Sen. John Fetterman casts deciding vote to advance Trump’s pick to replace Kristi Noem, criticizes fellow Democrats

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman on Thursday cast the deciding vote to advance President Donald Trump’s nominee to helm the Department of Homeland Security — joining Republicans while other Democrats raised doubts that U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.) would reform the administration’s aggressive and increasingly unpopular immigration enforcement tactics.

Fetterman’s support came as little surprise after he vowed earlier this month to vote to confirm Mullin, who Trump picked when he fired former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

But the Pennsylvania Democrat’s vote became essential after the Republican chair of the Senate committee overseeing the nomination admonished Mullin for what he said was a pattern of “anger issues,” including incidents directed at him.

“Tell the world why you believe I deserved to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken and a damaged lung,” U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) told Mullin during a Wednesday hearing, referring to Mullin once saying he “understands completely” the reasons why Paul was attacked by a neighbor in 2017.

Paul was the only Republican who opposed the nomination as it advanced out of the committee in an 8-7 vote.

His comments — along with those from the Democrats who grilled Mullin on his background and DHS operations — contrasted sharply with how Fetterman used his time in the confirmation hearing to once again criticize his own party on immigration and border security.

After the vote, he said in a statement that his vote “is rooted a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation’s security.”

“In January, I called on the president to fire Noem —and he did,“ Fetterman said. ”I truly approached the confirmation of my colleague and friend, Senator Mullin, with an open-mind. We need a leader at DHS. We must reopen DHS.”

Fetterman has become the most vocal backer of Trump’s deportation agenda among Senate Democrats.

He called for Noem’s firing in January after facing intense public pressure and rising bipartisan concerns. But he also broke with his caucus last month when it blocked funding for DHS — a sprawling, 260,000-person department that includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency — when Republicans declined to include reforms like bans on warrantless arrests or masked agents during ICE missions.

“It’s a strange devotion,” Fetterman said, echoing Republicans who used Mullin’s confirmation hearing to partially talk about the DHS shutdown. “I don’t understand why you would shut the entire agency down just because you want those kinds of reforms on ICE.”

He also stressed the need for border control and spoke of his personal relationship with Mullin in the Senate, which he called “consistent kindness and professionalism.” He described a congressional delegation trip they were both a part of in 2024 when they traveled to Turks and Caicos to help facilitate the release of five Americans being detained for carrying ammunition in their luggage. And he denounced political violence while indicating he believes it’s time for Paul to move on from their personal feud.

“I know there’s a lot of hard, personal feelings here,” Fetterman said during the hearing. “It’s terrible what’s happened, and political violence, I mean, it’s rampant… It’s about letting it go, and moving on.

Mullin also rejected political violence but declined to apologize for his comments toward Paul, who he said was engaging in “character assassination.” Paul at one point said Mullin had a “sheer lack of any kind of self awareness” as he steps in to lead an agency — ICE — that has lost public trust because of its use of force.

“You’re going to be leading thousands of men and women who will have the use of force, and there’s been great questions in our country about how that will be used,” Paul said. “And you think a violent attack is just fine.”

Other Democrats used their moments of public questioning to press Mullin on a range of issues.

U.S. Sen. Andy Kim (D., N.J.) asked Mullin about staff cuts to FEMA and about plans for ICE to turn an industrial warehouse in Roxbury into a detention facility with up to 1,500 beds.

“Never once did an ICE official go and talk to the local mayor, talk to the local law enforcement, assess the situation alongside the locals,” Kim said. “Is that fair that DHS is imposing these types of large scale detention facilities without local engagement?”

Mullin, the former owner of a plumbing business in Oklahoma, said communities should be consulted because such facilities have a “big impact,” including on water demand.

“If I’m confirmed, I’ll make a trip out there and see it for myself because it’s a big concern of yours. And we want to address those concerns,” Mullin said. “There may be a specific reason why it’s there. If I can’t explain that to you, then that’s a different story. But if there’s a specific reason I can explain to you, make it make sense, let’s talk about it.”

Warehouse conversions into ICE detention centers are also planned in Pennsylvania, with opposition from local and state officials. Fetterman wrote a letter to Noem in February that said an up-to 7,500-person in Schuylkill County and another 1,500-person facility in Berks County would do “significant damage,” though he did not publicly question Mullin about it or discuss with DHS officials about it during a February committee hearing.

Fetterman’s votes to confirm some of Trump’s nominees last year were among the reasons why the progressive Working Families Party said it will try to challenge him if he runs for reelection in 2028. The first-term senator has not said if he’ll run again as he’s become a source of frustration for some other Pennsylvania Democrats.

U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Phila.) has repeatedly called him “Trump’s favorite Democrat.” He did so again on social media after the vote Thursday — adding that Fetterman “needs to go.”

And in a rare move Wednesday, a member of the state’s delegation, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D., Chester), urged her followers on social media to contact Fetterman’s office to voice their opposition to Mullin.

“Senator Fetterman will be the deciding vote for Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to lead DHS,” she wrote. “Call his office and ask him to vote NO.”