Markwayne Mullin

RepublicanSecretary of Homeland Security

Age	48 (b. 1977-07-26)
Gender	Male
In office since	2025-01-20 (~1 yrs)
Race / ethnicity	Native American (enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation); Cherokee through maternal grandfather
Religion	Christian (Pentecostal; family attended Coweta Assembly of God Church)
Education	Graduated Stilwell High School (1996); attended Missouri Valley College on a wrestling scholarship; earned an Associate in Applied Science (Plumbing) from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in 2010; received an honorary doctorate from Bacone College in 2018. Was the only U.S. senator in the 118th Congress without a bachelor's degree.
Prior occupation	Businessman (owner of Mullin Plumbing and affiliated home-services/environmental/ranching companies); former professional mixed martial arts fighter; radio talk-show host
Military service	No
Birthplace	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Marital status	Married — Christie Renee Mullin (nee Rowan)
Children	6
Residence	Westville, Oklahoma

Wikipedia

Pending research: languages · notable relatives · openly lgbtq.

Career & politics

First elected	2012
Previous offices	U.S. Representative, Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district (2013-2023) · U.S. Senator from Oklahoma (2023-2026)
Leadership	Deputy Whip, U.S. House Republican Conference (from 2015)
Ideology	Conservative Republican; described by the New York Times and Associated Press as an immigration hardliner and one of Trump's closest Senate allies
Signature legislation	Muhammad Ali Expansion Act (introduced 2016, to extend boxing-style reforms to mixed martial arts)

Financial

Net worth: disclosed $24,400,000–$83,500,000 (2024) · estimate

IWB - iShares Russell 1000 ETF	fund · –$5,000,000 · 2025
TRBCX - T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund	fund · –$5,000,000 · 2025
Washington DC investment property	real_estate · –$5,000,000 · 2025
S Elm Pl property	real_estate · –$5,000,000 · 2025
Mullin Ranch LLC	business_owned · –$5,000,000 · 2025

Top donors: Devon Energy (employees and PAC; top career contributor 2011-2024) ($104,950) · AIPAC (largest contributor in 2022 cycle) ($89,000)

Top industries: Oil & Gas (top career industry, ~$1.33M)

Scandals & crimes ledger

resolved — House Ethics Committee ordered repayment of $40,000 to family plumbing business

ethics-violation · 2013 · U.S. House Committee on Ethics · Committee issued a formal report (H. Rept. 115-898) finding Mullin received $40,000 in 2013 through an automatic payment process from family business Mullin West that should have stopped after he transferred ownership to his wife; the panel concluded he made a good-faith effort to seek guidance but inadvertently failed to fully follow it, and ordered him to repay the $40,000. The committee did not formally cite a willful violation. The underlying matter originated from a December 2013 Office of Congressional Ethics referral over outside earned income exceeding House limits (more than $600,000 from his companies in 2013) and personally endorsing products/services of companies he and his family owned.

After a multi-year ethics review beginning with a December 2013 Office of Congressional Ethics referral, the House Ethics Committee in August 2018 issued a formal report (H. Rept. 115-898) and ordered Rep. Markwayne Mullin to return $40,000 he had received from his family business, Mullin West, finding the payments were out of compliance with House rules. The committee characterized the conduct as an inadvertent accounting error following good-faith efforts to follow its guidance rather than a willful violation. Mullin remained in office.

Sources: Roll Call · U.S. Congress (Congress.gov) · Office of Congressional Conduct (U.S. House)

resolved — House Ethics Committee Investigation: Outside Earned Income and Business Endorsements (OCE Referral / H. Rept. 115-898)

ethics-violation · 2013-01-01 · U.S. House Committee on Ethics / Office of Congressional Ethics · Committee cleared Mullin of the major allegations (excess $600,000 outside earned income, board service, personal endorsements) citing a good-faith effort to seek guidance. Found that an accounting error led him to inadvertently receive $40,000 in disbursements from Mullin West that he had not been entitled to after transferring ownership; ordered him to repay that $40,000 to the company. No formal reprimand or financial sanction was imposed. Committee voted unanimously to take no further action upon repayment.

The OCE referred Mullin to the House Ethics Committee in December 2013 after he earned more than $600,000 in 2013 from Mullin Plumbing, Inc. and affiliated companies — well above the outside earned income limit then applicable to Members of Congress (~$26,955) — and appeared in radio, TV, and internet ads for the companies while serving on their boards. After a nearly five-year investigation, the Ethics Committee's August 2018 report (H. Rept. 115-898) cleared him of the main allegations, finding he had acted in good faith, but required him to repay $40,000 inadvertently disbursed to him after he had transferred ownership of Mullin West to his spouse. No reprimand was issued.

Sources: Congress.gov / Library of Congress · Roll Call · The Washington Post · Office of Congressional Conduct (OCE Referral) · GovInfo (full PDF of H. Rept. 115-898)