Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin repeatedly refused Tuesday to commit to following court orders from judges who rule that the Department of Homeland Security is acting illegally.

In his first appearance on Capitol Hill since confirmation as secretary two months ago, the former Oklahoma Republican senator told lawmakers that DHS “will never break the Constitution, and we’re not going to break the law.” But Mullin also would not vow to abide by rulings from judges.

“If we didn’t think courts were politicized, then I would probably be able to answer that,” Mullin said. “But we see courts over and over again that use their bench for their political opinion, not just the rule of law.”

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the top Democrat on the panel that funds DHS, noted that even Republican-appointed judges have said the department has violated almost 100 court orders this year. The senator cited that noncompliance as the main factor fueling the ongoing partisan feud over DHS funding that led to the longest funding lapse in U.S. history this year.

“This is a really important discussion for us to have, because this is — whether you want to believe it or not — at the root of our disagreement,” Murphy said, adding, “it is very hard for us to figure out how to fund an agency that is violating the law.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer would share no details Tuesday afternoon of his meeting earlier in the day with Graham Platner — the embattled candidate for a Maine Senate seat who was not the New York Democrat’s first choice for challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

“I met with Graham Platner today,” Schumer told reporters at his weekly news conference. “We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”

Schumer’s comments came as Platner faces a litany of potentially damaging scandals, the latest involving revelations he exchanged sexual text messages with other women while he was married. Schumer initially backed Maine Gov. Janet Mills as his choice to take on Collins.

Mills suspended her campaign in April, prompting Schumer and others to endorse Platner, an oysterman with populist appeal, but over the weekend insisted she never actually withdrew or dropped out of the race, allowing her name to remain on the primary election ballot.

Schumer did not respond directly to questions about whether he prefers Platner or Mills to run at this point.

Speaker Mike Johnson said he is deferring to President Donald Trump on his choice of housing official Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

“The president has the right to make those confirmations or appointments, and the Senate, you know, has to weigh in as well,” Johnson said in an interview. “So, we’ll see what happens. It’s a very important position.”

Asked if he was concerned Pulte doesn’t have intelligence experience, Johnson shook his head no.