 |
By The RepresentUs Team March 18, 2026 |
After President Trump fired Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security, he nominated Senator Markwayne Mullin as her replacement.
Mullin’s nomination has put him in the spotlight. We’ve already outlined why his endorsement of ICE’s aggressive tactics and his election denial make him unfit to lead DHS.
His record in Congress also points to another problem: Members of Congress should not be allowed to buy and sell stocks.
Why is stock trading in Congress a problem?
Members of Congress have access to classified briefings, closed-door negotiations, and early information that can move markets. At the same time, they are allowed to buy and sell individual stocks in the very companies and industries they oversee.
This creates an obvious conflict of interest and it’s part of the reason why only 17% of Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do the right thing.
Senator Markwayne Mullin’s wealth has exploded since entering Congress
When he first entered Congress way back in 2012, he reported his net worth to be somewhere between $2.8 and $9 million.
In 2024 (the latest year on his disclosure forms), he valued his net worth to be somewhere between $29 million and $97 million, according to the New York Times.
At the same time, his trading activity skyrocketed. In 2022, when he was a Member of the House of Representatives, he reported fewer than 30 trades for the entire year. When he joined the Senate in 2023, that number jumped to 100+ trades. In 2025, he reported more than 150+ trades, according to Quiver Quantitative.
In the first few months of 2026, he’s already filed nearly 60 trades.
👉 Overall, Senator Markwayne Mullin’s portfolio of trades outperformed the entire market by 8%.
He serves on committees with direct influence over the companies he trades in
Military and Law Enforcement Spending
Senator Mullin is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Committee on Appropriations, which give him insight and influence as to how the U.S. government spends its money and what firms do business with the military.
Last year, Congress passed a massive funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. His financial disclosures reveal he owns shares in companies that do significant contracting work for the Department including Microsoft, an aircraft repair and maintenance company called VSE, a missile manufacturer called RTX, and one of the largest defense contractors called L3Harris. In 2025, he bought up to $100k in shares of L3Harris alone.
Healthcare
He also sits on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that oversees the health care industry. In September 2025, he bought up to $100k worth of stock in a robotic-surgery company called Intuitive Surgical Inc. A few weeks later, the company’s stock price jumped nearly 20%.
Oil Stock
On December 29, 2025, Senator Mullin made purchases in Chevron stock, the only major U.S. oil company working in Venezuela. Five days later, President Trump ordered attacks on Venezuela and promised to make it easier for U.S. oil companies in the country.
Since those attacks, the price of Chevron stock has continued to climb:
This is bigger than Markwayne Mullin
None of Mullin’s trades is proof of wrongdoing. He could simply be extremely lucky with these trades.
But even the appearance that he profited off inside information, or that he made decisions based on what would benefit his portfolio, undermines the trust that Americans have in Congress.
And Senator Mullin is far from alone. All 535 members of Congress have access to sensitive, market-moving information and have the power to shape markets through legislation and votes. Many of them engage in stock trading.
Without a ban on stock trading in Congress, we can never know if lawmakers are making decisions in the best interest of the American people or in the best interest of their bank account.
You can help pass the Restore Trust in Congress Act
Congress is actually considering legislation to ban stock trading in Congress right now.
The Restore Trust in Congress Act is a bipartisan bill that would:
✔ Ban Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from trading individual stocks
✔ Require newly elected members to divest before being sworn in
✔ Impose a 10% penalty (based on stock value) for noncompliance
👉 Send a message to your Members of Congress urging them to pass this legislation
Related Reading
