Out with the ICE Barbie, In with the Cagefighter
After firing Kristi Noem from her role as Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump nominated a former MMA fighter to replace her. Is anyone actually surprised?
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In the months since I announced I was writing a book about mixed martial arts and strongman politics, U.S. President Donald Trump has gone out of his way to prove my premise.
It began shortly after I signed my deal with Simon & Schuster: Trump announced plans for the UFC to host an event at the White House to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary, as well as his 80th birthday. “Trump’s UFC stunt is more than a circus. It’s authoritarian theatre,” I wrote in a piece for The Guardian at the time.
Then came the announcement this week that Trump had tapped Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, a former pro MMA fighter, to replace Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security. In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Mullin’s both his political and his fighting acumen.
“A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda,” Trump wrote.
A member of the Cherokee Nation, Mullin ran several family companies and hosted a home improvement radio program that was syndicated across Oklahoma before pivoting to politics. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012, where he represented eastern Oklahoma for a decade as a Republican before becoming a junior senator in 2022.
Mullin also wrestled in college and is officially 3–0 in MMA, though he has claimed a 5–0 record. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. The following year, while serving as a congressman, Mullin proposed legislation that would force the UFC to share financial information with fighters and create an independent ranking system that would offer fighters greater leverage when negotiating with the organization. The UFC fiercely opposed the bill, called the Muhammad Ali Expansion Act, and reportedly spent upwards of $100,000 lobbying against it. “I wish the UFC would use that money to pay their fighters instead of lobbying against them,” Mullin said at the time.
Despite enjoying bipartisan support, the bill ultimately failed to pass. However, even if the bill did make it through the Democrat-controlled House of Representative and a Republican-led Senate at the time, the prevailing view was that the bill would likely get vetoed by Trump as a favour to the UFC and his personal friend Dana White. Mullin promised to reintroduce the legislation in the Senate in 2023, during Joe Biden’s presidency, but never moved forward with the plan.
Despite his failure to pass the reform, Mullin never quite distanced himself from his reputation as a fighter. He was known for his intense “MMA-style workouts” in Congress and was one of two congressmen who confronted rioters during the Jan. 6 insurrection and assisted officers with barricading the doors to the House floor. He also witnessed a U.S. Capitol police officer shoot the infamous pro-Trump rioter Ashli Babbit as she tried to breach the Capitol through a window. He later defended the officer who killed Babbit, arguing that “there was a lot of members and staff that were in danger at the time” and that the officer’s actions “saved people’s lives.”
During a 2023 Senate hearing, Mullin challenged a witness, Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien, to a fight. After some back-and-forth comments about their past social media exchanges, Mullin told O’Brien, “If you want to run your mouth ... we can finish it here.”
O’Brien: “OK, that’s fine, perfect.”
Mullin: “You want to do it now?”
O’Brien: “I’d love to do it now.”
Mullin: “Well stand your butt up, then.”
O’Brien: “You stand your butt up, big guy,”
Mullin stood up and appeared ready to remove his wedding ring to throw a punch only to be restrained by Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“Sit down, you’re a United States senator,” Sanders told him. “This is a hearing and God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress.”
After later challenging O’Brien to a charity MMA fight that never took place, Mullin and the Teamster boss appear to have squashed their beef. In a statement to the New York Times following Mullin’s nomination, O’Brien said in reference to their tense Senate interaction: “If anyone is willing to stand their butt up to protect America, it’s Markwayne Mullin.”
Mullin isn’t guaranteed to become the next DHS secretary. He still needs to go through a Senate confirmation hearing, though he is unlikely to face many obstacles with a Republican majority. If he succeeds, Mullin’s rise—from former MMA fighter to one of the country’s most powerful politicians, overseeing border control, counterterrorism, and immigration enforcement—would would say a great deal about the kind of figures who flourish in Trump’s America.
Mullin is currently the only sitting senator without a college Bachelor’s degree and has almost no experience in the department he is expected to lead. And yet, he says he and Trump “have a really good relationship” and “talk all the time.” He is also a full-throated supporter of Trump’s policies, including his embattled immigration policies. He would regularly defend the president on cable news, which earned him the “MAGA warrior” title from Trump.
When Trump announced the UFC White House show, Mullin appeared on cable TV to discuss the genius behind the event, despite once opposing the UFC’s exploitative labour practices.
“The American people love it,” Mullin told FOX Across America. “This is what they like about him, right? He’s just one of them, but yet he’s president of the United States.”
It’s a reminder that, in Trump’s America, it helps to know when to throw a punch…and when to kiss the ring.
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