Kimmel\u2019s comments didn\u2019t sit right with many Republicans, who saw Kimmel as disparaging toward plumbers<\/a> and blue-collar workers. The late-night host addressed the backlash during his show on Thursday.<\/p>\n “Let me make this very clear, I\u2019m not upset that the head of Homeland Security used to be a plumber. I\u2019m upset that he isn\u2019t still a plumber,” Kimmel said during his opening monologue.<\/p>\n Before becoming Homeland Security Secretary, Mullin represented Oklahoma in the House and Senate for 13 years. After high school, he attended college on a wrestling scholarship until he was 20, when his father fell ill. Mullin and his wife then postponed their college education to take over the family plumbing business.<\/a><\/p>\n MS NOW PRODUCER SLAMMED FOR ‘ELITIST’ SWIPE AT TRUMP’S DHS PICK MARKWAYNE MULLIN<\/a><\/p>\n Kimmel said he saw conservative commentators<\/a> going “nuts on every channel” over his comment and accused them of twisting his words.<\/p>\n “Of course, they decided to twist that to say it was an insult to plumbers, which it was not,” Kimmel said.<\/p>\n “I wouldn\u2019t put a plumber in charge of Homeland Security for the same reason I wouldn\u2019t call a five-star general to pull a rat out of my toilet. OK? We all have our areas of expertise,” he added.<\/p>\n Kimmel defended his criticism of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who worked as a plumber earlier in his career. “Let me make this very clear, I\u2019m not upset that the head of Homeland Security used to be a plumber. I\u2019m upset that he isn\u2019t still a plumber,” Kimmel said during his opening monologue. (Randy Holmes\/Disney via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Fox News Digital reached out to Secretary Mullin for comment but did not immediately hear back. \u00a0<\/p>\n The controversy began when Kimmel made the initial comments during his Tuesday show. He specifically discussed Mullin\u2019s past work as a plumber, comparing his qualifications to those of the Nintendo character from “Super Mario Bros.”<\/p>\n 40+ HOUSE REPUBLICANS RALLY BEHIND MARKWAYNE MULLIN FOR DHS, CALL IT A \u2018CRITICAL MOMENT\u2019 FOR BORDER SECURITY<\/a><\/p>\n “He’s the now-former senator of Oklahoma<\/a>. Before he was elected to the Senate, Markwayne Mullin was a low-level MMA fighter and a plumber. That’s right. We have a plumber protecting us from terrorism now. It worked for Super Mario. Why not Markwayne?” Kimmel said.<\/p>\n Sen. Markwayne Mullin arrived to testify during a confirmation hearing to become secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 18 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n He then suggested President Donald Trump<\/a> tap rapper Lil Wayne for Homeland Security, joking about what he called “unqualified” picks. Several Republican lawmakers came to Mullin\u2019s side online, criticizing Kimmel\u2019s comments as hurtful to working Americans.<\/p>\n JIMMY KIMMEL’S TRUMP, MELANIA DIGS AT OSCARS ‘FELL FLAT’ WITH CRITICS<\/a><\/p>\n Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., wrote on X: “The disdain for which the Democrats and Hollywood elites have for working class Americans – and folks who step up to do important jobs for their country – is shameful. These people need help.”<\/p>\n![\"Jimmy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/jimmy-kimmel-comedy-fox-news.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Sen.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/markwayne-mullin-dhs-politics-fox-news.jpg\")
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