As the junior senator from Oklahoma, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), 47, has amassed an unusual level of clout in a chamber that values seniority.
The former MMA fighter and father of six has found his place in Washington, D.C., with an ease that crosses every dividing line in politics. He’s forged relationships in both chambers, running a long-standing workout in the House gym, and even counts President Donald Trump as a close friend.
“I’m not here to build enemies. Building enemies doesn’t get anything accomplished,” Mullin told the Washington Examiner, sitting in his Senate hideaway one Tuesday afternoon in between votes.
“We’re here to build relationships, to move the ball forward,” he said.
Mullin, a plain-spoken Republican two years into his first Senate term, makes no apologies for where he aligns himself on Capitol Hill — he is an ally of leadership, a fact that at times sets him in conflict with rabble-rousers in the House. He was one of the most vocal critics of ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz when he triggered the vote that ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
But Mullin’s governing philosophy in Washington is one of addition, not subtraction, and even extends to the Democrats with whom he is often at odds.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), the No. 4 Democrat in Senate leadership, traced his friendship with Mullin back years, but said the two became closer after a recent dinner in which Mullin was “just extraordinarily kind and caring.”
“I’m grateful we have a rapport, we clearly disagree on a lot, but it’s important to have those relationships. It sets the groundwork to get things done,” Booker said.
That desire for coalition-building has placed Mullin in the middle of every early test for Republicans since they regained control of Washington.
He’s acted as a House liaison for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) amid simmering tensions over budget reconciliation and can often be seen shuttling to the weekly conference meetings run by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Mullin served five terms in the House before his election to the Senate.
Mullin has even taken a personal stake in some of Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
He helped Tulsi Gabbard, a friend dating back to their days in the House together, navigate her way to Senate confirmation as Trump’s intelligence chief and introduced Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer at her hearing in February.
Mullin had encouraged Trump to nominate Chavez DeRemer as a labor-friendly pick who could win GOP support.
In each case, Mullin has sought to demonstrate he can be the workhorse who brings Republicans together and credits his position of influence to a level of “trust” he’s developed with colleagues.
He acknowledged ideological differences with House conservatives like Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) or Andy Biggs (R-AZ) but reserved his criticism for unnamed lawmakers he said were operating on political calculation rather than “true belief.”
“People in politics, some of them, will hurt you a lot to gain themselves a little,” Mullin said in a February interview. “I never want that reputation. I want people to know that ‘Man, we can find common ground on anything.’”
‘Coalition of power’
Mullin traces his emphasis on relationship-building to the 1990s, when he took over his father’s plumbing company in Oklahoma at the age of 20. He recalled developing “one customer at a time,” with his first major client, the owner of a franchise chain of McDonald’s, serving as a “springboard” to what eventually became a multimillion-dollar business.
“Relationships up here matter too, because a lot of people, they don’t come to you until they need something,” Mullin said. “That’s very common up here, especially in the Senate because we get so busy. But when you start building actual relationships, when you do go to them, when you have an issue, it carries a lot of weight.”
On Capitol Hill, Mullin said it took missing Valentine’s Day with his wife, Christie, early on to crystallize his commitment to fostering relationships.
“I was extremely frustrated, you know — coming up here, I’m going to save the world, like a lot of freshmen,” he said. “You’re on fire, and you get up here, within a month, you realize how irrelevant you actually are.”
“You know, all these people talking about you have all this power,” he added. “The only person who has power in politics is the president of the United States. Everybody else has a coalition of power.”
‘One tough son of a b****’
Today, Mullin’s network extends to both ends of the Capitol. He is the rare senator to maintain relationships in the House and is particularly close with Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), a longtime roommate who chairs the Ways and Means Committee.
Mullin also runs a morning workout in the House gym attended by lawmakers of both parties. At its peak, he estimated that his classes, which draw on his days as a professional MMA fighter, attracted 16 to 20 regulars.
It’s in those classes where Mullin developed longtime friendships with members like Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Darin LaHood (R-IL), while he keeps in touch with some who have since left Congress.
Mullin attended the swearing-in ceremony for Gabbard when she joined Trump’s Cabinet.
LaHood credited the workouts for a sense of “camaraderie” he’s found over his nine years on the Hill, describing Mullin as “one tough son of a b****” with a “soft heart.”
“I mean, he’s consistent, he’s regular, and he doesn’t, you know, pull any punches on anybody,” LaHood said of Mullin’s workouts, a combination of cardio and lifting weights.
Mullin joked that he couldn’t bring himself to use the Senate gym when asked why he kept the classes going after he left the House, alluding to the advanced age of some senators.
“I was going to give it a shot, but the Senate gym is more like a rehab center, and the House gym is more like a YMCA,” he said.
But Mullin readily acknowledged the gym has helped him stay plugged into House politics. He also attends the Wednesday lunches of the Republican Study Committee in addition to the conference meetings run by Johnson.
“I realized it was actually good because a lot of the information I get isn’t going to conference,” Mullin said. “A lot of the information I get is during those workouts because members are talking to me, regardless if they’re in my workout or not.”
Straddling two worlds
Mullin confessed to feeling some apprehension when he first arrived in the Senate in 2023. He had grown accustomed to, and even relished in, the irreverence and commotion of the House.
“My personality probably fits more with House members because I like to joke around and kid and have a good time,” he said. “And I think the Senate members — it took a little bit.”
Yet in one moment of candor, Mullin said the rollercoaster style of governance that has defined the House over the last couple of years, with narrow margins fostering dysfunction for the GOP, has been enough to dampen his love for the chamber.
“I wouldn’t go back,” Mullin said when asked if he still considers himself a “House guy.”
“No, no, no, no, no — seeing what they’re having to go through, I’ve now developed into really having a lot of respect for the Senate,” he said. “The House is a very thoughtful but chaotic body, and you get caught up in that. And it’s actually fun because every day you’re moving the chess pieces, but stability actually says a lot.”
In a short time, Mullin has managed to replicate the success he found in the House. He was invited to the Senate GOP whip team, a role he held in the lower chamber, and in January was chosen to join the weekly leadership meetings Thune holds in his Capitol office.
Mullin was one of the first Republicans to endorse Thune’s run for leader ahead of conference elections last November.
Mullin has also found distinctive ways to make his mark. His X account has become a follow-along series of updates on Senate votes, while he increasingly posts videos explaining the process.
Mullin credited Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who overlapped with him in the House, with making an introduction to Thune, a fellow South Dakotan. From there, Mullin built relationships with Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), now the GOP whip, and other members of leadership.
He’s even managed to spark some of the playfulness missing from his early Senate days as he fosters new friendships.
Last month, Mullin challenged Booker to a joint appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, an invitation Booker said he’d be glad to accept.
“What I won’t be doing is a cage match with him. I’m a big guy, but Markwayne clearly could beat down all 99 senators,” Booker said.
Mullin also has a quiet feud over the Senate candy desk he took over from Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) in January.
“I honestly had candy in my drawer before I had the official candy drawer because Todd Young was so awful at it. He was awful,” Mullin said, mocking the Indiana candy Young would purchase for colleagues.
Young told the Washington Examiner he may file a motion to vacate Mullin from the desk if he keeps buying generic candy from Walgreens and CVS. (Mullin rotates that candy based on the holiday, lamenting that senators did not like his selection for St. Patrick’s Day.)
‘Just maintaining relationships’
Mullin predicted that his foothold in the House is temporary and would fade the longer he serves in the Senate. He’s already lost close colleagues like McCarthy, who resigned from Congress following his 2023 ouster.
McCarthy returned to the House on Monday to celebrate the departure of his longtime aide, James Min, but has otherwise been scarce.
“I’m just maintaining relationships. I don’t have time to really build relationships,” Mullin said. “So unfortunately, as people retire, my influence — I don’t know if I have any influence — my relationships will slowly dissipate I guess.”
For now, the cross-chamber communication has made Mullin an asset to Senate leadership. He helped soften tensions over budget reconciliation with a meeting set up between Thune and Smith in December, shortly after Trump’s election.
The two chambers have been at odds over whether to split his agenda into two parts as billions in border and defense funding get wrapped up in a tax bill Smith is crafting in the House.
House Republicans, too, have welcomed Mullin’s shuttle diplomacy, with Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), the House Budget chairman, calling him a “constructive force” in conference meetings where he listens and sometimes fields questions.
When it comes to Johnson, Mullin said the two have a “very strong relationship” and text regularly. They first met back in Johnson’s freshman term, when Mullin served as his formal mentor.
“I don’t know if I would, you know, refer to him as a friend, in a sense of a friend that Kevin and I were or Thune and I, or Jason Smith and I, but I would consider him still a working friend,” Mullin said.
Mullin’s bond with Trump
Mullin’s friendship with Trump began under more tenuous circumstances. The president took a fatherly interest in his son Jim, who suffered a life-threatening brain injury while wrestling in 2020.
He recalled Trump, then in the throes of his reelection campaign, offering to send his plane when Jim needed to be brought to Bakersfield, California, for treatment and him calling “constantly” in those early weeks to check on his recovery.
Mullin’s family ultimately drove to Bakersfield due to the nature of the injury, and later declined the financial assistance Trump offered as Jim underwent 18 months of rehab. But Mullin described that experience as formative to their relationship.
Until then, he said his interactions with the president were “strictly business.”
“As a parent, if someone shows love to your kids, there’s nothing better, right?” Mullin said. “You can become my friend, that’s fine. Treat my kids with respect and love and act like you care on them — you know, I’ll do anything for you at that point.”
Since Trump has returned to the White House, the substance of their conversations has focused largely on confirming his Cabinet nominees.
Mullin told the Washington Examiner he’s spoken with Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, as much as Trump as Republicans slowly acquiesced to polarizing choices from Gabbard to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Lately, the Senate is oscillating its attention between reconciliation and a government funding bill that is expected to receive a vote on Thursday or Friday.
Mullin described Trump, who is notorious for casting a wide net when taking advice, as endlessly inquisitive and said their conversations take place day or night.
“It’s not just a chit-chat. Every time it’s a question — he’s working. He’s always working,” Mullin said. “He’s always got someplace where he’s going with it, and then the conversation will end just as quick as it starts.”
Part of their rapport is built on Mullin’s “tough guy” persona. Mullin is famous for throwing himself into dicey situations, including an unsuccessful foray to Europe to help save American allies during the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Trump, in particular, was instrumental in fostering a friendship between Mullin and Sean O’Brien, the president of the Teamsters union, after they nearly came to blows at a Senate hearing in 2023.
FREEDOM CAUCUS GETS WHITE HOUSE BULLY PULPIT WITH RUSS VOUGHT APPOINTMENT
“I’m not putting that label on me. Don’t think that,” Mullin said. “But he likes a fighter and someone that also has a personality. And our personalities get along pretty well.”
“That’s why he likes my boys, too, because all of them wrestle and stuff,” he added.
To this day, Mullin says Trump will end each call asking about his son Jim.