WATCH: DHS Nominee Markwayne Mullin Breaks Down In Tears During Confirmation Hearing

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, got emotional early in his confirmation hearing Wednesday as he talked about his wife and the life they built long before politics.

“We’ve had God on our side and her right beside me.” 🙏🏻

“For me, to be able to have the love of my life behind me, somebody I literally fell in love with in third grade, I knew I was gonna marry her in eighth grade. She didn’t know that yet. We had to work through that process.”

“But at 18 years old, and I was 19, she agreed to marry me. I didn’t have anything. I was on a wrestling scholarship, living in a dorm.”

“She was cheering at Northeastern State University. I think she fell in love with my truck, because my truck was pretty cool.”

“But the truth is, we didn’t know what we didn’t know, but we did know we loved each other.”

“And I haven’t been perfect. I apologize to her quite often and send her flowers all the time. But I still am humbled by the fact that we’ve got to enjoy this walk together.”

Once the emotion passed, the hearing moved into the high-stakes reality of what Mullin would inherit if confirmed: a sprawling department of roughly 260,000 employees, tasked with everything from protecting the president to disaster response to immigration enforcement.

Mullin, an Oklahoma senator and longtime Trump ally, would replace Kristi Noem, who was fired earlier this month amid mounting criticism over her tenure. The White House has framed Mullin as a loyal executor of the president’s agenda, especially on border security and deportations.

Democrats, meanwhile, used the hearing to hammer what they called a lack of accountability inside DHS during the administration’s aggressive immigration push. They’ve argued for reforms they say would bring immigration operations in line with standards common in local policing, while Republicans have accused Democrats of putting national security at risk by refusing to fund the agency during a partial shutdown.

That shutdown has already produced real-world consequences: growing security lines at some U.S. airports as screeners head into another stretch without pay, plus wider uncertainty across DHS components as the funding fight drags on.

RELATED: JUST IN: Dems Begin To Cave As DHS Shutdown Backfires On Party

The confirmation hearing also came with threats abroad and tension at home in the background, with lawmakers pointing to an elevated threat environment as the war with Iran continues and U.S. officials warn of potential retaliatory activity.

Mullin is also expected to face questions about the future of FEMA, which has been caught in a major reform push after President Trump said he wants to overhaul the agency, if not eliminate it. Noem had led a Trump-appointed FEMA Review Council that was preparing recommendations that could shift more disaster responsibility to states and local governments.

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