DHS turns eagle toward arrows in major seal change as Mullin declares 'we're at war'

WASHINGTON, DC: In a major symbolic change to reflect the Department of Homeland Security’s focus shift from peace to war as the department deals with threats including extremist armed groups, illicit substance trade, cyberattacks, and drones, DHS has announced changes to its seal. 

In the DHS seal, the eagle now faces the arrows instead of the palm leaf.

Markwayne Mullin says the department is 'at war every single day'

Ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin revealed that the department is changing its seal.

In the current seal, an eagle holds a palm leaf in one talon and a bundle of arrows in the other. However, the new seal will show the eagle facing toward the arrows rather than the palm.

As per Mullin, the change is a symbolic shift reflecting the department’s daily fight against threats to the country.

Mullin declared that the department is "at war every single day" against bad actors targeting the United States, from extremist armed groups to syndicates pushing Americans towards addiction.

Explaining the meaning and details of the change, Mullin said that the direction of the eagle carries meaning. When it looks towards the palm leaf, the situation represents peace, while the eagle facing the arrow symbolizes war.

Here, this war, as Mullin describes it, represents an increasingly fluid threat environment spanning religious armed groups, illicit transportation networks, cyberattacks, drones, and violence against public officials.

"If you look at most of our seals throughout all the agencies, the eagle looks to the palm because that's in a time of peace. We're actually changing our seal to make it look towards the arrows, because when it looks towards the arrows is when it means we're at war,” Mullin said on ‘The Sunday Briefing’.

Markwayne Mullin reveals extremism is hurting the homeland in new ways

Asked about the leading threat to the homeland today, Mullin said radical extremism still tops the list, but it looks different than it used to.

"It's still t*******m, but they have joined with the c*****s," said Mullin, pointing out that f*****yl overdoses have killed more Americans than the Vietnam War.

The DHS secretary praised President Trump for adding illicit substance trade networks to the list of Foreign T*******t Organizations and Specially Designated Global T********s.

"We're seeing the Islamic t********s joining with the Mexican c*****s that are trying to use all the resources to come after us. And then, we're seeing the drone attacks that are starting to take place," Mullin said.

"We have tried to protect our sensitive areas with fences and armed security guards. Now we're having to realize that the threat comes from the air, too, with simple drones that people can buy online on Amazon," he added.

Markwayne Mullin says political figures are never safe when in public

Mullin also reflected on the threats faced by political candidates.

"I would say you're never safe when you're [in the] public eye," he said, calling for cooler heads to prevail.

"The American people have to realize that we do have a republic, and the republic has different opinions. And it's okay to have different opinions, just when you cross the line and say that that different opinion needs to be silenced, needs to be silenced through violence — that's where Homeland comes into place, that's where we're going to stop that violent act," he added.