Markwayne Mullin Reveals He Found Out Trump Was Tapping Him to Replace Kristi Noem Right Before the Public Did

Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) revealed President Donald Trump told him that he’d be replacing Kristi Noem as the head of DHS only just before the news became public.

Speaking with reporters on his way into the Capitol on Thursday, the senator said little about his new gig.

“The president and I [have] still got to communicate, so we’ll talk about it moving forward,” Mullin said. “The president and I already talked, obviously [before] the statement went out, but we need to talk with the president, and we’re trying to get on the same page.”

“When did you find out, sir?” A reporter asked.

“A little bit before you guys did,” Mullin replied — before scurrying inside.

The comments track with reporting from CNN’s Manu Raju — who said that Mullin claimed he had not spoken with Trump as of 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday, less than 90 minutes before the president announced Noem’s ouster via Truth Social.

“It is unclear exactly when it was informed to Mullin that he would be Donald Trump’s pick because he did speak to reporters at about 12:30 this afternoon, he was asked about these rumors about Trump floating his name as a replacement,” Raju said. “At that point, he said he had not spoken to Trump all week. And then he went, he was holed up with the number two Senate Republican, John Barrasso, he was not seen for some time. He left the Capitol without commenting, perhaps taking a call from the president at that point. So [the news was] a surprise to many here, and maybe even to Senator Mullin.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

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