Markwayne Mullin Already Facing ‘Growing Tensions’ With Trump White House: Report

AP Photo/Ben Curtis

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is facing “growing tensions” with White House officials just months into his role, according to a new report.

NBC News’ Julia Ainsley and Gabe Gutierrez reported exclusively on Thursday, citing a senior official with President Donald Trump’s administration and a senior DHS official, that Mullin has managed to ruffle feathers and irk the administration multiple times after just four months with DHS.

Mullin reportedly first ran into trouble after pausing ICE’s vehicle stops policy following fatal shootings in Texas and Maine. Trump quickly and publicly reversed that decision because Mullin never got approval through the White House, according to the administration official.

“Every Cabinet secretary knows that they have to come to the White House for major policy decisions,” the source said. “The president sees, hears, reads everything.”

Mullin also “misspoke” during a CNN interview recently when discussing a Supreme Court ruling on protected status for immigrants from Haiti and Syria, saying hundreds of thousands could apply for legal status when they could not. This, according to the report, was “annoying” to some in the administration.

The DHS secretary has also reportedly raised concerns with the nomination of Lance Schroyer as ICE director. The former incident commander with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is a longtime ally of Mullin, but some are concerned he lacks the proper experience for the ICE director role.

One person reportedly concerned about Schroyer is Trump border czar Tom Homan.

“Homan and others aren’t particularly thrilled with him,” the administration official said.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson released a statement stressing that Trump and Mullin are aligned on their immigration policy efforts.

“Secretary Mullin is working hard to implement the President’s immigration enforcement agenda,” she said. “Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Mullin, the border is totally secure, dangerous illegal immigrants are being deported, and Americans are safer. Secretary Mullin will continue to enforce federal immigration law as effectively as possible.”

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