Secretary Markwayne Mullin faces a critical test as he takes the helm at the Department of Homeland Security: reversing a sharp decline in morale or risking operational and national security consequences.
Strain on the workforce has implications for staffing, enforcement capacity, and the agency’s national security mission, current and former officials said. DHS observers are divided on whether
“He needs to stop the bleeding,” said Stewart Verdery, a senior DHS official under President George W. Bush.
Low morale has plagued agencies across the federal government amid downsizing and policy shifts over the past year, but DHS conditions worsened sharply under former Secretary Kristi Noem, current and former officials said.
They point to Noem and senior adviser Corey Lewandowski’s heightened monitoring of employees, strict controls on spending, and rhetoric about eliminating parts of the department and firing “people who don’t like us.”
An extended funding lapse last year and another ongoing shutdown have caused additional strain, forcing tens of thousands of DHS workers to be furloughed or work without pay. A DHS spokesperson faulted Democrats for the shutdown’s impact on workers and credited Mullin and President Donald Trump for working to find a solution.
“The worst thing for morale is working without pay for more than 40 days,” the spokesperson said. “Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Mullin, the department is working to get DHS employees paid.”
Even as the shutdown appears to be nearing an end, current and former officials said its effects—burnout, turnover pressures, and eroded trust—are likely to linger as Mullin’s tenure progresses.
“Markwayne Mullin has walked into a mess,” said Janet Napolitano, homeland security secretary under President Barack Obama.
Further deterioration of morale could have national security implications, she added, pointing to the added pressures of the FIFA World Cup and the ongoing war in Iran.
‘Sense of Paranoia’
Current and former employees across the agency describe a workplace culture that, if left unaddressed, could discourage dissent and limit internal feedback—factors that experts said are critical for effective policymaking and oversight.
“At DHS, you couldn’t make morale lower if you tried,” said one former employee who left the agency early March and requested anonymity due to concerns for colleagues.
Ruark Hotopp, national vice president of the employee union AFGE District 8, said employees told him of being forced to work in cramped or inadequate spaces—such as folding chairs and even closets—after teleworking was rolled back.
Others pointed to a culture of heightened scrutiny where minor mistakes could carry outsized consequences, including accounts of employees being reprimanded or dismissed over small errors in internal memos, said Hotopp, a former US Citizenship and Immigration Services employee.
A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee who recently left the agency, described long hours and exhaustion, with officers routinely working extended shifts that strained morale and led to tensions among colleagues.
“There’s a real sense of paranoia,” one DHS official said. “You have to watch what you say and who you say it to—you don’t know who you can trust.”
Survey data underscores the scale of the challenge ahead.
In a recent poll by the Partnership for Public Service, just 12.6% of DHS employees expressed confidence in political leaders and 26% said they were satisfied with their workplace—compared with roughly 30% to 35% government-wide—placing DHS among the lowest-ranked large agencies on key morale indicators.
A similar but not directly comparable survey the Office of Personnel Management conducted for 2024 showed 60% of respondents had a high level respect for senior DHS leaders and more than 60% were satisfied with the workplace. DHS has struggled with low morale for years since its inception but saw some improvements during President Joe Biden’s administration.
Partnership for Public Service CEO Max Stier said his group’s new figures point to unusually low levels of trust that could take sustained effort to reverse.
Some officials warned that unresolved workplace issues could be flashpoints early in Mullin’s tenure, particularly after legal battles over collective bargaining rights for Transportation Security Administration workers and others.
Leadership transitions have created a “grilling experience” for employees, exacerbating tensions between political appointees and career staff within DHS components, said Matthew Hudak, a former Customs and Border Protection official who left in 2023. Mullin has to fix bridges and give offices “the lead,” he added.
Odds of Success
Mullin has signaled he’s aware of the challenges ahead, pledging during his confirmation hearing to bring a steadier management approach.
In his first message to the workforce, Mullin praised employees for working through the DHS shutdown and vowed to fight to ensure they get paid, calling it his “number one priority” as he takes over the agency.
But DHS observers are divided over whether Mullin can turn the department around.
“Markwayne is no dummy,” said Rep.
Mullin met with DHS policy office leaders ahead of his confirmation and signaled that he’ll allow officials to operate with more independence, said one DHS employee who spoke anonymously to discuss internal matters.
“That may mean less pressure on DHS employees to toe the line with respect to White House rhetoric,” the employee said. “We had to be careful about how we phrased things in any communication that could be seen by Noem and/or Lewandowski.”
Napolitano was more skeptical, offering a blunt “good luck” and citing Mullin’s lack of experience. She added that she doesn’t expect meaningful change as Mullin carries out Trump’s immigration agenda.
Rep.
Noem “set the bar so low,” he said, “that the only way now is up.”
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