The Senate on Sunday advanced President Donald Trump’s nomination of Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to be the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, bolstered by the surprise support of one Democrat who considers the nominee his friend.
The Senate voted 54-37 during a rare Sunday session to invoke cloture on Mullin’s nomination to succeed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, teeing up a final confirmation vote expected Monday or Tuesday, according to The Hill. While Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman‘s “yes” vote was expected, a second Democrat — New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich — also bucked his party to advance Mullin’s nomination in a surprise development.
“This is going to surprise some people, but I consider Markwayne Mullin a friend. We have a very honest and constructive working relationship,” Heinrich, a third-term member of the upper congressional chamber, wrote in a statement justifying the vote. “We have authored legislation together, such as the Tribal Buffalo Management Act, and we crafted the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill together this year. We often disagree and when we do, we work to find whatever common ground we share.”
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