WATCH LIVE: The Senate is expected to vote to confirm Mullen as Homeland Security secretary

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is on track to confirm Markwayne Mullen as Homeland Security secretary, President Donald Trump’s nominee to take over the embattled department after Kristi Noem was fired amid a public backlash over the administration’s mass immigration enforcement and deportation operations.

The Senate meets at 3 p.m. EST. Watch the live stream in our video player above.

Mullen, the Republican senator from Oklahoma known for his close friendship with Trump, tried to present himself as a steady hand, saying his goal as secretary would be to get the department off the front page of news. But he disagreed with the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who questioned Mullen’s character and temperament during his confirmation hearing last week.

He watches: Mullen criticized his previous statements at a tense DHS confirmation hearing

Senators advanced Mullen’s nomination on Sunday during a rare weekend session on a largely party-line vote, and he is expected to be confirmed late Monday.

He will take over the head of the Department of Homeland Security at a difficult time. Routine funding for the department has been shut down, leading to long waits at US airports during the busy spring break travel season, as Democrats demand changes to immigration enforcement operations after the deaths of US citizens during this year’s protests in Minneapolis.

He watches: Senate Homeland Security Committee advances nomination of Markwayne Mullen to Department of Homeland Security

Trump announced over the weekend that he was ordering immigration officers to assist Transportation Security Administration agents, something that lawmakers and others warned could escalate tensions at crowded airports.

An MMA fighter takes on a homeland security mission

While the senator arrives at the position after more than a dozen years in Congress, and with management experience running an expansive family plumbing business in Oklahoma, he has not been seen as a major force on immigration issues.

A former mixed martial arts fighter and college wrestler who led early morning training sessions at his members-only home gym, he became close to members of both parties and is often seen as a negotiator in partisan Washington.

He watches: A look at Mullen’s rise from MMA fighter to MAGA warrior and DHS nomination

It is his loyalty to Trump that has landed him in this position, and he is not expected to deviate from the president’s approach. Mullen was a vocal supporter of Trump’s immigration agenda and ICE officers before he was tapped for the DHS job.

“I can have different opinions with everyone in this room, but as Secretary of the Interior I will protect everyone,” Mullen said during his confirmation hearing.

Immigration enforcement at the center of funding gridlock

Mullen’s first challenge will be to restore routine funding for the department that has been blocked since mid-February when Democrats demanded that immigration officers face tougher restrictions. They want immigration officials to identify themselves and not wear masks; Refrain from enforcement operations around schools, churches, hospitals and other sensitive locations; Wear body cameras. Obtaining the judge’s approval for search warrants before entering people’s homes or private places.

At his confirmation hearing last week, Mullen sought to portray himself as a steady hand at a pivotal time for the agency — an image that the committee’s chairman, Republican Senator Rand Paul, disputed in a heated debate. Democrats are also skeptical, seeing him as a loyal enforcer of Trump’s agenda.

Read more: Mullen, Trump’s security pick, is poised to inherit a challenging Department of Homeland Security

Paul voted against Mullen in committee and did not vote on Sunday when Mullen’s nomination advanced by 54 votes to 37, with Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joining most Republicans.

Mullen comes to office at a time when public support for the president’s immigration agenda has declined after a year of high-profile operations in multiple US cities. Under Noem’s leadership, officers have been accused of using force to arrest immigrants, detaining them in squalid conditions, and bypassing due process to quickly deport immigrants.

He walked back some of his comments during his confirmation hearing, saying he was wrong to insult protester Alex Peretti after an ICE officer shot and killed him, and saying that as secretary he would withhold judgment before conducting an investigation.

He highlighted other ways he might influence policy when it comes to immigration. For example, he said officers would be required to use a warrant signed by a judge — not the administrative warrants that ICE officers now use — to enter a home except in rare cases.

He acknowledged some communities’ concerns about massive ICE detention facilities being built in their neighborhoods, and said cutting off federal funds to so-called sanctuary authorities that don’t work with ICE would be a last resort.

But ultimately, it is the White House that sets the agenda when it comes to how Trump’s vision for immigration enforcement is implemented, and Mullen is expected to follow suit. Trump faces a powerful lobby within the Republican Party that is pushing him to fulfill his promise to deport 1 million people a year.

FEMA and federal disaster aid are in a constant state of flux

Mullen will also be busy charting a new course at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has drawn scrutiny as it delivers disaster aid to parts of the country hard hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters.

A growing number of critics, even fellow Republicans, have said Noem’s policy of personally approving contracts worth more than $100,000 has slowed disaster response, and the department still does not have a full-time director.

Mullen presented a new approach to FEMA during his Senate confirmation hearing, rejecting the idea of ​​abolishing FEMA and saying he would eliminate the Noem contract approval rule.