Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has launched a sweeping overhaul of the agency, dismissing senior officials tied to former Secretary Kristi Noem and ordering a review of contracts and spending decisions made under her watch, according to people familiar with the matter and reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
Mullin, a former Oklahoma senator and close Trump ally confirmed as DHS secretary earlier this year, has already fired several officials aligned with Noem and her top adviser Corey Lewandowski, including senior personnel at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The secretary has also signaled a shift in enforcement strategy. Mullin instructed ICE to pull back from large, heavily publicized operations — such as raids previously staged in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis — that White House officials believe undermined public support for the administration’s immigration agenda and raised the risk profile for federal agents.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson pushed back on any suggestion that the administration’s core mission had changed. “President Trump’s highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities,” Jackson told the Journal.
Among the spending decisions now under scrutiny: more than $1 billion DHS reportedly committed to warehouse-style detention facilities. Mullin has paused several of those expansion plans, though he has indicated that some facilities may still move forward.
The Journal also reported that Mullin has moved to cooperate more closely with the department’s inspector general, which had clashed repeatedly with Noem’s team over oversight matters. He has also scrapped a previous requirement for secretary-level sign-off on expenditures over $100,000, granting agency heads greater operational autonomy.
