India, March 6 -- President Donald Trump has picked U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, to lead the country's Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Mullin's election follows Trump's firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her position on March 5 and his social media announcement that she would be replaced as special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, the president's security initiative against drug trafficking in the western hemisphere.

Mullin has come under fire and attracted attention to his military background in recent weeks due to remarks he made concerning the "smell of war" in Iran.

He said during an interview with Fox News, "War is ugly, smells bad, and if anybody's ever been there, and...