Deadline: White House — "Tell it to my face"

Host: Nicolle Wallace
Air Date: March 19, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of "Deadline: White House" dives into the Senate confirmation hearing of Markwayne (Mark Wayne) Mullen, Donald Trump’s nominee for Department of Homeland Security Secretary. The discussion, driven by recent hearings and testimony, probes concerns around election security, the role of ICE and law enforcement, civil liberties, Trump’s handling of the Iran war and relationships with Russia, and unprecedented dysfunction at the Justice Department under Trump’s second term. Nicolle Wallace leads a hard-hitting discussion with Senator Alyssa Slotkin, veteran advocate Paul Rykoff, former DHS Chief of Staff Miles Taylor, and legal analysts Sarah Fitzpatrick and Harry Lippman.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Markwayne Mullen's Senate Grilling: Election Security & ICE at the Polls

• Theme: Mullen faces tough Senate questions regarding his willingness to put federal law enforcement at polling places and his refusal to clearly acknowledge the 2020 election results.
• Notable Exchange:
  • Sen. Alyssa Slotkin forcefully challenges Mullen’s ethics and willingness to follow Trump orders:

    "Tell it to My Face if that's what you believe... Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it. And while you're at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents." (Slotkin, 00:48)

  • Sen. Chris Murphy warns:

    “If we ever get to the point where you are being asked to put armed ICE officers at polling locations, we have lost the plot as a country.” (Murphy, 03:33)

  • Key segment:
    • 00:48–04:34: Slotkin and Murphy interrogate Mullen on ICE at polls, his refusal to state that Biden won the 2020 election, and concerns about Trump’s influence.

Slotkin's Impression:

• "It didn't give me confidence that if push comes to shove... he would say no. In fact, it was the opposite. It demonstrated that he's just going to salute and do whatever President Trump tells him to do." (Slotkin, 04:34)

Takeaway:

• Mullen’s evasiveness and boilerplate answers are seen as emblematic of Trump loyalists’ lack of independence and possible threat to electoral integrity.

2. Civil Liberties & Bipartisan Silence

• Theme: There’s private Republican discomfort about civil liberties violations under Trump, but near-total public silence.
  • Slotkin explains:

    "Those conversations are happening in our states at home, but it hasn't broken through the fear veil that exists here among my Republican colleagues... during the Trump administration because they are scared to speak out." (Slotkin, 06:47)

3. Immigration & Political Opportunity

• Theme: Democratic strategy should focus on actionable, positive plans for immigration reform, not just opposition to Trump.
  • Slotkin candidly critiques her party:

    “It's not enough just to point at Donald Trump and say he's bad. It's not enough. You need to actually have an affirmative positive plan that you believe in.” (Slotkin, 08:45)

4. War in Iran’s Domestic Impact

• Theme: The current conflict in Iran is being felt directly by American families, especially through gas and fertilizer prices, unlike prior U.S. interventions.
  • Slotkin describes local impact:

    “This is the first war that the president has started where people are feeling it in their pocketbooks. He can't explain why we went in to begin with and therefore can't explain how we're going to get out of it.” (Slotkin, 10:53)

5. Russia, Veterans, & America’s Global Standing

• Theme: Trump’s friendliness with Putin, neglect of Ukraine, and cold treatment of allies are seen as dangerous and weakening U.S. security.
  • Slotkin on Russian help to Iran:

    “If the Russians are helping to kill American soldiers, I hope we can agree, Democrat and Republican, that this has crossed a Rubicon, that that can't go unanswered...” (Slotkin, 12:25)

  • On alliances:

    "When you punch allies and partners in the face, they don't come to help you in things... We're left to do it on our own and it makes us less safe..." (Slotkin, 14:11)

6. Panel Analysis & the 'Sound of Submission'

• Theme: Analysts stress the dangers of unqualified nominees, lack of conscience at DHS, and the need for Democrats to offer a hopeful alternative.
  • Rykoff:

    “We need somebody to go into ICE... And they want to put forward the guy who doesn't know that dueling is illegal and actually thinks it should still be legal..." (Rykoff, 25:54)

  • Miles Taylor:

    "The one thing that I've learned that's critical for them to be effective in that job is they gotta have a conscience. And this guy today showed us... the sound of submission is silence." (Guest Analyst, 17:36)

7. Mullen’s Odd Claims About Secret Missions

• Theme: Mullen’s vague stories about special “missions” abroad and growing a beard to “smell war” come under sharp attack for lack of transparency and credibility.
  • Key segment:
    • 22:52–27:38: Congressional testimony on foreign travel; panelists ridicule Mullen’s “secret agent” persona.
  • Rykoff lambastes:

    "It's all so shady and just ridiculous, like he's some kind of secret agent and he's not allowed to tell us about it. I think he's ridiculous. I think he's totally unqualified, and everyone should vote no." (Rykoff, 25:54)

  • Miles Taylor:

    "It's really bad for the American people when people come into that job trying to be cops and robbers. And that's what it sounds like Mark Wayne Mullen is trying to do." (Guest Analyst, 27:38)

8. Trump DOJ Chaos: Senior Staffers, Child Porn Offenders, & Lawless Appointments

• Theme: Federal judges in New Jersey are revolting against the illegal appointment of Alina Habba as U.S. Attorney and the department's readiness to skirt the law, with disastrous effects on sensitive prosecutions.
  • Key segment:
    • 32:52–43:49: Wallace with Sarah Fitzpatrick and Harry Lippman on the DOJ debacle.
  • Quote from Judge Qurashi (read by Wallace):

    "You have lost the confidence of the court, the New Jersey legal community, and you're losing it of the entire public. Generations of DOJ attorneys build up this goodwill. You've managed to lose it all in a year." (Lippman, 36:36)

  • Lippman warns:

    “What Qurashi is getting at is illegality under any other name… They just refuse to do what every administration has done…” (Lippman, 40:26)

  • Sarah Fitzpatrick on why lawyers go along:

    “People are frightened... we have a president that is so focused on retribution in a public way... once safety gets involved in the human brain, regardless of how educated, regardless of how well you know the law, that is a major factor that can override things.” (Fitzpatrick, 41:49)

9. Veterans Mobilize Against Trump’s Wars

• Theme: New joint initiative to recruit and run independent veteran candidates to oppose Trump’s foreign policy and “forever wars.”
  • Miles Taylor:

    “If Donald Trump has one vulnerability, it is with America’s veterans.” (Guest Analyst, 29:17)

  • Paul Rykoff:

    “Forever wars are almost universally unpopular... We're going to run 100 independent veterans all across this country...” (Rykoff, 30:09)

10. Closing: Leadership, Integrity, & America in Crisis

• General Mark Hertling reflects on Trump’s approach to Iran:
  • Hertling:

    “It’s a marketer who has sold a bad product and isn’t given a guarantee behind it… when you don’t plan an operation… and you’re asking people to potentially put their life on the line to do it… that’s just dangerous.” (Hertling, 44:28)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Tell it to My Face if that's what you believe…”
  — Senator Alyssa Slotkin (00:48)
• “If we ever get to the point where you are being asked to put armed ICE officers at polling locations, we have lost the plot as a country.”
  — Senator Chris Murphy (03:33)
• “It demonstrated that he's just going to salute and do whatever President Trump tells him to do.”
  — Alyssa Slotkin (04:34)
• “It's not enough just to point at Donald Trump and say he's bad. It's not enough.”
  — Alyssa Slotkin (08:45)
• “When you punch allies and partners in the face, they don't come to help you in things... It makes us less safe.”
  — Alyssa Slotkin (14:11)
• “You have lost the confidence of the court, the New Jersey legal community, and you're losing it of the entire public. Generations of DOJ attorneys build up this goodwill. You've managed to lose it all in a year.”
  — Judge Qurashi (as quoted by Harry Lippman, 36:36)
• "The sound of submission is silence.”
  — Miles Taylor (17:36)
• "We need somebody to go into ICE... this is the opposite of a culture change."
  — Paul Rykoff (25:54)
• “It’s a marketer who has sold a bad product and isn’t given a guarantee behind it… that’s just dangerous.”
  — Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (44:28)

Major Segments & Timestamps

• Mullen’s hearing highlights, Slotkin and Murphy’s questioning: 00:48–04:34
• Election interference & civil liberties concerns: 04:34–09:50
• Iran war’s domestic impact: 09:50–13:43
• Russia and the 'Rubicon': 12:25–15:23
• Panel discussion (Taylor, Rykoff): 'Sound of submission', ICE culture: 15:50–18:59, 25:54–27:38
• Mullen’s “secret missions”: 22:52–27:38
• DOJ, Alina Haba, rule of law breakdown: 32:52–43:49
• Veteran campaign launch: 29:17–30:58
• General Hertling on Trump’s strategic failure: 44:28–45:42

Memorable Moments

• Slotkin’s direct challenge: “Tell it to my face if you think I deserved to be assaulted from behind…” (00:48)
• Murphy’s warning: “If we ever get to the point where you are being asked to put armed ICE officers at polling locations, we have lost the plot as a country…” (03:33)
• Rykoff on Mullen: “He acts like he’s a veteran, he’s a fake. …this is like doubling down and putting steroids into the culture that already exists at ICE.” (25:54)
• Sarah Fitzpatrick on legal culture under Trump: “People are frightened…once safety gets involved in the human brain…that is a major factor that can override things.” (41:49)
• Harry Lippman: “You, Department of Justice have lost the confidence of the court…the grander kind of indictment of the DOJ as a whole…” (36:36)

Conclusion

This episode underscores growing alarm on the American left and center about the Trump administration’s disregard for norms, transparency, and the rule of law—particularly around election integrity, immigration enforcement, and foreign conflicts. With vivid testimony from lawmakers, veterans’ advocates, and legal analysts, Nicolle Wallace and her guests make clear the stakes for democracy, highlighting both internal Republican dissent and the urgency for Democrats to offer real solutions. The episode ends with an appeal to integrity and sober leadership in a time of national strain.