Fetterman casts deciding vote advancing Mullin nomination to lead DHS

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the lone Democrat on the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs who voted to advance the nomination of Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, on Thursday morning.

“I truly approached the confirmation of my colleague and friend, Senator Mullin, with an open-mind,” Fetterman said in a statement following the vote. “We need a leader at DHS. We must reopen DHS.”

“My AYE is rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation’s security,” he added. 

Fetterman’s decision to advance Mullin’s nomination is being viewed as the deciding vote, given that Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against his fellow Republican becoming the next DHS secretary.

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who serves as the committee’s top-ranking Democrat, also said he kept an open mind going into confirmation hearings, but could not vote in support of Mullin’s nomination.

“The Department of Homeland Security needs a leader who can restore the trust that DHS has broken with the American people and within it,” Peters said on Thursday morning. “At his confirmation hearing yesterday, we saw that, unfortunately, Senator Mullin is not up to that challenge.”

Peters said that Mullin was not forthright or transparent throughout the nomination process and claimed that he “doesn’t have the experience or the temperament to lead this critical department.”

Ahead of Thursday morning’s vote, Democrats urged Fetterman to oppose Mullin’s nomination.

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., said on social media on Wednesday that constituents should call Fetterman’s office to tell him to vote no on Mullin.

Following Fetterman’s yes vote, U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., also expressed his disappointment. 

“Once again Sen Fetterman shows why he is Trump’s favorite Democrat. He needs to go,” Boyle wrote on social media. 

On March 5, President Donald Trump fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem as she faced criticism over her leadership of the department. Noem became the first Cabinet secretary to leave their position during Trump’s current term.

In late January, Fetterman called on Trump to immediately fire Noem in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.

“She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy,” Fetterman said of Noem at the time. “DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary.”

The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Noem as DHS Secretary on Jan. 25, 2025 by a 59-34 vote. Although a majority of the party opposed Noem’s nomination, she received the support of 7 Democrats, including Fetterman. 

According to CNN, U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has said he hopes to hold a full Senate vote on Mullin’s nomination early next week.

On March 5, Fetterman said he’d vote in favor of Mullin, even though he didn’t know how many fellow Democrats would do the same. His office didn’t respond to a request for comment from the Center Square about whether or not he still plans to support the nomination on final passage.