Internal memos hint at Mullin’s first changes as DHS secretary
The Department of Homeland Security is moving to rescind a rule that required Cabinet-level approval for contracts exceeding $100,000, according to internal documents, shifting away from one of Kristi Noem’s most contested policies.
In Markwayne Mullin’s first week as secretary, employees with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were informed that top-level department approval is now needed only for contracts valued at $25 million and above. It was not clear if the new policy applied to the entire Department of Homeland Security or only to ICE.
A DHS spokesperson said that the agency is “reviewing our internal policies” and that there were “no new internal policies to announce at this time.”
The previous policy, established under Noem, prompted bipartisan criticism from department officials and lawmakers who said it delayed the approval of grants and contracts for vital tasks like emergency preparedness and anti-terrorism activities. They said it also contributed to a slowdown in getting help to communities recovering from natural disasters.
Mullin, who was confirmed this week, is taking over DHS at a time when the agency has been partially shut down for more than a month and the American public has increasingly soured on the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. President Donald Trump removed Noem from her role in early March, after she was pressed during a Senate hearing on a $200 million ad campaign that she starred in last year.
Mullin is a Trump loyalist who is expected to continue carrying out the administration’s hard-line immigration measures. But he indicated during his confirmation hearing that he would rescind the $100,000 review policy, telling senators he was “not a micromanager.” And in his first days as secretary, there have been some changes.
ICE has slowed down the process of issuing contracts to turn several warehouses into large-scale immigrant holding centers, according to an internal memo sent Tuesday and obtained by the Washington Post.
ICE spent roughly $1 billion in recent months to purchase 11 warehouses across the country, and agency leaders set an ambitious timeline for transforming them into detention centers. DHS had stated that the first facility would begin accepting detainees in April. The agency issued its first contracts earlier in March to retrofit and operate warehouses in Arizona and Maryland.
The new memo states that ICE is planning to revise its proposals and incorporate feedback from stakeholders before issuing contracts for the remaining buildings. All detention center contracts will require Mullin’s approval, by virtue of their size.
DHS implemented a review of all contracts and grants that exceed $25 million at the start of the second Trump administration, according to a former senior Federal Emergency Management Agency official who served during that time period. Noem eventually changed the policy to require approval for any spending over $100,000 across the agency, the official said.
A Washington Post analysis of federal contracting data found that about 31 % of DHS contracts awarded since Trump’s inauguration exceeded $100,000. Only about 1 % of contracts exceeded $25 million.
Noem’s contract review policy disproportionately hindered FEMA, which awards massive contracts and funds disaster aid projects that frequently exceed $100,000. Several current and former FEMA officials said that they expected the $100,000 review process to be rescinded soon but had not seen official confirmation.
Seven employees across FEMA said there has been more movement on contracts in recent weeks. Two officials said that contracts under $10 million have been getting approved at the agency level now.
One senior official said it would be “a great move” to lose the cumbersome review process because of all the chaos and frustration it has caused.
At his confirmation hearing, Mullin said he did not believe that rescinding Noem’s policy would compromise the integrity of the contract approval process.
“We’re also going to be very responsible for the taxpayer dollars,” he said. “But it’s unrealistic to some degree, adding so much red tape.”