Dem Sen. Peter Welch praises Trump's 'respected' pick to replace Noem at DHS, says 'he'll be confirmed'
Vermont Democratic Sen. Peter Welch praised Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.,on Friday, arguing he will definitely be confirmed as the new DHS Secretary on account of being a "respected" figure.
President Donald Trump recently nominated Mullin to take the top post at the Department of Homeland Security in a high-profile personnel shakeup. CNN host Kasie Hunt asked Welch whether he would consider supporting Mullin’s appointment to the role.
"Yeah, he‘ll be confirmed. The question is whether there‘ll be bipartisan support for him," Welch replied. "Markwayne Mullin is competent, and he‘s honest. So those are two good things that Kristi Noem did not have."
KRISTI NOEM'S FIRING FAILS TO SWAY DEMOCRATS AS DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON
He went on to say, "This is going to give us an opportunity to have a real discussion about what‘s going on with the Department of Homeland Security. Number one, what we saw with that rampage in Minneapolis cannot ever happen again. You had Kristi Noem, who essentially was calling two people who got killed, domestic terrorists. Are we going to continue to have raids on churches, on farms, on work sites? Are we going to be threatened with election interference?"
Welch then suggested, "We‘re going to have an opportunity to speak with Sen. Mullin and go to the heart of some of these questions that I think are troubling many Republicans as well as Democrats."
"And do you think that it‘s likely it will be bipartisan?" Hunt asked. "I mean, I suppose Sen. Fetterman from Pennsylvania, is a Democrat, has already indicated that. Beyond that, do you get the sense that there might be willingness inside your caucus to go beyond that?"
MS NOW PRODUCER SLAMMED FOR 'ELITIST' SWIPE AT TRUMP'S DHS PICK MARKWAYNE MULLIN
"Well Markwayne is — he‘s respected. He‘s honest and he‘s competent," Welch responded, noting his concerns about the future and his objections to recent DHS policy such as masked agents and raids on workplaces. "So the issue, I think, with Markwayne is going to be much more about the policy and what he is going to be offering us as we look ahead, rather than his personal qualities, because people respect Markwayne."
Fox News Digital reached out to ICE for comment and did not receive an immediate reply.