Fetterman breaks with Democrats, casts key vote for Mullin

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman cast the deciding vote to advance the nomination of Markwayne Mullin as the new head of Homeland Security Thursday morning, breaking once again with his own party.

President Donald Trump nominated Mullin to repalce Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary earlier this month. The Senate’s Homeland Security Committee, where Fetterman sits, voted 8-7 to advance Mullin’s confirmation to a vote by the full Senate, where it is likely to pass.

Fetterman’s support was arguably decisive: Mullin recieved a “no” vote from the committee’s chair, Republican Senator Rand Paul, and the vote was otherwise along party lines. Had Fetterman joined fellow Democrats in opposition, Mullin’s nomination would have suffered a potentially fatal blow.

Fetterman did not speak prior to the vote, but in a social media post explaining it, Fetterman said his support was “rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation’s security.”

In that post, Fetterman said he “truly approached the confirmation of my colleague and friend, Senator Mullin, with an open-mind.” But there was never much reason to doubt how he would vote: Fetterman pledged to support Mullin’s nomination shortly after it was first announced earlier this month. And during a hearing where other Democrats grilled Mullin, Fetterman instead reminisced about a trip the two had taken together to help Americans who were jailed for carrying ammunition into an airport.

“It’s not gonna be about gotcha moments for me,” Fetterman told Mullin. “It’s about just saying my experience with you has been consistent kindness and professionalism.”

It’s just the latest break with his party for Fetterman, who this week accused fellow Democrats of being “governed by TDS” — Trump Derangement Syndrome.

He has generally been hostile to how members of his party have approached immigration policy — enforcement of which is one of the tasks the Department of Homeland Security oversees. He has decried Democrats for voting to shut down the government repeatedly, and complained about the shutdown in Wednesday’s committee hearing and in his post today, which asserted, “We must reopen DHS.”

Democrats have sought to rein in the department’s immigration control operations, which have been widely criticized for fatally shooting American citizens and using masked agents to detain immigrants who crossed the border illegally but have become enmeshed in their communities while pursuing asylum claims. Criticism of the former DHS head, Kristi Noem, included concerns about spending within the department.

Democrats also raised a number of concerns about Mullin’s nomination, including his lack of experience in the activities the Department oversees. Democrats also expressed misgivings about an incident in which Mullin, during a Senate hearing, challenged a union leader who was testifying to a fight. Just prior to the vote, the ranking Democrat on the committee, Gary Peters of Michigan, said “the department and the American people deserve a leader who is steady and proven under pressure, not just someone better than the very low bar set by his predecessor.”

Fetterman was one of just a handful of Democrats who voted to confirm Noem last year.