Analyzing Trump’s Cabinet with Senator Mullin | 2.23.25

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary: Analyzing Trump’s Cabinet with Senator Mullin | February 23, 2025

Published on February 23, 2025

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Introduction

In the February 23, 2025 episode of Morning Wire, hosts John Bickley and Georgia Howe engage in a comprehensive discussion with Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. The focus centers on President Donald Trump's impressive pace in confirming Cabinet nominees, the strategic maneuvers of the Republican Party within the Senate, and the broader implications for the GOP's legislative agenda. This summary delves into the key topics, insights, and conclusions presented during the episode.

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Rapid Cabinet Confirmations Under President Trump

John Bickley opens the discussion by highlighting the unprecedented speed of President Trump's Cabinet confirmations. "So far, President Trump is batting a thousand on confirmations for his Cabinet secretary nominees," he states (00:03). Notable confirmations include Kash Patel as FBI Director and Linda Chavez Darimer as Labor Secretary, marking the fastest confirmation pace since 2001.

Cash Patel’s FBI Nomination

The conversation shifts to Kash Patel's nomination, with Georgia Howe posing a critical question to Senator Mullen: “Why do you believe we need somebody that's been called a quote, unquote, disruptor like him to lead the FBI?” (00:56).

Senator Mark Wayne Mullen passionately defends Patel, describing him as a "disruptor" who has consistently "chased the facts and exposed the wrongs" within the FBI (01:07). Mullen emphasizes Patel's role as a whistleblower and his commitment to refocusing the FBI on its core mission of protecting American citizens, free from political manipulation. He asserts, “He's there to support the field agents and put them back on mission focus of protecting American people” (01:07).

GOP Strategy and Senate Leadership

Georgia Howe inquires about the factors contributing to the smooth confirmation process, questioning whether it stems from GOP majorities or a weakened Democratic opposition (02:37).

Senator Mullen attributes the success to a combination of strong Republican majorities and effective Senate leadership by Leader Thune. He explains the meticulous scheduling and procedural tactics employed to expedite confirmations, such as invoking cloture to limit debate time. "Leader Thune has not let up the pressure at all, not one bit on the Democrats" (05:09), Mullen asserts, highlighting the relentless drive to maintain momentum in the confirmation process.

Lori Chavez Darimer’s Nomination and Labor Relations

The episode delves into the nomination of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez Darimer, a figure previously controversial on the right due to her pro-union stance and past work with Planned Parenthood (05:09).

Senator Mullen discusses Darimer's strategic significance in building the President's unique coalition, which successfully garnered 63% of the Native American vote and 59% of union support. He emphasizes the necessity of compromising on certain issues to broaden the GOP’s appeal: “We have to stay true to our values, but understand we're accepting individuals that we may not 100% agree to, but we got to show them some love” (05:33). Mullen credits Darimer as a key factor in maintaining and expanding the Republican base by finding common ground with traditionally opposing groups.

Legislative Priorities: Deregulation and Energy

Georgia Howe shifts the focus to Senator Mullen's role in the Senate GOP deputy whip team and his legislative priorities (09:02).

Senator Mullen outlines his commitment to deregulation, particularly in the energy sector. He explains that reducing regulatory burdens is essential for lowering energy costs and combating inflation: “If you're going to bring down inflation, you got to bring down energy” (09:14). Mullen advocates for stable and long-term policies that encourage investment in energy, arguing that consistent legislative frameworks are crucial for sustained economic growth and stability.

DOGE and Elon Musk’s Government Role

In a surprising turn, Georgia Howe introduces the topic of DOGE and its leader, Elon Musk (10:38), prompting Senator Mullen to share his perspective.

Mullen critiques Musk's involvement with federal government projects, likening Musk’s role to that of an unbiased consultant focused on eliminating waste and fraud: “He's looking at these programs from an unbiased perspective. Just the numbers” (10:48). He praises DOGE for exposing inefficiencies and advocating for taxpayer-favorable practices, suggesting that such roles are beneficial for government accountability and transparency.

Trump’s Approval Ratings and Momentum

Concluding the episode, Georgia Howe references President Trump's soaring approval ratings, which Mullen corroborates with impressive statistics from Oklahoma: “His numbers in Oklahoma. He has 84% highly favorable numbers in Oklahoma” (13:08). Mullen attributes this success to the strategic nominations and legislative actions that resonate with voters, reinforcing Trump’s strong position and the GOP's growing momentum.

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Conclusion

The episode of Morning Wire featuring Senator Mark Wayne Mullen provides an insightful analysis of President Trump’s Cabinet confirmations, the GOP’s strategic Senate maneuvers, and the broader legislative agenda focused on deregulation and energy. Mullen's discussions underscore the Republican Party's efforts to build a diverse coalition, maintain legislative momentum, and address critical economic issues. Additionally, the conversation touches on the innovative role of Elon Musk and DOGE in enhancing government efficiency. Overall, the episode highlights a period of significant Republican advancement and strategic positioning within the current political landscape.

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For those interested in the full conversation, tune into the February 23, 2025 episode of Morning Wire presented by The Daily Wire.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

So far, President Trump is batting a thousand on confirmations for his Cabinet secretary nominees. Just this week, Kash Patel was confirmed as director of the FBI while Labor Secretary Linda Chavez Darimer seems to have secured the support of the Senate. This is the fastest pace since 2001.

[Georgia Howe]

In this episode, we sit down with Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen to discuss Trump's Cabinet nominees, the Republicans strategic approach to the confirmation process and the significance of the GOP's big tense strategy. I'm Daily Wire Editor in Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Sunday, February 23rd, and this is a weekend edition of Morning Wire. Joining us to discuss the rapid fire series of confirmations and where the Trump cabinet and agenda stands now is Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. Senator, first of all, thank you so much for joining us.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

It's my honor. Thanks for having me on.

[Georgia Howe]

So let's start with Cash Patel. You've been a strong advocate for Patel. Why do you believe we need somebody that's been called a quote, unquote, disruptor like him to lead the FBI?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

You know, I would describe him as a disruptor. I would say he's someone that chases the facts and exposed the wrongs or the hypocrisy or the COVID ups that FBI was doing. He did this way before he was even being considered to be the director of FBI. He was a whistleblower before people were even looking into it. You take somebody like him who understands the intel system, understands the mission of the FBI and has been concerned about them, concerned enough back years ago that he was willing to expose it. Why wouldn't you want somebody like that? Because he's, he's not there to destroy the FBI. He's there to get them back on mission focus. He's there to support the field agents and put them back on mission focus of protecting American people, not taking directive orders from a Democrat party that's wanting to investigate students for showing up to school board meetings or classifying Catholics. And I'm not joking when I say this as a possible terrorist because they disagreed with the Democrat, you know, agenda, especially at this time when it came to abortions. That was what that was all about. It's concerning that they had weaponized the Democrat Party, had weaponized the FBI for political gain and political purposes. What Cash is going to do is put them back on mission focus. That means he's going to reform the seventh floor of the Hoover Building and take the politics out of it and put American people back in focus.

[Georgia Howe]

Thus far, all of President Trump's nominees have gotten through the confirmation process relatively smoothly. Is this simply due to GOP majorities or do you believe that the Democrat opposition has been weakened by Trump's mandate?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

I think you got a little bit of both. I think the American people spoke very loud on November 5 when he won the popular vote and obviously electoral vote. I think the Democrat Party is trying to reorganize and find themselves and they can't. They keep reverting back to 2017 rhetoric. And I hope they stay there because they stay there, we're going to continue to win elections. But at the same time, what you've seen is a new leader in the Senate with Leader Thune. He is just 100% grinding the Democrats down from the get go. He said we can do this the hard way or we can do this the easy way. It's up to you. And so once the president got confirmed and sworn into office on the 20th, what we did is we immediately started the clock on these nominees and these nominees haven't stopped. And what I mean by the clock, just explain to your listeners after they get out of committee, which we already had people preset. So first of all, Leader Thune directed the chairs of the committees to get started on the hearings early, even before Trump was sworn into office, which that normally doesn't take place. So he preset, it came in on January 3rd. President wasn't going to get sworn until January 20th, but we already started hearings so we could get them reported out of committee onto the floor for the hearing. So starting on January 20, he started the clock on these nominees. Once they get reported out of committee, it's called a 24 hour soak. And then if they're a cabinet position, meaning a secretary, it is a 30 hour debate. So that's when we say we're invoking Cloture, it's a 30 hour debate. So it's 54 hours on Secretary levels, on directors like Cash Patel. When you invoke cloture on them, you have a two hour debate. So while you still have a 24 hour soak, you only have two hours of debate on that person. So you can move those faster. And he has literally kept that clock running 2477 days a week. Even when we're not here, the Democrats will negotiate and said if you don't make us stay over on the weekend, we'll allow the clocks to run consecutively even though we're not here. So we'll go ahead and invoke cloture on the next person. So when we get back here on day, we can confirm two people at once. That's why we're so far ahead, is because Leader Thune has not let up the pressure at all, not one bit on the Democrats.

[Georgia Howe]

Really not wasting a second there. Wednesday was the hearing for Labor Secretary Lori Chavez Darimer. She was somewhat controversial on the right because of her past support of pro union policies and her past work for Planned Parenthood. You were one of her key proponents even suggesting her nomination to President Trump. How do you envision her impacting labor relations in the current political climate?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Well, you have to go back to the coalition that President Trump has built. So President Trump has brought a unique coalition together. Right. Let's just look at Tulsi. That conversation started over two years ago between President Trump and I when he asked, how do I get Libertarian and Independents to vote for us? We don't have to win their vote, but we need to increase the percentages. I said, let's bring Tulsi in immediately. That relationship started. Tulsi's relationship with Bobby is what brought Bobby onto the campaign and the President, I mean, quickly. And when he asked for me to be a surrogate to Indian country for him, even though a Republican hadn't won Indian country since Nixon, President Trump wanted to put a special interest towards them. And so he ended up winning 63% of the native American vote. He, when he asked, do you think we can win it? I said, sir, you win all 77 counties in Oklahoma, and there's no greater population of Native American tribes in one area other than Oklahoma. And I said, so if you can win it in Oklahoma, you can win it nationally. When you start looking at the unions. He asked right after Sean O'Brien, who. Him and I had, obviously public, very public disagreements. Yeah. He asked us just a couple months later, hey, I need you guys to work together. And his phone call to me was, is, hey, listen, we need the union votes. I want you to make friends with Sean. I believe you guys will get along. I talked to him. You guys actually have a lot in common. He asked Sean to do the same thing. We got in a room together, and we've been friends ever since that day. And so the coalition that the President has brought together is unique. At the same time, we have to understand that we can't always use this conservative purity test when the President has got a mandate from the American people, that he's working for everybody. And that means this new coalition. We have to stay true to our values, but understand we're accepting individuals that we may not 100% agree to, but we got to show them some love, and Lori represents that. We have our differences. Obviously, we're a right to work state. I'm a very proud right to work state. That's what started the whole confrontation, honestly, between Sean and I. But at the same time, the unions have a place in this country, and I recognize that there's not a successful business that doesn't have successful employees, and there's not an employee that has a good job that doesn't have a business to work for. So they take both of us. Lori was a great compromise. It was one of those areas that, yeah, we're going to give the unions a Nod. We won 59% of the union vote, which he's the first Republican president to do that in decades. We're going to give you a little nod, agree that we disagree on some issues, but we're going to find common ground to work for because they're looking for a party right now. The Democrat WOKE agenda doesn't fit the workforce that we have in America right now. And so Sean and I spoke. Sean actually brought Lori to me and said, what do you think about Lori? I think this is someone that the unions can support. And I said, I think that's a great idea. Let's talk to the president about it. So we both visit with the president at different times about it. The president loved the idea, and that's how it happened. And so I get some of my conservative friends out there had reservation about it. But if we want to continue to win elections for the Republican Party and not go down this socialist woke agenda that the Biden administration was trying to move us towards, then we got to understand we're going to have to allow some people in our party that we can welcome in and start working on things we have in common, not just focus on the differences.

[Georgia Howe]

Well, that Big Ten approach clearly paid dividends in this last election for Trump. Winning percentages of demographics. We haven't seen Republicans win in decades, as you said.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

That's right.

[Georgia Howe]

Now you're a member of the Senate GOP deputy whip team, which allows you to influence the legislative agenda significantly. What are your top legislative priorities for the 119th Congress?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Well, deregulation is my. My biggest focus in the deregulation on the business sector. You got to start with certain focuses. My certain focus is in energy. And by the way, President Trump is all on board on this, too. Not just because it's my agenda, because he sees it the same way, because we both come from A business perspective. I tell everybody you make decisions and it's world based on two things, the way you raise your life experience. My life experience is business. And you understand when you're in business that everything that you factor as a cost starts and begins with energy. You can't build a product and you can't deliver a product without factoring in the energy cost because it takes energy to build it and takes energy to deliver it. So it's always a baseline add on when you're talking about costs. So if you're going to bring down inflation, you got to bring down energy. The only way we bring down energy prices is you got to make it conducive that people can trust their investment, long term investment. And not just four years at a time, but most energy companies are investing 15, 20 years at a time when they look at returns. So you got to have stability in the energy market and that means you got to have deregulation. That's not just an executive order, but it's legislation and made into law so it can't be overturned like day one, Joe Biden did to the Trump administration and 17 coming out in 20. And so stability in the regulatory market is my number one goal.

[Georgia Howe]

Final question. The big bugaboo for Democrats is DOGE and its leader, Elon Musk. How do you and your Republican colleagues in the Senate feel about how it's going about its business?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

I can't speak for everybody in the Senate, especially my colleagues, but I'll take it back to what I said earlier. We all make decisions based on race and, and in our life experiences. So when you look from a business perspective, not a political perspective, you understand that every successful business out there, large or small, has hired a consultant at some point to come in and overlook their business operations. Not that they don't know what they're doing, it's just that a consultant comes in from an unbiased perspective and just simply looks at numbers. And as a business owner, sometimes you can have pet projects that you just continue to dump money into. That doesn't make any sense and there's no way for it to be successful. But you're so, so invested in it. You just can't find a way out. And when a consultant looks at it goes, hey, this makes no sense. It opens your eyes up. Well, take, take politics for example. You've got someone that's been in there for 40 years, they got a project in their state that it doesn't make any sense to continue to do it because it's outdated but they're personally connected to it and they're not going to let it pass. Well, you take Elon Musk, who's the most successful entrepreneur we've had in our lifetime, and he's working for the federal government as a free consultant. Consultants are typically expensive. He's doing it for free and giving his resources free. And he's looking at these programs from an unbiased perspective. Just the numbers. Does it work for the taxpayers? Does it make sense how much waste, fraud and abuse is in the taxpayer dollar right now? And he's exposing it at record rates. I don't even know if you can say record rates. Alarming rates. And reason why I say alarming is because you go, why haven't we seen this? I mean, just take Social Security only. And you see the amount of people that's over 150, that's still on Social Security. Or I'm going, I don't remember seeing that report. We celebrate people when they turned 100, and you typically see those in the paper. 150, I think that'd be pretty much news. I haven't seen any of these individuals, but they're still on the books for Social Security. Just simply cleaning up things like that makes a huge difference. But that's what a consultant can do, and that's the role that Doge is playing with Elon Musk. And I look at it from that perspective. Like I said, I can't talk to my other colleagues and see how they look at it. But that's what I've been on, all these media outlets saying the same thing that I am to you and argue with that perspective. You can't, because it does make sense. That's why private companies do it.

[Georgia Howe]

Yeah, it doesn't. I think it's making sense to a lot of Americans as they watch this. The approval rating show that Trump's approval is higher than it's ever been. Job approval better than ever in his first term. So things are going pretty well. He's got a lot of momentum right now.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

His numbers in Oklahoma. He has 84% highly favorable numbers in Oklahoma. Literally, the numbers just came out the other day. And I'm like, that is. It's just. It blows my mind that his numbers are that good and that. I'm just speaking for Oklahoma. His numbers obviously are good across the country because you see them.

[Georgia Howe]

Wow. Well, Senator, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Thank you. Appreciate it.

[Georgia Howe]

That was Senator Mark Wayne Mullen of Oklahoma, and this has been a Weekend Edition of morning wire.