The US Senate confirmed today with a vote of 54 to 45 Oklahoma Senator Marquan Mullin, 48, has been named the new Secretary of Homeland Security, world agencies reported.
Former mixed martial arts fighter and Republican businessman Mullin previously served 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and was a senator for another three years.
His confirmation follows U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise firing of Christie Noam as Secretary of Homeland Security earlier this month and the nomination of Mullin as her successor.
Noam, once Trump's preferred nominee for the post, has drawn controversy over the department's aggressive immigration policies.
She has recently come under pressure over the aggressive operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Earlier this year, two American citizens were killed by ICE officers in separate shootings.
Noam's public image has been further damaged by an expensive advertising campaign and reports of an intimate relationship with one of her aides.
A Trump ally, Mullin is seen as a pragmatic administrator and has signaled that he will be more moderate than his predecessor. During his confirmation hearings, he acknowledged that he is friends with Noam but said their leadership styles differ.
He now faces the challenge of implementing Trump's tough deportation policy while trying to avoid a negative public reaction, the DPA noted.