Kristi Noem lasted four months before Trump fired her from DHS.
Now Markwayne Mullin – her replacement – just gave Trump's base every reason to demand the same.
But this time the call to fire him is coming from inside the White House.
The Speech That Started a War
On Saturday, Mullin stood before the National Governors Association in Oklahoma City and told them America needs "more permanent solutions" on [work visas" – because, in his words, the idea that immigration steals American jobs "is not true for all industries."
Hours later, with conservative outrage erupting online, he posted the opposite on X.
"NO amnesty for illegal aliens. Ever," Mullin wrote. "If you are illegally present in the United States of America – you will be detained and deported. Period."
Former Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino didn't buy it.
"Voters asked for mass deportations. Clear demand. High priority. No ambiguity," Bovino wrote on X.
He added: "The guy running DHS is making the case for 'immigration reform.' We've seen this script before."
https://twitter.com/GregoryKBovino/status/2084284825200939145?s=20
Bovino separately called Mullin's performance "a masterclass in how to give terrible answers during a single interview" – and argued the comments explained why mass deportations aren't happening at the scale Trump voters were promised.
Radio host Todd Starnes asked the question Mullin couldn't answer: "Are you deporting all illegals or just the worst of the worst?"
"If you don't have the stomach for the job," Starnes wrote, "resign."
When the White House Calls You a Joke
Here's where it gets worse for Mullin.
Politico reported Monday that opposition to the DHS secretary has spread inside the White House itself.
"It takes a lot to unite this administration around a cohesive point of view," one senior administration official told Politico.
That official's assessment of Mullin? "Everyone agrees he sucks donkey butt."
That's not a Democrat congressman talking.
That's someone sitting inside Trump's own administration.
Conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck accused Mullin of projecting weakness and called for Trump to install Stephen Miller at DHS instead.
Ned Ryun posted: "Can we get a new DHS Secretary please before it's too late?"
Trump allies are already floating replacement names – Miller and acting DNI Bill Pulte among them.
The White House issued a careful statement: "The President has confidence in Secretary Mullin and his entire Administration to carry out the agenda the American people voted for."
That's exactly what they said about Noem – right up until Trump fired her.
This Is the Script We've Seen Before
Trump brought in Mullin in March specifically because Noem torched her own credibility – a luxury jet, a $200 million self-deportation ad campaign the president publicly disowned, and two Americans shot dead by ICE agents in Minneapolis.
Mullin was sold as the opposite: tough, mission-focused, no drama.
Four months later, he's pitching expanded work visa programs to governors and holding cordial meetings with Democrats Josh Shapiro and Wes Moore.
The base isn't confused.
They know exactly what this pattern looks like.
They watched Bush promise border security and deliver amnesty.
They watched McCain build a political career on immigration before co-writing a bill that would've legalized millions.
https://twitter.com/iAnonPatriot/status/2083895375123853699?s=20
Every time a Republican politician gets behind a microphone and starts explaining why immigration is more complicated than it sounds, the outcome is the same: nothing gets enforced, nothing gets fixed, and millions of illegal immigrants stay put.
Mullin's X post doesn't fix any of that.
You can't soft-pedal amnesty to a roomful of governors and then un-ring that bell with a social media post.
Border Czar Tom Homan was already on The Dr. Phil Podcast last week admitting that Democrats are "putting a dent in" public support for ICE with their anti-enforcement messaging.
The last thing Trump needed was his own DHS secretary making their argument for them.
Sources:
- Johnathan Jones, "Growing Number of Conservatives Turn on DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin Over Soft 'Immigration Reform' Rhetoric," The Western Journal, August 3, 2026.
- Staff, "Trump DHS chief under fire from conservatives after immigration speech ignites backlash," Fox News, August 2, 2026.
- Kathryn Wilkens, "Tom Homan Admits to Dr. Phil That Democrats' Anti-ICE Rhetoric Is Working," The Western Journal, July 31, 2026.
- Sara Dorn, "Wrong Guy at the Wrong Time: Why Markwayne Mullin Faces MAGA Uproar," Forbes, August 3, 2026.
- Staff, "Mullin's Immigration Candor at Governors Summit Sets Off Conservative Backlash Before Midterms," TechTimes, August 2, 2026.