Los Alamitos's Own in Washington: Troy Edgar Could Return as DHS Deputy Secretary Under Mullin

National Review reports the incoming DHS Secretary wants Edgar to stay — putting his El Salvador ambassador nomination in question

Troy Edgar, the former Los Alamitos mayor who rose through the Trump administration to become Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, may be staying in that post. National Review reports exclusively that incoming DHS Secretary nominee Markwayne Mullin wants Edgar as his deputy — weeks after Edgar sat before the Senate for an ambassador hearing.

Troy Edgar is not done at the Department of Homeland Security.

National Review reported this week that Sen. Markwayne Mullin — President Trump's pick to lead DHS after he fired Secretary Kristi Noem — wants Edgar to remain as his Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. That's significant, because just weeks ago, Edgar was sitting before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for a confirmation hearing to become U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador.

If Mullin gets his way, Edgar's ambassador nomination may be overtaken by events before it ever comes to a vote.

A long road from Los Alamitos

Edgar, a Navy veteran and former Boeing executive, served on the Los Alamitos City Council for over a decade and was elected mayor three times — in 2009, 2012, and 2018. His national profile rose sharply during that final term, when he led Los Alamitos' high-profile defiance of California's SB-54 sanctuary state law, which limits local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration agents. The city passed an ordinance refusing to comply, Edgar visited the White House, and the rebellion briefly spread to other Orange County cities.

Trump noticed. During his first term, Edgar was confirmed by the Senate as DHS Chief Financial Officer, overseeing a $90 billion budget. Trump nominated him as Deputy Secretary at the start of his second term, and Edgar was sworn in by Noem in March 2025.

Noem fired, Mullin incoming — and Edgar in the middle

The calculus changed this month. On March 5, hours after Edgar's ambassador nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was firing Noem and replacing her with Mullin. Edgar, still Deputy Secretary, suddenly found himself the most senior official in the building with institutional knowledge while the department awaited new leadership.

Now Mullin, if confirmed as Secretary, apparently wants to keep that arrangement. According to National Review's exclusive, Edgar is Mullin's preferred pick for Deputy Secretary — the department's chief operating officer, overseeing day-to-day management of the $90 billion agency that runs immigration enforcement, border security, and the Secret Service.

What it means

For Orange County, it's a notable storyline: a man who built his political career fighting California's sanctuary state law from the dais of a small city council in Los Alamitos is now potentially positioned as the number two official at the cabinet department that sets national immigration policy.

Edgar's ambassador nomination to El Salvador has not been formally withdrawn, and the Senate has not yet voted. But if Mullin's preference holds, the nomination may quietly fade as Edgar stays in his current post under new leadership.

Edgar's confirmation hearing for the El Salvador post drew sharp pushback from Senate Democrats, who questioned his role in two fatal ICE and CBP shootings and the deportation of over 200 Venezuelans — many with no criminal records — to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center. Edgar declined to express concern about El Salvador's human rights record in connection with those deportations.

No official announcement on Edgar's status has been made by the White House or DHS. Mullin's own confirmation as Secretary remains pending.