Sen. Markwayne Mullin is a member of which Native American tribe?

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, is set to be the next Department of Homeland Security secretary, replacing Kristi Noem, who was fired by President Donald Trump on March 5.

If confirmed, Mullin — a citizen of the Cherokee Nation — would make history as the first Native American to lead DHS, marking a rare moment of Indigenous representation at the Cabinet level and placing a tribal citizen at the helm of one of the federal government's most powerful agencies.

Trump announced the decision in a post on Truth Social, praising Mullin as “A MAGA Warrior.”

Mullin would follow in the footsteps of Deb Haaland, who became the first Native American to serve as a U.S. Cabinet secretary when she was confirmed on March 15, 2021, to lead the Department of the Interior under President Joe Biden. A member of the Pueblo of Laguna, she is a 35th-generation New Mexican.

Here is what you need to know.

Markwayne Mullin's ties to the Cherokee Nation

Mullin is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, according to his website biography, and the first tribal citizen to serve in the U.S. Senate in nearly two decades following the retirement of Colorado's Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2005.

After Trump announced Mullin as his pick to lead DHS, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. congratulated the senator, calling the nomination a moment of collective significance for the tribe and a "testament to the resilience, capability and enduring impact of our people."

Mullin is also just the second member of the Cherokee Nation ever to serve in the U.S. Senate. The first was Robert L. Owen, a Democrat who represented Oklahoma from 1907 to 1925, according to Senate records.

USA TODAY’s Dinah Pulver and Mary Walrath-Holdridge contributed to this report.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.