What began as a late-night punchline quickly became something considerably more combustible.
On Tuesday night, Jimmy Kimmel used his ABC monologue to take aim at Markwayne Mullin, the newly confirmed Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security — and the joke he chose to land on was Mullin’s pre-political career as a plumber.
By Wednesday, the bit had ignited a sharp and wide-ranging debate about class, condescension, and exactly what late-night television reveals about the cultural assumptions of those who make it. Kimmel introduced Mullin to his audience with deliberate mockery, mangling his name before zeroing in on his biography.
“He’s the now former senator of Oklahoma. 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.
He then extended the joke further, suggesting that if the Trump administration was going to keep “picking these unqualified people” to run federal departments, it might as well go further — floating rapper Lil Wayne as a hypothetical replacement, on the grounds that at least it would come with a concert.
The remarks drew laughter in the studio. Outside of it, the reaction was considerably different.
[Suggested Link: Markwayne Mullin’s background and Senate career]
The Backlash: ‘Disdain for Working-Class Americans’
On social media and in public statements, critics from across the political and media landscape described Kimmel’s joke as a window into a broader cultural problem — the dismissal of blue-collar work as inherently lesser.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., was among the first to respond, writing 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.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, kept his rebuttal brief and pointed: “I prefer plumbers to woke and unfunny comedians.”
Mark Hemingway of RealClearInvestigations added: “I would much rather be protected by plumbers than lawyers.”
Substack journalist Chris Cillizza offered a more measured take, writing simply: “Not a great look.”
Amy Curtis of Townhall.com introduced an ironic footnote, noting that Kimmel himself does not hold a college degree — save for an honorary doctorate from UNLV — raising questions about the basis for the comedian’s framing of Mullin as unqualified.
The most expansive response came from Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who used the moment to deliver a pointed defense not just of Mullin but of the entire category of work Kimmel appeared to be using as a punchline.
Collins argued that describing a U.S. Senator and cabinet secretary as merely “a plumber” failed to capture what Mullin actually built — a successful business in a competitive industry that employed multiple tradespeople and supported numerous families.
“Plumbers, truckers, builders, tradesmen, and others built this country and continue to be a vital part of our economy’s backbone,” Collins wrote. “It’s not just jobs. It’s a spirit of actually using the sweat of your brow, determination and yes, intellect, to add in a productive way to America — a land of pioneers.”
He concluded with a sweeping assessment of late-night political commentary itself: “Western civilization can’t survive without the men and women who provide blue collar services. Late night political commentary masquerading as comedy would never be missed.”
DHS Declines to Engage — With a Statement That Said Plenty
The Department of Homeland Security opted not to dignify the monologue with a detailed response — but its spokesperson’s comment was itself carefully constructed.
“DHS is too busy arresting gang members, terrorists, pedophiles, rapists, murderers, and other criminal illegal aliens to engage in this kind of silliness,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The statement declined the invitation to fight on Kimmel’s terrain while implicitly contrasting the department’s stated priorities with the concerns of a late-night television program.
The man at the center of the joke was sworn in as the nation’s ninth DHS Secretary on Tuesday, replacing outgoing secretary Kristi Noem.
His confirmation came Monday on a 54-45 Senate vote — a margin that included two Democratic senators crossing the aisle: Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. Nearly every Republican voted in favor, with one notable exception: Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who voted against Mullin’s confirmation.
Before his Senate career, Mullin did indeed work as a plumber and competed in MMA — a background that his supporters argue reflects exactly the kind of real-world experience too often absent from federal leadership, and that his critics, including Kimmel, have treated as disqualifying.
The Broader Debate Kimmel Accidentally Started
Whatever Kimmel intended — a quick laugh at the administration’s expense, a jab at the president’s cabinet picks — the response to the joke exposed a genuine cultural fault line.
The framing of a plumber as self-evidently unfit for serious responsibility landed poorly with a significant portion of the country that either works in the trades, grew up around them, or simply resents the implication that certain kinds of work are beneath dignity.
For a comedian who has positioned himself as a voice of the working and middle class over his career, the optics of mocking a man’s blue-collar past — regardless of the political target — proved difficult to defend.
Whether Kimmel responds to the criticism, or simply moves on to the next monologue, remains to be seen.
Fox News Digital has reached out for comment.