Markwayne Mullin | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| United States Senator fromOklahoma | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 Serving with James Lankford | |
| Preceded by | Jim Inhofe |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromOklahoma's2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Boren |
| Succeeded by | Josh Brecheen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1977-07-26)July 26, 1977 (age 48) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Nationality | American Cherokee Nation |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6 |
| Education | Missouri Valley College Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology (AAS) |
| Website | Senate website Campaign website |
Markwayne Mullin questions witnesses on U.S. global leadership and military presence Recorded February 15, 2023 | |
Markwayne Mullin (born July 26, 1977) is an American businessman and politician who has served since 2023 as thejuniorUnited States senator fromOklahoma. A member of theRepublican Party, he was elected in aspecial election in 2022 to serve the remainder ofJim Inhofe's term. A member of theCherokee Nation, Mullin is the first Native American U.S. senator sinceBen Nighthorse Campbell retired in 2005.[1] He is also the second Cherokee citizen elected to the Senate; the first,Robert Latham Owen, retired in 1925.[2] From 2013 to 2023, Mullin served as theU.S. representative forOklahoma's 2nd congressional district.
Mullin was born on July 26, 1977, inTulsa, Oklahoma,[3] the youngest of the seven children of Jim Martin Mullin and Brenda Gayle Morris Mullin, ofWestville, Oklahoma.[4] His first name is a tribute to two of his paternal uncles, Mark and Wayne; his mother put both names on his birth certificate, intending to later shorten his name to one of the two, but ultimately never did.[5][6][7]
He graduated fromStilwell High School inStilwell, Oklahoma.[8] He attendedMissouri Valley College in 1996, but did not graduate.[3] In 1997, at age 20, Mullin took over his father's business, Mullin Plumbing, when his father fell ill.
In 2010, Mullin received anassociate degree in construction technology fromOklahoma State University Institute of Technology.[3][9] He is the only currently serving senator without at least a bachelor's degree.[10]
At the time he was first elected to Congress in 2012, Mullin hostedHouse Talk, ahome improvement radio program syndicated across Oklahoma, on Tulsa stationKFAQ.[11][12][better source needed]
When elected to Congress, Mullin owned Mullin Properties, Mullin Farms, and Mullin Services, in addition to Mullin Plumbing.[13] In 2012, he reported between $200,000 and $2 million in income from two family companies, and another $15,000 to $50,000 from shares he held in a bank.[14]
At the end of 2021, Mullin's reported assets increased to a range of $31.6 million to $75.6 million, compared to a range of $7.3 million to $29.9 million at the end of 2020.[15] The increase was from the sale of his plumbing-related companies to HomeTown Services, a multi-state residential heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical company.[15] Mullin said that the sale happened in early 2021, while Mullin was serving in the House of Representatives.[16]
In June 2011, incumbentU.S. RepresentativeDan Boren announced that he would retire at the end of 2012 from his2nd Congressional District seat.[17] In September 2011, Mullin declared his candidacy for the seat.[18] He branded himself as an outsider; his campaign slogan was "A rancher. A businessman. Not a politician!"[19][better source needed] In the six-candidate Republican primary, Mullin finished first with 42% of the vote; state representativeGeorge Faught ranked second with 23% of the vote.[20] As a majority is required to win a congressional nomination in Oklahoma, a runoff was held; Mullin defeated Faught, 57%–43%.[21]
The district had historically been a"Yellow Dog" Democratic constituency, but had steadily trended Republican as Democrats lost ground with Southeast Oklahoma's rural whites. For this reason, Mullin was thought to have a good chance of winning the election.[citation needed] He defeated the Democratic nominee, formerdistrict attorney Rob Wallace, 57%–38%.[22] Mullin was the first Republican to represent the district sinceTom Coburn in 2001, and only the second in a century.[23]
In 2014, Mullin was reelected with 70% of the vote, defeating Democrat Earl Everett, who got 24.6% of the vote.[24]
In the June 2016 Republican primary, Mullin defeated Jarrin Jackson by 27 percentage points.[25] In the November general election, he defeated Democrat Joshua Harris-Till by 47 percentage points.[26]
When he first ran for Congress in 2012, Mullin promised to serve only three terms (six years), but in July 2017 he released a video announcing that he would run for a fourth term in 2018, saying he was ill-advised when he made the promise to only serve three terms.[27] After he reneged on this promise, former U.S. senatorTom Coburn said he would work to oust Mullin from office.[25] Mullin won a four-way Republican primary with 54% of the vote, and was reelected in November with 65% of the vote.[28][29]
In 2020, Mullin won the Republican primary with 79.9% of the vote, and was reelected in November with 75% of the vote.[30][31]
In April 2017, Mullin drew criticism when he was recorded during a town hall meeting telling his constituents that it was "bullcrap" that taxpayers pay his salary. He said, "I pay for myself. I paid enough taxes before I got here and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go."[32] As of 2022, Mullin still collects the U.S. Congress base salary of $174,000.[33]
In a 2018 report,[34] theU.S. House Ethics Committee said that "Mullin made a good faith effort to seek the Committee's informal guidance on numerous issues with respect to his family business." But the committee noted that Congressional ethics rules state that members of Congress should not endorse products or services, particularly if they personally benefit financially from the endorsement.[16]
In August 2022, he came out against PresidentJoe Biden'sstudent loan forgiveness plan, but subsequently received criticism after theWhite HouseTwitter account pointed out that Mullin had benefited from $1.4 million offederal PPP loan forgiveness.[35][36][37][38][39][40]
In 2022, Mullin introduced resolutionsto remove thefirst andsecondimpeachments of President Trump from theCongressional Record.[41] House Republican Conference ChairElise Stefanik supported the resolution.[42] At the time, the House had a Democratic majority and the resolution did not pass.[43]
During theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack, Mullin and RepresentativesTroy Nehls (a former sheriff and Army veteran) andPat Fallon (an Air Force veteran) helpedU.S. Capitol Police build barricades and protect the doors to the House Chamber from the rioters.[44] He and many of his colleagues were later ushered to a secure location, where he declined offers to wear a mask, in violation of House rules.[45][46] Mullin said that he witnessed the shooting of Trump supporterAshli Babbitt during the attack, which occurred after she climbed through a barricade leading toward the House Chamber; Mullin said the Capitol police officer "didn't have a choice" but to shoot, and that this action "saved people's lives", with members of Congress and their staff "in danger" from the "mob".[47][48][49][50]
In August 2021, during the final days of theU.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Mullin and several other Americans flew to Greece and asked theU.S. Defense Department for permission to continue toKabul, Afghanistan. Mullin planned to rent ahelicopter to fly an unidentified family of U.S. citizens out of Afghanistan. At that time, the U.S. was in the process of evacuating 124,000 people out of Afghanistan asTaliban forces retook the country. The Defense Department refused Mullin's group's request.[51][52][53] On August 30, Mullin telephoned theU.S. embassy inTajikistan and asked officials there for immediate assistance in enteringDushanbe, Tajikistan, for the same purpose. Dushanbe is 150 miles (242 km) north ofKunduz, Afghanistan. Because Mullin planned to bring in a large sum of money for the helicopter rental, the plan was deemed in violation of Tajikistan's currency importation restrictions. Embassy staffers therefore refused to help. Mullin's group ultimately did not visit the region.[54]
TheU.S. State Department had warned Mullin not to try to rescue Americans in Afghanistan, and House SpeakerNancy Pelosi and House Republican LeaderKevin McCarthy had both urged members of Congress to avoid travel to Afghanistan during the final days of the U.S. military presence.[55]
In February 2022, U.S. SenatorJim Inhofe announced he would resign from his seat at the end of the117th United States Congress on January 3, 2023, necessitating aspecial election to fill the remainder of his term. Mullin announced that he would run in the special election.[64]
In a field of 13 candidates that includedScott Pruitt andNathan Dahm, Mullin received the most votes, with 44%, but short of the 50% required to avoid a runoff. He faced formerstate House SpeakerT. W. Shannon, who received 18%, in the runoff election on August 23.[65] Mullin defeated Shannon in the runoff,[66] and faced theDemocratic nominee, former5th District CongresswomanKendra Horn, in the November 8 general election; Mullin defeated Horn with 61.8% of the vote.[67]
On March 8, 2023, Mullin accusedTeamsters presidentSean O'Brien of "intimidation" during aSenate HELP Committee hearing on thePRO Act, claiming that O'Brien was forcing union members to pay dues and alleging that union leaders had attempted to unionize his plumbing business. When Mullin asked about O'Brien's salary and compared it to what he claimedUPS drivers made, on average, in 2019, O'Brien responded, "that's inaccurate", and told Mullin he simply "negotiates the contract". O'Brien then said that Mullin's questioning was "out of line", to which Mullin responded, "shut your mouth". O'Brien went on to mock Mullin, calling him a "tough guy" and "greedy CEO" before committee chairBernie Sanders ended the spat by banging the gavel and instructing Mullin to "stay on the issue."[68][69]
On June 26, Mullin challenged O'Brien to a fight for charity viaTwitter in response to an earlier tweet by O'Brien.[70] On November 14, when O'Brien again appeared before the committee, Mullin challenged him to fight, saying, "you want to run your mouth? We can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here" and demanding that O'Brien "stand [his] butt up". This came after Mullin read aloud a tweet of O'Brien's, posted in June, in which he called Mullin a "cowboy," told him to "quit the tough guy act," and invited Mullin to find him "anyplace, anytime;" after Mullin stood up from his seat and began moving toward O'Brien, Sanders broke up the argument, saying: "No, no, sit down! Sit down! You're a United States senator!"[71]
On November 15, Mullin justified his actions in an interview, saying: "It's silly. It's stupid. But every now and then, you need to get punched in the face."[72][73] When asked whether any Senate rules allow for "two consenting adults" to "duke it out," Mullin claimed that lawmakers used to be able to "cane," referring to RepresentativePreston Brooks's1856 beating of Senator Charles Sumner.[72][73] Since this intense interaction, the two have reconciled with encouragement from Donald Trump, become friends, and now speak on the phone every few weeks.[74] This renewed relationship influenced O'Brien's decision not to endorse the Democratic ticket in 2024.[75]
In 2025, Mullin voted for theOne Big Beautiful Bill championed by the Trump administration after it passed the House. The bill cuts funding forMedicaid and adds a work requirement for those receiving benefits.[76] The bill added $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a projected $3.3 trillion to thenational debt over a decade.[77][78] An estimated 110,000 Oklahomans could lose healthcare coverage.[79] Oklahoma doctors spoke out against the cuts to Medicaid.[80]
When campaigning for the2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma, Mullin supported the claim that the2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.[81]
Mullin supports makingabortion illegal in all circumstances, including cases of rape, incest, or if the mother's life is at risk. During the 2022 Republican runoff debate, he claimed that if his wife's life was at risk during a pregnancy, neither he nor his wife would want to get an abortion.[82]
Mullin wants to extend federal boxing regulations to the practices ofmixed martial arts businesses such asUltimate Fighting Championship.[83] His 2016 proposed legislation would have forced the UFC to share financial information with fighters and create an independent ranking system.[84] Mullin reportedly planned to reintroduce the Ali Expansion Act as a senator in 2023.[85][needs update]
On December 10, 2020, Mullin and U.S. RepresentativeTulsi Gabbard introduced the Protect Women's Sports Act, a bill to defineTitle IX protections on the basis of an individual'sbiological sex, making it a violation for institutions that receive federal funding to "permit a person whose biological sex at birth is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls". This bill would effectively ban manytransgender athletes from participating in programs corresponding with their gender identity.[86][87][88]
Mullin voted against reauthorization of theViolence Against Women Act in 2013.[89][90] His vote drew criticism from other Cherokee citizens inIndian Country Today.[90]
Mullin and his wife, Christie Renee Rowan, live inWestville, a few miles from theArkansas border, and have five children,[3] including twin girls adopted in August 2013.[4]
Between November 2006 and April 2007, Mullin fought in threemixed martial arts fights, winning all three.[91][92]
Mullin is an enrolled citizen of theCherokee Nation.[93] He is one of fourNative Americans serving in the119th Congress.[a] He is the first Native American senator elected to Congress in nearly two decades,[96] and the second Cherokee Nation citizen elected to the Senate, afterRobert Latham Owen, who was a senator for Oklahoma from 1907 to 1925.[2]
In 2021, Mullin reported that his personal assets were between $31.6 million and $75.6 million.[97]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin | 12,008 | 42.4 | |
| Republican | George Faught | 6,582 | 23.2 | |
| Republican | Dakota Wood | 3,479 | 12.3 | |
| Republican | Dustin Rowe | 2,871 | 10.1 | |
| Republican | Wayne Pettigrew | 2,479 | 8.8 | |
| Republican | Dwayne Thompson | 901 | 3.2 | |
| Total votes | 28,320 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin | 143,701 | 57.3 | |
| Democratic | Rob Wallace | 96,081 | 38.3 | |
| Independent | Michael G. Fulks | 10,830 | 4.3 | |
| Total votes | 250,612 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin (incumbent) | 26,245 | 79.7 | |
| Republican | Darrell Robertson | 6,673 | 20.3 | |
| Total votes | 32,918 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin (incumbent) | 110,925 | 70.0 | |
| Democratic | Earl Everett | 38,964 | 24.6 | |
| Independent | Jon Douthitt | 8,518 | 5.4 | |
| Total votes | 158,407 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin (incumbent) | 20,065 | 63.4 | |
| Republican | Jarrin Jackson | 11,580 | 36.6 | |
| Total votes | 31,645 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin (incumbent) | 189,839 | 70.6 | |
| Democratic | Joshua Harris-Till | 62,387 | 23.2 | |
| Independent | John McCarthy | 16,644 | 6.2 | |
| Total votes | 268,870 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin (incumbent) | 32,624 | 54.1 | |
| Republican | Jarrin Jackson | 15,191 | 25.2 | |
| Republican | Brian Jackson | 6,899 | 11.5 | |
| Republican | John McCarthy | 5,536 | 9.2 | |
| Total votes | 60,250 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin (incumbent) | 140,451 | 65.0 | |
| Democratic | Jason Nichols | 65,021 | 30.1 | |
| Independent | John Foreman | 6,390 | 3.0 | |
| Libertarian | Richard Castaldo | 4,140 | 1.9 | |
| Total votes | 216,002 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin (incumbent) | 53,149 | 79.9 | |
| Republican | Joseph Silk | 8,445 | 12.7 | |
| Republican | Rhonda Hopkins | 4,917 | 7.4 | |
| Total votes | 66,511 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin (incumbent) | 216,511 | 75.0 | |
| Democratic | Danyell Lanier | 63,472 | 22.0 | |
| Libertarian | Richie Castaldo | 8,544 | 3.0 | |
| Total votes | 288,527 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin | 156,087 | 43.62% | |
| Republican | T. W. Shannon | 62,746 | 17.53% | |
| Republican | Nathan Dahm | 42,673 | 11.92% | |
| Republican | Luke Holland | 40,353 | 11.28% | |
| Republican | Scott Pruitt | 18,052 | 5.04% | |
| Republican | Randy Grellner | 15,794 | 4.41% | |
| Republican | Laura Moreno | 6,597 | 1.84% | |
| Republican | Jessica Jean Garrison | 6,114 | 1.71% | |
| Republican | Alex Gray(withdrew) | 3,063 | 0.86% | |
| Republican | John F. Tompkins | 2,332 | 0.65% | |
| Republican | Adam Holley | 1,873 | 0.52% | |
| Republican | Michael Coibion | 1,261 | 0.35% | |
| Republican | Paul Royse | 900 | 0.25% | |
| Total votes | 357,845 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin | 183,118 | 65.08% | |
| Republican | T. W. Shannon | 98,246 | 34.92% | |
| Total votes | 281,364 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Markwayne Mullin | 710,643 | 61.8% | ||
| Democratic | Kendra Horn | 405,389 | 35.2% | ||
| Libertarian | Robert Murphy | 17,386 | 1.5% | ||
| Independent | Ray Woods | 17,063 | 1.5% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 1,150,481 | 100% | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| 3 matches | 3 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 0 |
| By submission | 2 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 3-0 | Clinton Bonds | TKO (punches) | XFL - Xtreme Fighting League | April 7, 2007 | 2 | 1:27 | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 2-0 | Clinton Bonds | Submission (Armbar) | XFL - SuperBrawl | February 3, 2007 | 2 | 1:13 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 1-0 | Bobby Kelley | Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) | XFL-Xtreme Fighting League | November 11, 2006 | 1 | 0:46 | Miami, Oklahoma, United States |
Kind of used to two names. My first name is Markwayne.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)When it comes to the death of the mother or the child, I can tell you without question where my wife would be on this," Mullin said. "There's no way my wife would sit and say that my life is more important than my child. Just like I would lay my life down for my child in a heartbeat, my wife would do the same.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromOklahoma's 2nd congressional district 2013–2023 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromOklahoma (Class 2) 2022 | Most recent |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Oklahoma 2023–present Served alongside:James Lankford | Most recent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas United States Senator fromMissouri | Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator fromOklahoma since January 3, 2023 | Succeeded byas United States Senator fromNebraska |
| Preceded by | United States senators by seniority 81st | Succeeded by |
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