'Wrong guy at the wrong time': Trump’s DHS secretary faces growing revolt inside White House
WASHINGTON, DC: Only months into his job after former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, was shown the door over corruption and misuse of public funds, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin is already under fire from colleagues.
Only a day after several outspoken conservative influencers blasted Mullin for changing his immigration remark within hours, a report suggests that it's not only conservative activists who are disappointed in Mullin but his colleagues as well.
Republicans say Mullin is wrong guy for job
After conservatives called out Mullin’s hypocrisy for first encouraging migrants to take asylum and then posting on social media that he would provide amnesty to non-Americans living in the country, Politico reported that people inside the White House think Mullin “s***s donkey bu**.”
“It takes a lot to unite this administration around a cohesive point of view,” an unnamed senior administration official told Politico. “Mullin deserves credit where credit is due. Everyone agrees he s***s donkey bu**.”
“Mullin is the wrong guy at the wrong time for the wrong job — a time when we need focus on ‘mass deportations,’ we get an amnesty advocate,” Steve Bannon told the outlet.
Mullin clarifies stand after advocating work visa for foreigners
Mullin’s appearance at the National Governors Association summer meeting in Oklahoma City on Saturday, August 1, sparked rage on several levels. The secretary’s position on amnesty for migrants was seen as far too soft for many conservative die-hards.
“If we’re looking to grow our economy, we need more permanent solutions on [work visas], because this narrative that it steals American jobs is true in some industries, it’s not true for all industries,” Mullin said.
Why were you at the National Governors Association Summer Meeting *today* saying the exact opposite of what you are posting now? Did you suddenly radically change your mind about America’s immigration policy in the past couple of hours? Or are you a liar? pic.twitter.com/iZw34WUuvr https://t.co/uwk9xIyeWO
— Kevin Bass (@kevinnbass) August 2, 2026
He added, “It is America. We want to take care of Americans first. It’s our economy, it’s our homeland, but there’s a way to utilize labor where we’re not having the participation rate we need to, and we can plug those holes.”
Those comments were ripped by immigration hardliners.
Mullin tried to clean up his comments on X shortly after the speech.
NO amnesty for illegal aliens. Ever. We are a nation of laws. If you are illegally present in the United States of America— you will be detained and deported. Period.
— Secretary Markwayne Mullin (@SecMullinDHS) August 2, 2026
“NO amnesty for illegal aliens,” Mullin wrote. “Ever. We are a nation of laws. If you are illegally present in the United States of America— you will be detained and deported. Period.”
“He’s a people pleaser, and that doesn’t work when you’re a Cabinet official,” the unnamed White House official told the outlet, as it reported on Friday, July 31, that the DHS Secretary enjoys a “surprisingly chummy relationship” with another notable Democrat — Gov Josh Shapiro (D-PA).