that any Trump DHS secretary would continue mass deportation policies regardless of Mullin’s warrant commitment. Fetterman defended his decision by pointing to the ongoing DHS shutdown, saying the department needed confirmed leadership and that Mullin’s pledge on judicial warrants represented a meaningful improvement over the status quo under acting leadership.

On March 22, the Senate took a procedural cloture vote, advancing Mullin’s nomination 54-37. In addition to Fetterman, Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico crossed party lines to support the procedural motion, citing the DHS funding crisis and the need for a confirmed secretary to negotiate with Congress. Heinrich’s vote provided an additional cushion beyond the simple majority needed.

The Senate confirmed Mullin on March 23, 2026, by a vote of 54-45, and he was sworn in the next day, March 24 (DHS release, March 24: “Yesterday, the United States Senate voted to confirm Markwayne Mullin as the 9th Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a bipartisan vote of 54-45”). See 2026-03-24–mullin-sworn-in-as-dhs-secretary. (Correction 2026-10-28: an earlier version of this entry said the final vote was scheduled for March 24; March 24 was the swearing-in. The date and tally of the cloture vote above were not independently re-checked against the Senate roll call.)