At a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin gave an answer that prompted Senator Chris Murphy to question the agency’s commitment to the rule of law. According to Mediaite, the exchange happened during a hearing about the 2027 budget request. It focused on whether DHS would promise to follow federal court orders.
The tension between the two officials comes from a wider climate of legal conflict. Since President Donald Trump nominated the former senator to replace Kristi Noem in March, the administration has faced major backlash over its immigration enforcement approach. That scrutiny grew after two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis involving federal agents. Opinion polls show that support for these immigration policies has fallen.
Data suggests this is more than a theoretical disagreement. A case tracker kept by Politico shows that of more than 13,000 federal court rulings tied to ICE detention cases, at least 11,550 have not gone in favor of the Trump administration. Murphy noted that many of these rulings came from judges appointed by Republicans or by the President himself.
Murphy points to court rulings and alleged violations of judicial orders
During the hearing, Murphy voiced his frustration, saying it is very hard to justify funding an agency he believes is operating off the rails. He pointed to cases where the agency has allegedly broken court orders, a pattern he called “stunning.” Murphy argued that disagreeing with the law does not give the executive branch the power to ignore it or to invent new interpretations on its own.
His concerns add to wider reporting on how the FBI and DHS are tracking critics of certain government policies. The direct exchange between the two began when Murphy asked, “Now that you are on the job, can you commit to us that if a court judges something ICE is doing, something DHS is doing, is illegal, is unconstitutional, tells you to stop, that you will comply with the court order?”
Mullin answered by saying, “Ranking Member Murphy, I will tell you that we will never break the Constitution, and we’re not going to break the law, but we’re gonna enforce our nation’s laws, and we’re gonna enforce the laws that you guys passed, and that we implement. We will never go outside that, and if we do, we will hold each other accountable for that.”
Murphy pushed further, noting that the federal court system is the established authority for deciding whether the government is following the law. When Murphy asked again if Mullin would carry out court orders, the Secretary suggested his hesitation came from how he views the judiciary.
Mullin said, “If we didn’t think courts were politicized, then I would probably be able to answer that. But we see courts over and over again that use their bench for their political opinion, not just the rule of law.” As the back-and-forth went on, Murphy challenged the Secretary’s position, leading to a heated moment where he threw up his hands and said committee members should be “really, really freaked out at this answer.”
Mullin maintained that he would prioritize enforcing the law and the Constitution, while also raising concern that some judges act as if they are above the law. The hearing later moved on to other topics, including recent events at the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Chicago, but the basic disagreement over judicial authority remained unresolved. Mullin has also drawn attention for separate remarks confirming ICE plans for the 2026 World Cup.
Published: Jun 3, 2026 08:00 am