California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin. He posted a lengthy response on social media shortly after the cabinet change was announced.
On Thursday, Trump announced that he has fired and demoted Noem from her role in the Department of Homeland Security and that Mullin, a Republican senator and former professional mixed martial arts fighter, would take over the role starting March 31.
Newsom reacted within hours on X, sharing a series of criticisms about Mullin. He questioned Trump’s choice to appoint him to lead one of the federal government’s largest security agencies.
“Markwayne Mullin could not remember if we were at war THIS WEEK,” Newsom wrote.
He followed up by pointing to crime statistics in Mullin’s home state.
“His state has one of the highest crime rates in the country, with a murder rate 40% higher than California’s,” the governor wrote.
Newsom also highlighted a heated exchange during a Senate committee hearing last year. In that hearing, Mullin challenged a labor leader to a physical confrontation over union issues.
“He literally tried to fight union workers during a hearing and told them to ‘shut your mouth,’” Newsom wrote.
Newsom mentioned another incident from a Senate hearing on race and public policy.
“And said ‘I don’t want reality’ at a Senate hearing about race,” Newsom wrote.
He wrapped up the post with a blunt reaction to Trump’s appointment.
“This erratic, unstable man is now in charge of HOMELAND SECURITY.”
Trump had announced the leadership change in a post on Truth Social. He said Mullin would serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security starting March 31.
“I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026,” Trump wrote.
The president mentioned that Noem would transition to a new role as special envoy for the “Shield of the Americas,” a regional security initiative the administration plans to unveil on Saturday in Doral, Florida.
“The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” Trump wrote.
Here is Trump’s Director of Homeland Security pick Markwayne Mullin trying to physically fight someone in the middle of a Senate hearing pic.twitter.com/icAcRluR4t
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) March 5, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security is one of the top White House agencies, overseeing border enforcement, immigration, cybersecurity, and disaster response across the United States. The department includes U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ICE, and FEMA, with a large number of employees.
Mullin served ten years in the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 2022. Before entering politics, he was a professional MMA fighter and later ran a successful family plumbing business in Oklahoma.
If confirmed by the Senate, Mullin would take leadership of the department at the end of March.
As many took to social media to celebrate the end of Noem’s reign at DHS, the critics are already piling on Mullin’s record, and he has already become the target of detractors before he can be sworn in.
