On March 5, 2026, President Trump nominated Senator Markwayne Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and the only enrolled member of a Federally recognized Indian Tribe currently serving in the Senate, to be the next U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In his announcement, President Trump said that “[a]s the only Native American in the Senate, Markwayne is a fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities.”
Senator Mullin served as a Representative for ten years in the U.S. House of Representative before his successful Senate run three years ago. During his time in Congress, Sen. Mullin has been an advocate for Tribal sovereignty and has supported numerous Tribal initiatives. He currently serves as a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
In his role at DHS, Senator Mullin will oversee a number of programs and agencies that interface with Indian Country and initiatives for which Tribes are eligible including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which operates the Tribal Homeland Security Grant Program (THSGP), the Emergency Management Performance Grant Program (EMPG), the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG), and the Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program (TCGP).
In addition to FEMA, DHS also operates a number of programs affecting Tribes including the Shadow Wolves Program; Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), which includes Tribal law enforcement partnerships; DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) also work collaboratively with the Department of Interior (DOI) to investigate drug and human trafficking in Indian Country; HSI’s Law Enforcement Information Sharing Initiative (LEISI), which provides Tribes access to federal databases for intelligence; and, Federal law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC), which provide training to Tribal police officers. DHS also operates the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 287(g) program and has a Tribal Homeland Security Advisory Council (THSAC).
