The Department of Homeland Security has gone without funding for over a month as Congress remains deadlocked over ICE
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Markwayne-Mullin-1-032526-35f087e5262b456e9111071067b96d5f.jpg "Markwayne Mullin, secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), speaks during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.")
Credit: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- President Donald Trump swore in new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday, March 24
- DHS — which oversees TSA workers — has been without funding for over a month, causing major delays at airports across the country
- In remarks at his swearing-in ceremony, Mullin praised the “dedication” of DHS employees, saying they are “working for free because of political politics”
President Donald Trump swore in new Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday, March 24, amid a department shutdown that is causing major airport delays across the country.
Trump chose the Oklahoma senator for the position after firing Kristi Noem earlier this month amid multiple DHS controversies. Mullin is inheriting a department that has gone without funding for over a month, as congressional Republicans and Democrats remain at a stalemate over funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Mullin broadly addressed the shutdown in his brief remarks after being sworn in.
"Today, I got the privilege of meeting so many of the employees at DHS," he said. "These employees have been there for 30 days without pay. And if you need anything to know their dedication to show up and still protect the homeland that you and I enjoy and the freedoms that we're experiencing, they're working for free because of political politics. That's all I need to know."
"I told him, as you're fighting 365 days, understand I'll be fighting 365 days beside you. No one's going to outwork me," he added.
The federal government entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to pass funding for the DHS on Feb. 13.
However, since that deadline passed, congressional Democrats and Republicans have been unable to compromise on legislation needed to fund the department for the 2026 fiscal year. The shutdown affects multiple agencies under the DHS umbrella, including ICE, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Secret Service, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The most visible consequence of the funding shutdown is at major U.S. airports across the country, where TSA workers are calling out or quitting due to not being paid. This has caused major delays in security, with long lines and wait times making headlines daily.
Credit: Megan Varner/Getty
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said on Monday that he and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had collaborated on a plan that would have gotten TSA "paid by the end of the week," but it was rejected by Trump.
“As is his right, he said no. No deals with the Democrats,” he told Fox News. “So we’re back to square one.”
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Reactions to Mullin's DHS appointment have been mixed, mostly along party lines.
Following his remarks on Tuesday, Trump praised him as a "great athlete," saying, "I love that expression. 'No one's going to outwork me.' That's a wrestler's expression, isn't it? That's a good wrestler's expression."
Speaking with C-SPAN on Wednesday, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, the former chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said, "Markwayne is a person who — while he may not be skilled in all the policy aspects, he's skilled in reading people and understanding the importance of the operation to the nation. So, that's where we are."
However, during Mullin's confirmation hearing, Republican Sen. Rand Paul broke party lines to confront his former colleague about remarks he made in February, when he said he "completely" understood why Paul's neighbor brutally attacked him in 2017.
“Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it,” Paul told Mullin in the hearing. “And while you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and border patrol agents.”
“I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,” he added.