Newly sworn-in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin has moved quickly to assert his leadership, rolling out major changes within weeks of taking office, including plans to secure funding for the department during the ongoing partial government shutdown.

The federal government is moving to overhaul how young American men enter the military draft system, shifting from individual responsibility to automatic enrollment. Under a proposed rule from the Selective Service System (SSS), men would no longer need to register themselves within 30 days of turning 18. Instead, the government would automatically add them to the draft pool using existing federal data. The change, which could take effect as soon as December, was authorized by Congress in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act and is now under regulatory review. “This statutory change transfers responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS,” the agency says, calling it a “streamlined” system that integrates federal data sources. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), who sponsored the provision, framed it as a resource decision. “This will allow us to rededicate resources—basically that means money—towards readiness and towards mobilization,” she told the Military Times, “rather than towards education and advertising campaigns driven to register people.” For decades, the government has spent millions reminding young men to comply with a requirement that is already mandatory. Nearly all men between 18 and 25 must register under the Military Selective Service Act, and failure to do so can carry serious penalties, including fines up to $250,000, potential jail time, and loss of access to federal student aid and jobs. Despite that, compliance has slipped falling to roughly 81% in 2024, per official SSS reports. Automatic registration is designed to close that gap entirely. The United States has not used conscription since 1973, at the end of the Vietnam War, when widespread public opposition helped usher in the modern all-volunteer military. The draft system itself was later reinstated in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter as a contingency measure during the Cold War. Today, officials insist the new rule does not signal an imminent return to conscription. “It’s not part of the current plan right now,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt when asked about the possibility of a draft. “But the president … wisely keeps his options on the table.” That caveat is precisely what has fueled concern among some Americans. The idea that registration will now happen automatically, combined with ongoing instability abroad, has led critics to question whether the infrastructure for a draft is being quietly modernized. Legally, however, a draft remains a high bar. Even with a fully populated registry, the president cannot reinstate conscription unilaterally. Congress would need to pass new legislation authorizing inductions into military service. In practical terms, the policy change does not expand who is eligible, it simply ensures that those already required to register are captured in the system without relying on them to act. Women remain exempt from the system, despite efforts in Congress to expand draft eligibility in recent years. For now, the shift is framed as administrative, an efficiency measure in a sprawling federal system. The result is a policy that is, on paper, about saving money and improving compliance, but in practice touches on a far deeper question: how prepared the country is, and how much it expects from its citizens if crisis comes.

The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday blasted anti-ICE activists while flanked by families whose loved ones were killed by illegal immigrants. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons emphasized his agency’s role in cracking down on crime during a press conference about the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office, which provides resources to the victims and families of crimes committed by illegal immigrant offenders. The office was previously shut down under the Biden administration. “I just want to say on a personal note that the families you see up here I’ve become really close with. They’re part of the ICE family, but when ICE officers and special agents are demonized, called Nazis, hated …” Lyons said. “We do it for these individuals, these families who are no longer with their loved ones because they didn’t get the justice they deserve. And that’s the main reason why ICE and our law enforcement partners are out there, so these Angel Families will finally get justice.” The families standing behind Lyons praised ICE and the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. At one point, Angel Mom Agnes Gibboney, who legally immigrated to the United States from Hungary, told reporters: “I love ICE,” adding: “I love ice in my water. I love ice in my drink. I love ICE on the streets to protect us all.” Gibboney’s son, Ronald Da Silva, was shot and killed by a previously-deported illegal immigrant gangbanger in California in 2002. .@ICEDirector Todd Lyons standing in front of angel families: “When ICE officers and special agents are demonized, called nazis … We do it for these families, who are no longer with their loved ones because they didn’t get the justice they deserve and that’s the main reason… pic.twitter.com/BPk7quy17u — Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) April 9, 2026 After dismantling the VOICE office, the Biden administration replaced it with the Victims Engagement and Services Line, a service that allowed illegal immigrant detainees to report abuse in ICE detention centers while also providing updates on immigration cases to their lawyers, CBS News reported at the time. Illegal immigrants could also use the service to obtain visas if they were victims of human trafficking or other crimes in the United States. Trump established the VOICE office in his first term and reopened it in his second term. Since then, more than 500 victims have reached out to the office for help, according to its website. Roughly 55% of the reported crimes committed by illegal immigrants involved assault, rape and sexual assault, and homicide or manslaughter.

Principal Kirk Moore leapt into action when an armed former student walked into his school on Tuesday and opened fire, sustaining a bullet wound to the leg as he worked to disarm and then restrain him. Moore, principal of Pauls Valley High School in Oklahoma, was the only person injured when former student Victor Hawkins, 20, entered the school on Tuesday afternoon armed with two semi-automatic handguns and immediately told everyone to “get on the ground.” According to local NBC affiliate KFOR, Hawkins pointed a gun at a student in the entryway and pulled the trigger, but his firearm malfunctioned and he ducked behind a nearby vending machine in order to clear it. When he stepped out again, he fired at another student — but he missed, and the student put his hands in the air and asked him not to shoot again. Hawkins, according to the report, then lowered his gun and told both students to get out — and they ran for the exit. Upon hearing the commotion and the gunfire, Principal Moore came out of his office — and Hawkins fired again. Moore confronted the shooter directly and wrestled the firearm away, but took a bullet to the leg in the process. He and his assistant principal restrained Hawkins by lying on top of him, and were able to keep him restrained until law enforcement arrived. Moore was flown to Oklahoma University Health in Oklahoma City, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to his leg and is expected to make a full recovery. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) investigators interviewed the suspect, who said that his intent had been to shoot students, members of the faculty, and eventually himself. The firearms — which he had stolen from a closet — and the truck he had driven to the school belonged to his father. In the interview, Hawkins also stated that he had intended to kill Principal Moore specifically, and that he’d “wanted to conduct his own school shooting like the Columbine shooters did.” Hawkins was arrested and charged with shooting with intent to kill, two counts of pointing a firearm and two counts of unlawful carry. He was booked at the Garvin County Jail, where he is being held on $1 million bond. “Principal Moore acted bravely to protect students’ lives,” Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) said. “Sarah and I are praying for his quick recovery. I’m thankful for the swift response from law enforcement and school staff, and I’m grateful no students were harmed.”

'It feels unprofessional'