Markwayne Mullin (born July 26, 1977) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma since 2023.

[1] He is also the second Cherokee Nation citizen elected to the Senate; the first, Robert Latham Owen, retired in 1925.

[10] At the time he was first elected to Congress in 2012, Mullin hosted House Talk, a home improvement radio program syndicated across Oklahoma, on Tulsa station KFAQ.

[16] In June 2011, incumbent U.S. Representative Dan Boren announced that he would retire at the end of 2012 from his 2nd Congressional District seat.

[20] As a majority is required to win a congressional nomination in Oklahoma, a runoff was held; Mullin defeated Faught, 57%–43%.

[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.

[16] Along with all other Senate and House Republicans, Mullin voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

[35] In August 2022, he came out against President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, but subsequently received criticism after the White House Twitter account pointed out that Mullin had benefited from $1.4 million of federal PPP loan forgiveness.

[46] During the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Mullin and Representatives Troy Nehls (a former sheriff and Army veteran) and Pat Fallon (an Air Force veteran) helped U.S. Capitol Police build barricades and protect the doors to the House Chamber from the rioters.

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.

[47][48] Mullin said that he witnessed the shooting of Trump supporter Ashli 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".

[citation needed] The U.S. State Department had warned Mullin not to try to rescue Americans in Afghanistan, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy had both urged members of Congress to avoid travel to Afghanistan during the final days of the U.S. military presence.

Senator Jim Inhofe announced he would resign from his seat at the end of the 117th United States Congress on January 3, 2023, necessitating a special election to fill the remainder of his term.

[62] In a field of 13 candidates that included Scott Pruitt and Nathan Dahm, Mullin received the most votes, with 44%, but short of the 50% required to avoid a runoff.

[72] Since this intense interaction, the two have reconciled with encouragement from Donald Trump,[73] become friends, and now speak on the phone every few weeks.

[74] Mullin wants to extend federal boxing regulations to the practices of mixed martial arts businesses such as Ultimate Fighting Championship.

[75] His 2016 proposed legislation would have forced the UFC to share financial information with fighters and create an independent ranking system.

[77][needs update] In December 2020, Mullin was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump.

[78] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

[82] Mullin supports making abortion illegal in all circumstances, including cases of rape, incest, or if the mother's life is at risk.

[83] On December 10, 2020, Mullin and Representative Tulsi Gabbard introduced the Protect Women's Sports Act, a bill to define Title IX protections on the basis of an individual's biological 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".

[84][85][86] Mullin and his wife, Christie Renee Rowan, live in Westville, a few miles from the Arkansas border, and have six children,[3] including twin girls adopted in August 2013.