From wrestler to businessman<\/p>\n
Before entering politics, Mullin built a business career in Oklahoma. Raised on a ranch, he dropped out of college at the age of 20 to take over the family\u2019s plumbing company when his father fell ill.<\/p>\n
He expanded the business, Mullin Plumbing \u2014 known locally for its red vans branded \u201cThe Red Rooter\u201d \u2014 and later ventured into other businesses, including opening a steakhouse in the town of Stilwell.<\/p>\n
A wrestler during his school years, Mullin was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. He later competed briefly in mixed martial arts, compiling a 5-0 professional record.<\/p>\n
A fighter\u2019s reputation in Washington<\/p>\n
In Washington, Mullin has developed a reputation as one of Trump\u2019s most aggressive defenders in Congress. His fiery exchanges in Senate hearings and combative social media presence have reinforced his image as a political fighter.<\/p>\n
One notable moment came during a 2023 Senate hearing when Mullin confronted the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults,\u201d Mullin told Sean O\u2019Brien, the union\u2019s president, with whom Mullin had previously engaged in a back-and-forth on social media. \u201cWe can finish it here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Months later, Mullin said the two had reconciled and called O\u2019Brien a \u201cnew friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the combative moments, colleagues often describe Mullin as an affable presence in the Capitol, where he is known to walk the halls wearing a cowboy hat and boots and occasionally leading workout sessions in the House gym.<\/p>\n
Support from tribal leaders<\/p>\n
As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Mullin has supported legislation affecting Native communities and advocated for tribal sovereignty.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is deeply encouraging to have someone with a keen understanding of federal Indian policy, law and justice elevated to such a critical leadership role within a powerful federal agency,\u201d Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said.<\/p>\n
Trump also highlighted Mullin\u2019s Native American heritage when announcing the nomination, saying he would be a \u201cfantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Past controversies<\/p>\n
Mullin\u2019s political career has not been without criticism.<\/p>\n
He once pledged to serve only three terms in Congress but later reversed that position when he ran again, saying he \u201cdidn\u2019t understand politics\u201d when he made the original promise.<\/p>\n
He also faced scrutiny after data from the US Treasury Department showed that four businesses he owned received between $800,000 and $1.9 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for Mullin said at the time that the congressman was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the companies and referred questions to the companies\u2019 chief financial officer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From wrestler to businessman Before entering politics, Mullin built a business career in Oklahoma. Raised on a ranch,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[2095,64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-522352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-america","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}