Trump DHS Nominee Mullin Advances in Senate Procedural Vote

Senator Markwayne Mullin during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday.Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg

Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin advanced toward confirmation as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, clearing a procedural obstacle on Sunday that put his nomination on track for a final Senate vote early this week.

The 54-37 procedural vote signals the 48-year—old first-term Oklahoma senator and former mixed-martial-arts fighter has sufficient support to be installed as leader of the department, which has been stuck in a funding shutdown for more than a month because of a partisan clash over aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.