When Mullin's friends in Congress call, DHS answers

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is building a reputation as a Cabinet official willing to do favors for his former colleagues in Congress — even at the risk of drawing a backlash from the White House and MAGA.

Why it matters: Some of Mullin's most high-profile moves — such as pausing ICE agents' traffic stops and delaying border security construction along the Texas border — have come after personal appeals from friends on Capitol Hill.

Zoom in: The approach by Mullin — who served 13 years in Washington as a House member and senator from Oklahoma — contrasts with that of his predecessor at DHS, Kristi Noem, who was criticized frequently for not communicating with Congress.

• "Once you leave the Senate, you're eager to please your old friends ... and that's why there's a lot of what seems to be constituent services work happening out of DHS," said Mike Howell, a former DHS attorney during President Trump's first term and leader of the Mass Deportation Coalition.

But Mullin's attention to his ex-colleagues hasn't always worked out.

• After an ICE agent fatally shot a man in Maine during a July traffic stop, both senators from that state — Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I) — were able to quickly reach Mullin and ask for a review of the agency's arrest policy in traffic stops.
• Mullin backed a temporary pause in ICE vehicle stops to make arrests — only to be overturned by a furious Trump a day later amid MAGA outrage.

DHS recently moved on a request Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) made to Mullin over concerns about a border plan to build roads and security systems in the Big Bend state and national parks. Cornyn asked Mullin to meet with local stakeholders over the controversial plans, which have angered local residents.

• Ten days later, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott announced a pause on construction in the region in a video while walking through an airport en route to a meeting with those stakeholders.
• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott later said he'd spoken with Mullin and that the pause in border work "seems to be a consequence of my conversations with the secretary."

Zoom out: Several more moves by Mullin have come after requests by former colleagues and associates.

• In May, a call from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) led to the release from ICE detention of Deisy Rivera Ortega, the immigrant spouse of a U.S. military member who had an active work permit and was applying for legal status through her marriage, according to Duckworth's office.

When Mullin was threatening to cut off international air travel from sanctuary jurisdictions just before the World Cup this summer, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) got the secretary on the phone.

• "I served with Secretary Mullin before — we actually worked together on foster care," Bass told local reporters in May, according to her office. Bass added that after speaking with Mullin she "doubted" that he'd follow through on the travel threat.
• Bass was right; Mullin dropped the plan.

The intrigue: Shortly after he was confirmed by the Senate last March, Mullin shocked some DHS staffers by getting upset after learning the agency was investigating then-Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).

• The new secretary was angry in part because Swalwell was a member of Congress, according to sources familiar with the internal discussions.
• Swalwell was alleged to have hired an undocumented nanny from Brazil. DHS didn't not share an update on the investigation when asked for comment, but a spokesperson disputed the notion that Mullin was upset by the investigation.

What they're saying: Several elected officials have praised Mullin's communication style.

• "The level of responsiveness that we have had, the level of communication that we have had, it has been very real. And I just want to say that I know I speak for a lot of governors here when I say we really do appreciate it," gushed Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.) at the National Governors Associations summer meeting, where Mullin spoke this month.
• "I talk to this guy quite a bit," Mullin said of Moore while on stage at the meeting. "And I answer your call, too."
• "In his confirmation hearing, [Mullin] vowed to be accessible and communicative should he be confirmed. While serving in his role as DHS secretary, he's continuing this leadership style and is in constant communication with leaders on Capitol Hill, his 22 agency heads, and the White House to deliver on President Trump's promise to protect the homeland," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.

The other side: Not everyone sees Mullin's accessibility as a positive.

• "What I'm seeing is a politician reaching out to other politicians," said Mark Morgan, a former head of ICE and CBP commissioner in Trump's first term.
• "And then I see statements and potential policy and operational strategy being driven by politics, rather than the law and substance."