Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

$

Live: Fact-checking Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s DHS secretary confirmation hearing

Congress Homeland Security National
Markwayne Mullin confirmation hearing 3-18-26
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., President Donald Trump's pick for Homeland Security secretary, testifies during Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing March 18, 2026 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP)
Amy Sherman
By Amy Sherman
March 18, 2026
Maria Ramirez Uribe
By Maria Ramirez Uribe
March 18, 2026
Zoe Weyand
By Zoe Weyand
March 18, 2026

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., will appear before a Senate committee March 18 for his confirmation hearing for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. 

President Donald Trump announced March 5 that he’s nominating Mullin to replace Kristi Noem as the head of DHS and Noem will head a western hemisphere security initiative as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas. 

PolitiFact will be fact-checking Mullin’s confirmation hearing live starting at 9:30 a.m. EDT. Follow along with our live fact-checking here on our website and across our social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok and X. 

READ MORE: What did Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Trump’s DHS secretary pick, say about the ‘smell’ of war?


Our Sources

See links in live blog.

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Amy Sherman
Graham Platner
stated on June 17, 2026 in an ad:
Sen. Susan Collins “sided with Trump, giving billionaires and corporations a hand out, paid for by cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.”
False
By Amy Sherman • June 25, 2026
Susan Collins
stated on June 12, 2026 in an interview with the media:
The Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling on abortion “has not had an impact on the state of Maine in that Maine actually expanded its law.”
Mostly True
By Amy Sherman • June 23, 2026
Graham Platner
stated on June 9, 2026 in a primary night speech:
Sen. Susan Collins votes “with Donald Trump 95% of the time.”
Mostly True
By Amy Sherman • June 10, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on June 7, 2026 in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press":
The ongoing ballot counting in California means “they’re cheating on the election.”
Pants on Fire!
By Amy Sherman • June 8, 2026
James Talarico
stated on May 28, 2026 in an X post:
“Adam Hoffman abused a little boy” and Ken Paxton “let Hoffman off the hook.”
Mostly True
By Amy Sherman • June 3, 2026
Vivek Ramaswamy
stated on April 24, 2026 in an ad:
In 2020, “Amy Acton called off Ohio’s election at the last minute.”
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • May 13, 2026
Bernie Sanders
stated on April 22, 2026 in a Senate committee hearing:
“As a result of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ 15 million Americans have been thrown off the healthcare that they need.”
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • April 30, 2026
Pine Tree Results PAC
stated on April 26, 2026 in an ad:
“Graham Platner blames Maine’s women for getting raped because he says they get f—– up drunk”
Half-True
By Amy Sherman • April 29, 2026
Restoration of America
stated on April 13, 2026 in an ad:
“83% of us favor requiring a photo ID to vote. In fact, most of the civilized world requires it but not us.”
Half-True
By Amy Sherman • April 17, 2026
Commonwealth Together PAC
stated on April 8, 2026 in an online ad:
“Moulton voted with Republicans to thank ICE for protecting our homeland. He thanked ICE as they were terrorizing our communities and killed citizens in broad daylight.”
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • April 13, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on March 23, 2026 in remarks at a Memphis event:
“Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating.”
Pants on Fire!
By Amy Sherman, Zoe Weyand • March 25, 2026
Mark Kelly
stated on March 17, 2026 in an X post:
The SAVE America Act “requires everyone to re-register to vote in person and your driver’s license, REAL ID, or military ID aren’t even good enough.”
Half-True
By Amy Sherman • March 24, 2026
Tammy Duckworth
stated on March 18, 2026 in an X post:
“9% of American citizens don’t have the identification that the SAVE act requires to vote. Almost 1 in 10.”
Mostly True
By Amy Sherman • March 20, 2026
Katie Britt
stated on March 19, 2026 in a press conference:
“You can’t shovel snow in New York City without an ID.”
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • March 20, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on February 28, 2026 in a video:
On the US seeking regime change
Full Flop
By Amy Sherman • March 3, 2026

Live: Fact-checking Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s DHS secretary confirmation hearing

Clear
Social Media
stated on July 14, 2026 in a social media post:
“Congress just picked the one version of clock reform America has already tried, hated, and repealed.”
True
By Alex Min • July 20, 2026
Sherrod Brown
stated on July 1, 2026 in an X post:
Since the passage of the “Jon Husted-backed” HB 6, Ohioans’ residential utility rates have gone up $663 a year.
Half-True
By Gracey Abernethy • July 20, 2026
Jon Ossoff
stated on June 27, 2026 in a campaign speech:
President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Mike Collins “doubled health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians and threw 300,000 Georgians off their insurance altogether.”
Mostly True
By Ben Brasch • July 16, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on July 8, 2026 in remarks at a press conference:
The AI industry needs “more energy than the entire country produces right now … In fact some people say almost double.”
Mostly False
By Louis Jacobson • July 14, 2026
X posts
stated on July 12, 2026 in X posts:
A photo showing Mitch McConnell and his wife is from his 2023 hospitalization or is AI generated.
False
By Caleb McCullough • July 13, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on July 8, 2026 in remarks to reporters:
President Joe Biden “raised the cost of housing by 40 and 50% — the cost of (a) rental — because they were housing illegal aliens in all of those empty units.”
Mostly False
By Carsten Oyer • July 10, 2026
Paul Renner
stated on July 2, 2026 in a debate:
Jay Collins sponsored a bill to give AI hyperscale data centers “permanent tax incentives.”
Half-True
By Samantha Putterman • July 9, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on July 1, 2026 in remarks to reporters:
“You know why I’m profiting? Because the stock market’s going up. … I’m profiting because I have a lot of money and a lot of cash.”
Mostly False
By Louis Jacobson • July 7, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed
stated on June 14, 2026 in an X post:
Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers “took a $14 million payout as a pharma lobbyist.”
Pants on Fire!
By Caleb McCullough • July 2, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on June 30, 2026 in a Truth Social post:
“The United States Supreme Court just ruled against men playing in women’s sports.”
Half-True
By Caleb McCullough • July 1, 2026
Mike Collins
stated on June 17, 2026 in an advertisement:
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff “cast the deciding vote for the inflation disaster,” referring to the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
False
By Ben Brasch • June 29, 2026
Tommy Tuberville
stated on June 24, 2026 in an interview with Fox News:
Says benefits of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act are “going to go to a lot of people that are here illegally to build…
False
By Alex Min, Louis Jacobson • June 26, 2026
Move Indigo
stated on June 1, 2026 in a statement:
New York state law allows citizens with dual residences to choose where they want to vote.
True
By Jill Terreri Ramos • June 26, 2026
Graham Platner
stated on June 17, 2026 in an ad:
Sen. Susan Collins “sided with Trump, giving billionaires and corporations a hand out, paid for by cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.”
False
By Amy Sherman • June 25, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on June 23, 2026 in a speech in Macungie, Pennsylvania:
In the past 13 months, “The typical 401(k) … is up almost $30,000.”
Mostly False
By Louis Jacobson • June 25, 2026
David Jolly
stated on June 11, 2026 in a speech:
Florida is “49th in avoidable hospital costs.”
Mostly True
By Samantha Putterman • June 24, 2026
Marsha Blackburn
stated on June 19, 2026 in an X post:
The Obama Presidential Center is “requiring photo ID to enter.”
False
By Alex Min • June 23, 2026
Susan Collins
stated on June 12, 2026 in an interview with the media:
The Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling on abortion “has not had an impact on the state of Maine in that Maine actually expanded its law.”
Mostly True
By Amy Sherman • June 23, 2026
Jon Ossoff
stated on June 17, 2026 in an ad:
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins “admitted” that President Donald Trump is in the Epstein files.
Mostly False
By Ben Brasch • June 18, 2026
Bernie Sanders
stated on June 12, 2026 in an X post:
“Today, Elon Musk, a trillionaire, pays the same amount into Social Security as someone making $184,500.”
Mostly True
By Caleb McCullough • June 17, 2026
Load More