Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, has been nominated to take over the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from the controversial incumbent Kristi Noem. However, his path to confirmation is expected to be fraught with difficulty as Senate Democrats express considerable dissatisfaction with the direction that DHS has taken under Noem’s leadership. With the agency currently shut down and tensions running high, many Democrats are likely to utilize the confirmation proceedings as an opportunity to further voice their concerns about the DHS's operations and to push for a significant overhaul of the agency's policies and leadership.