DHS Secretary Mullin defends livestreaming Hasan execution on Face the Nation

Mixed · 2Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Oct. 11, 2026, and defended the Pentagon's plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. 1 2 Mixed · 2Hasan, a former Army major and psychiatrist, is set to die by firing squad on Dec. 3 for the 2009 attack at Fort Hood, Texas; CBS reports 13 people were killed, while the Washington Examiner says 14 died, counting an unborn baby. 1 2 Mixed · 2Asked by Brennan whether livestreaming risks making Hasan a martyr, noting that he is in a wheelchair, Mullin said "no one has to watch it" and that he sees no "elevated risk" to the homeland. 3 2

Left · 1Mullin said, "if you attack America, we will come after you, and we will make sure that the punishment fits the crime," said he has "no sympathy" for Hasan and gives "absolutely zero thought to the way that this man dies." He also said he follows President Trump as commander in chief. 1 3 Left · 1Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the livestream last week. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski called it a "gruesome decision" that would give Hasan "the martyrdom he seeks", and Brennan said Sen. Kevin Cramer shares the concern that it gives terrorists an audience. 1 3 Mixed · 2Whether it will go ahead is unsettled: Vice President JD Vance said he would not watch if it is livestreamed, and President Trump said on Saturday he will "make a decision, ultimately," though the Washington Examiner notes he earlier said it would "absolutely" be broadcast. 1 2

Left · 1On Hurricane Isaias, which Brennan said made landfall Friday night, killed four people and left hundreds of thousands without power, Mullin said FEMA had pre-positioned assets in every state, governors were "in good shape", and Coast Guard work was now mostly boat recovery rather than rescues of people. 3 Left · 1On a recent DHS shooting in New York City, Brennan noted CBS counts at least 30 DHS officer-involved shootings under the Trump administration and asked when body-camera footage would be released. Mullin said the NYPD pole-camera video was incomplete, that the FBI and HSI are investigating, and that information would be released when that is completed. 3 Left · 1Mullin described the man targeted as a person named Oscar with a long criminal record who had evaded officers a month earlier, said he accelerated when officers approached and put his five-year-old at risk, and said officers did not know the child was in the car; he also criticised the New York mayor and governor. Brennan noted officials had issued a statement and visited an injured NYPD officer. These claims are Mullin's own and the transcript does not show them independently verified. 3