Senator Markwayne Mullin said he regretted calling Alex Pretti “deranged,” but he’s not ready to say sorry — not yet. During his confirmation hearing for the Department of Homeland Security, the whole thing took a personal turn neither side really saw coming. At one point, you could see he was choked up when someone brought up Donald Trump.
Mullin faced the Senate as part of the process to become head of DHS, Politico reports. Most of his time was spent on policy, clarifying past remarks, the usual. But when the subject turned to his family, you could feel the energy in the room shift.
It started with questions about Mullin’s comments from earlier this year. He’d called Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen shot and killed during an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, “deranged.” Pressed, Mullin backed off. “I shouldn’t have said that,” he admitted. He added, “Those words should have been retracted.”
PETERS: You called Alex Pretti ‘a deranged individual that came in to cause max damage.’ Can we expect those kind of quick responses if you are confirmed as secretary?
MARKWAYNE MULLIN: No sir. Those words probably should’ve been retracted. I shouldn’t have said that. I regret… pic.twitter.com/f2uUaQFwwb
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 18, 2026
They asked Mullin if he’d apologize to Pretti’s family. Mullin hesitated. He said he would wait until the end of the investigation before apologizing. “If I’m proven wrong, then I will,” Mullin said. The investigation is still open. ICE agents were involved in the shooting, but details are few. And officials haven’t released final findings yet.
The Pretti story made headlines earlier and when a few politicians called those killed “domestic terrorists,” people were outraged. Agency officials have defended the label until proven otherwise.
Mullin also answered questions about another case — Renee Good. She was also a U.S. citizen who died during a similar encounter with ICE. However, Mullin stood by his statements about her. He believes that agents were justified when they used force. Again, he said he’d wait for the investigation.
Later, someone asked Mullin about his relationship with Trump. This time, Mullin’s whole demeanor changed. He shared about his son who was in an accident. They then discovered that he had suffered a serious brain injury. And how Trump fit into everything for him.
He said Trump called him after the incident. At first, the President didn’t realize how serious it was. Mullin said Trump even cracked a joke. But that changed fast. “He immediately went to work,” Mullin said, explaining how Trump offered his own plane to fly Mullin’s son to a treatment center in California.
Mullin tears up talking about how he found out his son had a traumatic brain injury.pic.twitter.com/gozncxTSsn
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) March 18, 2026
Then Mullin described a conversation between Trump and his son. “Do you know why I love your dad?” Trump asked. “Because he loves you. Because of you.” Markwayne paused, clearly moved. “Man, that’s… he didn’t do it for any other reason,” he said, his voice raw. “He did it just because he cared.”
That was the turning point in his friendship with Trump. “We were acquaintances before that. We’ve been friends ever since,” Mullin said. The hearing pressed on. Soon, the focus shifted back to policy—border enforcement. They talked about national security. They talked about leading DHS, which oversees more than 260,000 workers.
As far as his Pretti comments go, there’s still no apology. At least, not yet.
