WASHINGTON — Sen. Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump’s nominee to become the next Homeland Security secretary, committed to working with lawmakers of both parties to address immigration policy concerns and said he would walk back some of the policies implemented under his predecessor.

Mullin, the Oklahoma Republican and former mixed martial arts fighter known for once challenging a congressional hearing witness to a fistfight, approached his confirmation hearing on Wednesday with more diplomacy than the combative tone with which current Secretary Kristi Noem responded during her own questioning by lawmakers weeks earlier.

Mullin said he regretted calling Alex Pretti a “deranged individual that came in to cause max damage” after the 37-year-old U.S. citizen was shot and killed by immigration officers in Minneapolis.

And he signaled that he would, in most cases, require immigration officers to obtain a judge’s warrant before forcibly entering private property — a sharp break from the staunch defense of the policy by Trump administration officials.

Mullin faced tough questions before the Senate Homeland Security Committee about how he would carry out the administration’s mass deportation effort and how he would steer the agency in the wake of controversies that led to Noem’s firing earlier this month.

For his part, Mullin said he would work to ensure a secure homeland, as well as to “bring peace of mind and confidence to the agency.”

“My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day,” he said.

Throughout the hearing, Democrats made digs at Noem while examining Mullin’s character and ability to lead the nation’s largest law enforcement agency. Most Republicans painted Mullin as a good man and a hard worker while chastising Democrats for punishing federal workers with the continued Homeland Security funding shutdown.

The leadership shakeup comes amid intense scrutiny over increasingly violent immigration enforcement tactics since last year that intensified after the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis by immigration agents, which Noem — without evidence — called domestic terrorism.

She was fired days after testifying before congressional oversight committees, during which she faced criticism from members of both parties and refused to apologize for her characterization of the shooting victims.

“It’s not the role of the secretary to be a cable news commentator in the wake of a crisis,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the committee’s top Democrat.

“This is a role where temperament matters, where judgment matters and where experience matters,” Peters added. “We have seen under Secretary Noem’s leadership how shortcomings in these traits can compound the challenges that already come with leading a large and complex department, and now more than ever, we need a DHS secretary who is a steady hand.”

The senators didn’t bring up Mullin’s investments in companies with Homeland Security contracts. Ahead of the hearing, Public Citizen, a progressive think tank, released research showing Mullin appears to hold shares in at least six companies — RTX, L3Harris Technologies, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and VSE Corp. — that have contracts with the Department of Homeland Security. Mullin is among the most active stock traders in Congress, The New York Times reported.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who chairs the committee, opened by asking whether “a man with anger issues” can set the right example for federal immigration agents.

Paul brought up incidents to illustrate why Mullin is not fit for the job, including a time in 2023 when he nearly got into a fight in a Senate hearing room and more recently when Mullin called Paul “a freaking snake.”

Paul also confronted Mullin for saying he “completely understood” why Paul was assaulted by a neighbor in 2017, which left him with six broken ribs and a damaged lung.

“I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,” Paul said.

Mullin did not apologize for his remarks and instead accused Paul of smearing his character.

“I’ve worked with many people in this room,” Mullin told Paul. “It seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us.”

But Mullin added that their personal differences wouldn’t keep him from doing his job — “it’s bigger than partisan bickering” — and asked Paul to let him earn his respect.

Paul appeared unmoved. Referencing the 2023 near-fight with Sean O’Brien, the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Paul asked Mullin to “explain to the American public how a man who has no regrets about brawling in a Senate committee can set a proper example.”

Mullin was prepared for the moment: O’Brien was sitting behind him. The union president, he said, has become a close friend.

“Both of us agreed we could have done things different,” Mullin said.

Asked by Peters about his comments that Pretti was a “deranged individual that came in to cause max damage,” Mullin acknowledged he shouldn’t have said that and pledged to speak more cautiously as Homeland Security secretary.

“Those words probably should have been retracted,” he said, adding that he was “responding immediately, without the facts.”

Mullin declined, however, to apologize for saying Good’s shooting was “absolutely” justified, because the officer had to make a split-second decision as her car was moving.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked Mullin whether he believes that immigration officers should be required to obtain judicial warrants before forcibly entering private property. Democrats have demanded such a restriction as a condition of funding the agency.

“We will not enter a home or place of business without a judicial warrant unless we’re pursuing the individual that runs into a place of business or a house,” Mullin said.

The comment was a notable retreat from a policy that drew outrage over its potential to violate the 4th Amendment, though Trump administration officials defended it as appropriate and legal.

Another retreat came after Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., asked about Noem’s policy that required her office to review grants and contracts of at least $100,000, which Kim said held up disaster relief. Asked if he would revoke the policy, Mullin said, “Absolutely. That’s called micromanaging. ... I’m not a micromanager.”

Asked how he would deal with the leaders of so-called sanctuary cities and states, such as California, which limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement, Mullin suggested he would approach it the same way he approaches disagreements with his wife.

He also said there is a “better approach” for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, if the agency could work more closely with municipalities.

“I would love to see ICE become a transport more than the front line,” he said.

It remains unclear whether Mullin’s less steadfast posture would endure if he is confirmed — many Cabinet officials, intent on appeasing Trump, have pivoted from positions taken up during confirmation hearings.

But, as polls show decreasing voter support for Trump’s aggressive immigration policies, Republicans have begun to shift how they talk about enforcement. Last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans are “in course correction mode” with Latino voters.

Along with the grilling questions, some of Mullin’s friendships across the political aisle were also apparent, including Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and John Fetterman, D-Pa. Mullin said that as a senator, he knows firsthand how hard it can be for lawmakers to get answers from agency leaders. He pledged to improve that.

“If you call me, you’re going to get a response,” he said.

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