The Senate on Sunday advanced the nomination of Sen. Markwayne Mullin as the next Homeland Security secretary, clearing a procedural hurdle while setting up a final vote as early as Monday evening.
The final tally on the motion to invoke cloture was 54-37, with nine senators not voting. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman and Martin Heinrich voted in favor of Mullin, who now only needs a simple majority in the chamber to be sworn in as outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem’s replacement.
“I have also seen first-hand that Markwayne is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views, and I look forward to having a Secretary who doesn’t take their orders from Stephen Miller,” Heinrich said in a statement.