Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be DHS secretary narrowly clears Senate committee with Democratic support
U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) arrives to testify during a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 18, 2026 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be the secretary of Homeland Security narrowly cleared a committee vote Thursday morning with the help of Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, teeing up the Oklahoma Republican’s nomination for a final vote on the Senate floor as soon as next week.
Mullin’s nomination advanced out of Senate Homeland Security Committee by a vote of 8-7. He needed a simple majority of votes to clear the committee.
After a series of contentious exchanges during Wednesday’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Rand Paul, the committee’s chairman, ultimately cast a vote against Mullin in committee on Thursday. Fetterman was the only Democrat to cast a vote in his favor.
Fetterman’s vote proved to be critical for Mullin as Republicans only hold a one seat majority on the committee. Paul’s objection meant that at least one Democrat would be necessary to push Mullin over the line.
After the vote, Fetterman said he approached the Mullin vote with an “open mind.”
“We need a leader at DHS. We must reopen DHS. My AYE is rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation’s security,” Fetterman wrote in a post on X.
Mullin’s hearing came weeks after President Donald Trump fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, following her handling of the Minneapolis immigration enforcement and criticism that she used $220 million in taxpayer money for an ad campaign.
Mullin’s nomination will head to the Senate floor where he’ll need a simple majority of votes to be confirmed. He is expected to be approved by the chamber when he comes up for a final vote.
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
Abigail Spanberger, governor of Virginia, during an inauguration ceremony at Capitol Square in Richmond, Va., Jan. 17, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a rising star in the Democratic Party who captured the governor’s office last year by a large margin, will deliver the Democrats’ response Tuesday night to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, focusing on affordability and the chaos she believes the Trump administration has caused at home and abroad, her team told reporters.
Spanberger, who was inaugurated in January after serving three terms in the House of Representatives, will discuss lowering the persistently high costs of housing, health care, energy and groceries despite the administration’s insistence that some of these costs have come down.
The daughter of a law enforcement officer and a nurse, Spanberger focused relentlessly on affordability throughout her 2025 gubernatorial campaign. Despite the economy being the top issue Trump ran on in the 2024 election, it’s been one of the issues he’s struggled with the most during his second term, as Americans still haven’t felt the “Trump boom” they were promised.
In an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 57% of Americans disapprove of how Trump’s handling the economy, and 64% disapproved of how he’s handling tariffs on imported goods.
Spanberger, a former CIA officer, will also address how the Trump administration is contributing to greater worldwide uncertainty.
Trump and his team have spent a large portion of his second term so far focusing on foreign policy, including Trump going head-to-head with some U.S. allies and becoming more aggressive on the world stage. A former federal law enforcement officer who worked on narcotics and money-laundering cases for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Spanberger will also address what critics call the chaos caused by the Trump administration, which continues its immigration enforcement efforts that Americans are seeing in their communities.
She is also expected to challenge Republicans in Congress for not standing up to Trump.
Several Democrats have invited survivors of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to attend Trump’s address, while others plan to skip the event altogether in protest.
The governor will give her speech live from Colonial Williamsburg, the restored 18th century capital where Virginian representatives voted for its delegation to Congress to propose independence for all 13 colonies from Great Britain, and later adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights — which influenced the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights.
There are at least two major counter events that several Democrats plan to attend, including MoveOn’s People’s State of the Union, which is promoting the participation of more than 20 members of Congress; and the “State of the Swamp” event by Defiance.org that features a handful of celebrities appearing by video or in person, such as Robert De Niro.
Spanberger prepared for her remarks by watching speeches other Democrats have delivered in response to Trump’s previous addresses to Congress.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House on March 06, 2026, in Washington, DC. The Trump administration held the roundtable titled Saving College Sports with leaders from the Power Four conferences, media executives and former coaches. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is facing an escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply remains caught in the crosshairs of the U.S. and Israeli war with Tehran.
Trump downplayed the virtual standstill in and near the vital shipping route, saying on Wednesday it was in “great shape.”
But Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in a purported first message since taking over for his father, vowed Thursday that his country will continue to block the strait as leverage and capitalize on Iran’s economic weapon.
Attacks on shipping vessels have surged in the Persian Gulf this week, and oil prices jumped to more than $100 per barrel. In the U.S., gas prices rose to a national average of $3.59 a gallon, according to data from AAA.
The International Energy Agency said on Thursday the Middle East conflict is creating “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.” Member countries of the IEA have said they will release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, a first such joint effort since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
To deal with the economic and political fallout at home, President Trump will tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said his department’s been authorized to release 172 million barrels from the reserve starting next week.
But analysts say those solutions are temporary, likely not enough oil in the long term to make up for the 20 million barrels that typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz each day.
Trump told Fox News’s Brian Kilmeade in an interview earlier this week that ships holding at the Strait of Hormuz need to “show some guts” and push through the channel.
Trump on March 3 had announced the U.S. government was going to provide some risk insurance and guarantees after insurers canceled their coverage.
He also said that if necessary, the U.S. Navy would escort tankers through the strait, a potentially risky proposition.
But as of Thursday, Energy Secretary Wright said the U.S. Navy is “not ready” to escort oil tankers because of the military’s current focus on striking Iran.
“It will happen relatively soon, but it can’t happen now. We’re simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies their offensive capabilities,” Wright told CNBC.
When asked if the U.S. escorting of tankers could happen by the end of the month, Wright said, “I think that is quite likely the case.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, when asked about Wright’s comments, told ABC News that Trump is “fully prepared to provide U.S. Navy escorts through the Strait of Hormuz if he deems it necessary. Our military has destroyed well over 20 inactive mine laying boats with more to come.”
Earlier this week, Trump warned that if Iran disrupted the Strait of Hormuz with mines, “the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before.”
Another potential avenue the White House said it is “considering” to mitigate the crisis is to waive the Jones Act, a century-old law that requires all goods shipped between U.S. ports be carried on U.S. owned-and-operated ships.
“In the interest of national defense, the White House is considering waiving the Jones Act for a limited period of time to ensure vital energy products and agricultural necessities are flowing freely to U.S. ports. This action has not been finalized,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Thursday.
Trump, who could face political consequences of higher oil and gasoline prices in this year’s midterm elections, on Thursday tried to spin the rising costs as good for the U.S. overall.
“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
“BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World,” Trump added.
He did not comment on how expert say higher oil prices will hurt many companies and American consumers, although Wright, the energy secretary, insisted in an interview with Fox News that the individual consumer is Trump’s main concern.
“Overall for the U.S. economy, this isn’t bad news. But of course [what] President Trump is worried about is not overall, he is worried about every single American consumer. So yes, of course he is concerned about the rising energy prices through this short-term period that people have to suffer,” Wright said.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — California Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa has died at the age of 65, according to his office — as President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leaders reacted Tuesday to the seven-term congressman’s unexpected death.
LaMalfa’s chief of staff, Mark Spannagel, released a statement on behalf of the congressman’s office confirming his death early Tuesday morning.
“Early this morning Congressman Doug LaMalfa returned home to the Lord. He leaves a lasting legacy of servant leadership [and] kindness to the North State,” the statement noted. “His humor and work effort are legendary – with one reporter once saying he’d look in the back yard of every BBQ just to see if Doug was there visiting.”
“Congressman LaMalfa cared deeply for the people he served and worked tirelessly to hold the government to its word to fix our failing forests, build water storage, and leave people to be free to choose what is best for themselves,” the statement continued. “His tragic and unexpected passing leaves a deep impact on many. He leaves behind his amazing wife Jill, four children, one grandchild, two sisters and a host of cousins.”
LaMalfa’s untimely death cuts into Speaker Johnson’s thin majority, with 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats leaving GOP leaders with a two-vote margin. This comes just a day after Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned from office a year before her term was set to expire.
“Congress is devastated to learn this morning about the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Doug LaMalfa,” Johnson, R-La., said in a statement. “Doug was a lifelong resident of northern California and deeply loved its people. He was as fierce of a fighter for his state’s vast natural resources and beauty as we have ever known. We are mourning the loss of our friend and brother today and we send our respects for his life and work to his wife Jill and the LaMalfa family during this difficult time.”
President Trump, speaking Tuesday morning at a House Republican retreat at the recently renamed Kennedy Center, reacted to LaMalfa’s passing — praising him as “a fierce champion on California water issues.”
“Before we go any further, I want to express our tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member, a great, great, great member: Congressman Doug LaMalfa,” Trump said.
“He was great on water. He wanted to release the water, he’d scream out, and a true defender of American children. He was a defender of everybody. And our hearts go out to his wife, Jill and his entire family,” Trump added.
The president claimed that LaMalfa voted with him “100% of the time” and wasn’t a member that the speaker needed the president to whip into line.
“I spoke to Doug, but I didn’t speak to him about — I mean, I never had a problem,” Trump said. “And I was really, I was really saddened by his passing and was thinking about not even doing the speech in his honor. But then I decided that I have to do it in his honor. I’ll do it in his honor, because he would have wanted it that way.”
Across the aisle, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who took office in 2013 alongside LaMalfa, extended his condolences to the congressman’s family and constituents.
“I join people across Northern California in mourning the untimely passing of Congressman Doug LaMalfa. A fourth-generation rice farmer, Rep. LaMalfa treasured his community, worked powerfully to protect California’s farmers and served those he represented with principled purpose, from the state legislature to the United States House of Representatives,” Jeffries, D-N.Y., stated. “Doug and I joined the Congress as classmates in 2013, and it was an honor to witness firsthand his passion and personal resolve for more than a decade.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said flags at the California State Capitol will be flown at half-staff in honor of LaMalfa.
“Congressman Doug LaMalfa was a devoted public servant who deeply loved his country, his state, and the communities he represented. While we often approached issues from different perspectives, he fought every day for the people of California with conviction and care. He will be deeply missed,” Newsom said in a statement.
Before coming to Washington, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy not only served in the California state legislature with LaMalfa — the two were roommates.
“Doug was first and foremost a devoted husband and father, inspired by his Christian faith and values to make the lives of others better. Many will remember him as a principled legislator, but he was also a commonsense rice farmer through and through, spending his time in Congress fighting for family farms on agriculture, water, and resource issues, as well as working to eliminate government waste like California’s high-speed rail,” McCarthy wrote on X. “Always thoughtful and affable, Doug was the unanimous choice of his colleagues to lead the Western Caucus in Congress. He will be truly missed.”
