DHS Secretary Mullin Slams Dem Senator’s “Reckless” Attacks: “We’re Enforcing the Law. Period. Full Stop.”
Secretary Markwayne Mullin didn’t hold back in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee, torching Senator Chris Murphy’s claims that border enforcement is unconstitutional and dangerous.
Secretary Mullin: “You know, I do have an opening statement here, but wow, Senator Murphy, the outlandish claims you made there is just flat wrong. You start saying we’re breaking the law, and you really start looking at it, and we’re enforcing laws that Congress did pass. That’s reckless. When you start saying it’s unconstitutional, what’s unconstitutional that we’re doing? We swore to uphold the Constitution just like you swore to uphold the Constitution, and for you to throw my 275,000 employees underneath DHS with a broad stroke like that is reckless and irresponsible on your part. We’re doing the job that Congress gave us the authority to do. And our men and women out there every single day is enforcing laws. If you don’t like the laws, you can change them. We’re not picking and choosing which laws we enforce. We’re simply enforcing the law. Period. Full stop. When you throw out reckless terms and you start referring to our agents as being dangerous, unconstitutional, and lawless, that’s why our agents’ death threats are up by 8,000 percent. I know that’s not what you want, but your political theater, that’s what it causes. When you start looking at assaults on our officers, they’re up by 1,300 percent. Senator Murphy, is that what you want? I don’t think it is. I really don’t. But I understand the political theater. I understand wanting to get sound bites, and that was obvious because the whole time you was giving your testimony, you wasn’t looking at me, you was looking at a camera. I get that. I get it. If you have bigger political ambitions, fine. Just say it. But don’t do it at the expense of my officers. We want to really talk about funding? You haven’t funded my officers. CBP and ICE has been willing to do the job for free. Why? Because of a reckless administration. Prior to President Trump coming in and saving America, you had a reckless administration that was destroying America by letting millions of illegals into our country. We’re a nation of laws, and we’re going to enforce those laws. What separates us from other countries is because people respect the rule of law. There’s a reason why people are flooding to our country and not flooding to leave. And it’s our job to protect the homeland. And we do that every single day. Every day I walk into that office, I feel so blessed that President Trump gave me this opportunity because I protect my backyard as hard as I protect your backyard. And I do it with pride. And every one of the employees, all 275,000 employees at DHS, they do it with pride too. And they don’t separate a blue state from a red state. We look at it as a whole. But your reckless tone is getting people hurt. And it’s got to stop. The fact that CBP and ICE hasn’t been funded now for a historical amount of time is absolutely appalling. It should never happen. But yet we’re playing political games. If your party is for open borders and amnesty, then be honest. Because if ICE can’t do their job, then who’s supposed to be getting the illegals out? That’s what they are stood up to do. That’s what Congress passed and gave them the authority and created the agency to do. If you don’t want Customs and Border Patrol and their job is to control our borders and the custom entry points, if you don’t want them, then be honest with the American people and say, we want open borders. But don’t sit there and accuse us of a bunch of stuff that you know yourself isn’t true. I’ll go back to this. It’s an honor to sit here in front of you. I take it with great pride to be Secretary of Department of Homeland Security. And I’m surrounded with great men and women every single day I walk into that office. Regardless of what you say or some other people say, we’re doing a great job. And we have a zero-fail mission, and we take that to heart every day. And one of the people that I’m surrounded with is Troy Edgar, my deputy. I couldn’t do my job without the people around me. And so thank you, Senator Britt. Thank you, Ranking Member Murphy, for allowing him to be up here with us. Because some of the questions he may be better suited to answer. With that, I yield back.”
