Republican Senator Markway Mullin of Oklahoma was recently sworn in as the new secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem, who was fired this month after a series of controversies. However, it seems the new DHS leader comes with her own villain arc following a series of viral and widely circulated social media posts pointing to her physically abusive past.
‘I can beat them…’: Discipline or abuse?
The most significant outrage stemmed from a video of Mullin speaking at a “City Elders” event hosted by the church on October 6, 2023. In his address, he talked about disciplining children and said that he was brought up with the “fear of the belt”. He said, “The discipline was appropriate, not excessive…so I learned respect from discipline.” He also revealed how he disciplined his twin daughters by scolding them, which further deepened the controversy. He said, “I can slap them and I’m still upset and they’ll come over two minutes later and crawl into my lap and just hug me. I have to learn to forgive more.” Then, imitating his daughter Lara, he said, “She’s like, ‘No, Daddy. No, Daddy, no, Daddy, no. I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m sorry, Daddy.’ …She couldn’t even muster the courage to bend in front of me so that I could press her buttocks.” He then mentioned his son Andrew and how he had the hardest time beating him because he was “so hard on himself” and had “big crocodile tears coming out of his eyes.”Many netizens called out Mullin for using spanking to discipline her children, while others were angry at her terminology to explain the situation. “Is it just me or does her description sound sexual (“break her butt”),” one user wrote on X. “Does Trump deliberately choose the most unqualified people for his administration?”. asked another. Even Democrats jumped on the trolling train, writing, “He’s bragging about killing his daughter. This is who is now running ICE for Trump.”
‘I loved to fight…’: A history of physical confrontation
Not just one, in another clip from an event he attended with his wife Christy Mullin mma fighter Told viewers how he physically threatened his wife’s boyfriend at school.Mullin said that he did not date because he was focused on getting a scholarship but he knew since the 8th grade that he was going to marry Christy. Thus, when she had boyfriends, he would hang out with the couple and threaten to leave them. He said, “I never drink but I like to fight.” He added, “I just told them that if they didn’t do it, I would put them in the car myself.”This is not the first time Mullin’s propensity for physical altercations and short-tempered personality has surfaced in public. That same year, he challenged Sean O’Brien, the president of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Physical fight during Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing. He told O’Brien, “You want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults, we can end it right here.” When Mullin was asked in an interview whether he would have followed through, he said, “I would have jumped on the platform at that point.”
‘I like the David Method…’
During Kyle Thompson’s ‘Undaunted.Life: A Man’s Podcast’ in November 2023, Mullin was questioned about whether Republican senators should engage in such fights and he defended his actions by mentioning that there was a time in history when men used to duel and that was the way to resolve their differences. He said that if people expect him to ignore O’Brien’s comments, he is not a good Christian. He said, “I try to be a good Christian, and I know people say you have to turn the other cheek and I like the David Method. I wouldn’t start it, but I would do everything I can to finish it.” “Maybe I’ll lose, who knows, but I guarantee you, you’ll know you were in a fight.”Recently on March 18, 2026, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, rand paul Confronted Mullin during nomination hearing. They questioned Mullin over his comments on the injuries he sustained in the November 2017 attack, when he was attacked by his neighbors and suffered six broken ribs. Paul played clips of Mullin’s past comments and questioned whether a person with such a “temperament” is suitable to lead DHS. Mullin stood his ground and said he “understood” the attack but did not “endorse” it. Paul further asked him if he believed that political disputes could also be resolved through violence. Mullin maintained his stance that as Secretary of DHS, he is going to bring “peace of mind and security” to America. The owner of his family’s plumbing business and a cattle rancher, Mullin ran for and won election to Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District in 2011. He worked briefly as a professional mixed martial arts fighter and won three professional bouts between 2006 and 2007. While Noem was controversially nicknamed ‘ICE Barbie’ she may have come with her own campaign baggage, it looks like Trump still has his hands full with a new secretary who’s willing to exchange a vest for a pair of gloves. It remains to be seen whether this will help Trump’s campaign or hinder its success.