Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) paired with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) as the only two Senate Democrats to vote yes on the confirmation of Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) as the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Mullin was confirmed in a 54-45 vote and will replace Kristi Noem, whose controversial and highly publicized DHS tenure drew condemnation from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, particularly concerning her administration of FEMA and ICE.
Those Noem critics included Heinrich, who said of the former Secretary: “Kristi Noem should never have been nominated or confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. And I’ve been calling for her to resign or be fired for months now. Unfortunately, she has done an incredible amount of damage during her tenure. Her departure couldn’t have come soon enough.”
His vote to confirm Mullin, Heinrich acknowledged, was “going to surprise some people.” The New Mexico Senator said he considers Mullin “a friend.” And while saying they “often disagree,” Heinrich praised what he called their “very honest and constructive working relationship.” The two Senators have worked across the aisle to co-author legislation.
Democratic Senator Heinrich announces he will vote to confirm Trump’s pick for Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin pic.twitter.com/NEkU73P7zj
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) March 22, 2026
Heinrich also emphasized Mullin’s purported independence, expressing a belief that the new DHS Secretary won’t blindly submit to other influential forces in the Trump administration, especially U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller.
Heinrich’s statement asserted: “I have also seen first-hand that Markwayne is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views, and I look forward to having a Secretary who doesn’t take their orders from Stephen Miller.”
I’m a NO on the administration’s $200 billion war supplemental. pic.twitter.com/jhRwxN4Y3R
— Martin Heinrich (@SenatorHeinrich) March 22, 2026
Heinrich has also supported many of Trump’s other nominees, voting to confirm Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. At the same time, he has been highly critical of numerous Trump administration actions, recently asking in a recent post about Trump’s removal of sanctions from Iranian oil: “Which side are you on, Mr. President?”
Which side are you on, Mr. President? WTF? https://t.co/9VUmXqNF2z
— Martin Heinrich (@SenatorHeinrich) March 21, 2026