Donald Trump’s border czar is already making nice with the man slated to be his boss as he attempts to avoid a repeat of the Kristi Noem turf war that left him frozen out at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Tom Homan, 64, has reportedly been courting Markwayne Mullin, 48, before the Oklahoma senator has even sat for his confirmation hearing as Homeland Security Secretary.
Politico reported Thursday that the Homan has been introducing Mullin to Trump allies and immigration players as the nominee prepares to take over the sprawling department that Noem, 54, was pushed out of last week. The hearing is now set for March 18 before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The move looks less like courtesy than self-preservation. Politico’s report described a relationship between Homan and Noem that had become so bad they barely spoke, with Homan cut out of key DHS decisions while Noem and her chief aide and rumored lover Corey Lewandowski, 52, ran the show.
Now, with Noem gone and Mullin still only a nominee, Homan appears determined to get his hooks into the next regime before her office chair has even cooled.
Politico quoted former Trump immigration boss Mark Morgan saying Mullin is expected to use Homan in the role that “Kristi and Corey literally cut him off from doing.”
Trump then used Homan to undercut Noem before her formal exit.
In January, after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis and Noem’s response triggered a fierce backlash, Trump dispatched Homan to the city in what amounted to a public demotion for the then-DHS secretary. The move effectively marginalized Noem and handed the clean-up to the man she had spent months sidelining.
The split only became clearer from there. Days later, Homan—who was known inside Trumpworld to despise Noem after she elevated Border Patrol “commander-at-large” Gregory Bovino over him—announced a drawdown and stressed he had not come to Minneapolis for “photo ops or headlines.”
It was a thinly veiled swipe at Noem’s publicity-obsessed style and Bovino’s chest-thumping theatrics.
Noem was fired on March 5 after a run of crises that included the Minneapolis shootings and intensifying scrutiny over a $220 million DHS ad campaign. Trump then tapped Mullin, one of his most reliable Senate attack dogs, to replace her.
Since then, the post-Noem clean-out has continued inside DHS. The Beast reported Thursday that Joseph Mazzara, another Noem-Lewandowski loyalist, was forced out as career leadership reasserted itself ahead of Mullin’s expected arrival.
Like Noem and Homan, Mullin is closely aligned with Trump’s immigration approach, and Trump himself billed him as a “MAGA warrior” when he announced the pick.
But according to Politico, Homan could yet face difficulties with Mullin, as he does not much like being subordinate to DHS leadership, meaning any honeymoon with Mullin could prove short-lived.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House, DHS, and Mullin’s office for comment.
