When Mullin's friends in Congress call, DHS answers

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is building a reputation as a Cabinet official willing to do favors for his former colleagues in Congress — even at the risk of drawing a backlash from the White House and MAGA.

Why it matters: Some of Mullin's most high-profile moves — such as pausing ICE agents' traffic stops and delaying border security construction along the Texas border — have come after personal appeals from friends on Capitol Hill.

Zoom in: The approach by Mullin — who served 13 years in Washington as a House member and senator from Oklahoma — contrasts with that of his predecessor at DHS, Kristi Noem, who was criticized frequently for not communicating with Congress.

"Once you leave the Senate, you're eager to please your old friends ... and that's why there's a lot of what seems to be constituent services work happening out of DHS," said Mike Howell, a former DHS attorney during President Trump's first term and leader of the Mass Deportation Coalition.

But Mullin's attention to his ex-colleagues hasn't always worked out.

After an ICE agent fatally shot a man in Maine during a July traffic stop, both senators from that state — Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I) — were able to quickly reach Mullin and ask for a review of the agency's arrest policy in traffic stops.

Mullin backed a temporary pause in ICE vehicle stops to make arrests — only to be overturned by a furious Trump a day later amid MAGA outrage .

DHS recently moved on a request Sen.

John Cornyn (R-Texas) made to Mullin over concerns about a border plan to build roads and security systems in the Big Bend state and national parks.

Cornyn asked Mullin to meet with local stakeholders over the controversial plans, which have angered local residents .

Ten days later, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott announced a pause on construction in the region in a video while walking through an airport en route to a meeting with those stakeholders.

Texas Gov.

Greg Abbott later said he'd spoken with Mullin and that the pause in border work "seems to be a consequence of my conversations with the secretary." Zoom out: Several more moves by Mullin have come after requests by former colleagues and associates.

In May, a call from Sen.