Senate Tillis praises Mullin as Noem’s successor, says he’ll ‘restore competence’ to DHS by Tara Suter - 03/05/26 4:28 PM ET by Tara Suter - 03/05/26 4:28 PM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Thursday praised his fellow Senate Republican, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), as Kristi Noem’s replacement for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, saying Mullin would “restore competence” to the organization. “Senator Markwayne Mullin is a great guy and a great choice to lead DHS, restore competence, and refocus efforts on quickly distributing disaster aid, keeping the border secure, and targeting violent illegal immigrants for deportation,” Tillis said Thursday afternoon in a post on the social platform X. “Another big positive: he likes dogs,” he added, referencing a story Noem previously shared about killing her dog . Tillis criticized Noem at Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in a 10-minute rant, going after her on multiple issues including  her handling of the deaths  of Alexi Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis, to her tale of killing her dog in her memoir. “I’m giving you a performance evaluation here — I’m not looking for a response,” Tillis said during the hearing, adding that “time after time after time, I’ve been disappointed.” On Thursday, President Trump announced he was replacing Noem as DHS secretary with Mullin.  In a Truth Social post, the president said Noem had done well in her job and would be headed to the role of special envoy for a new initiative for the Western Hemisphere, “The Shield of Americas.” “I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026,” Trump said on Truth Social . DHS has faced criticism throughout Trump’s presidency over its strict immigration agenda, but that criticism exploded following Pretti’s and Good’s killings at the hands of federal immigration agents in separate incidents. The Hill has reached out to DHS for comment. Add as preferred source on Google Tags DHS Donald Trump Kristi Noem Markwayne Mullin Noem firing senate republicans Thom Tillis Trump administration Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More Senate News See All Campaign How will Oklahoma replace Markwayne Mullin in Senate? by Sophie Brams 40 minutes ago Campaign  /  40 minutes ago