Donald Trump’s choice for the next Homeland Security Secretary has cultivated quite a prolific investment portfolio during his time as a government official.
Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, whom President Trump, 79, handpicked to replace Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security, has made millions via stock trading since he was first sworn into Congress in 2013, according to a report from The New York Times published Sunday.
In 2024, Mullin, 48, reported his assets were worth between $29 million and $97 million, the Times reported, citing financial disclosure records. His fortune has grown considerably since he began his government career as a congressman. In 2012, his assets were reportedly between $2.8 million and $9 million.
Legislators only need to reveal their wealth once a year, and Mullin’s 2024 report is the most recent available, according to the Times.
After joining the Senate in 2023, Mullin’s trading activity skyrocketed, making over 100 stock trades in his first year as a senator, the Times reported. That number rose to over 130 trades in 2025, and in just the first two months of 2026, Mullin had made 40 trades.
One of those trades included Mullin purchasing stock in Chevron, the only major American oil company producing in Venezuela, on Dec. 29—just five days before the U.S. captured the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, on Jan. 3 and extradited him and his wife to the United States for federal prosecution over drug charges. There is no indication that Mullin had any inside knowledge of Trump’s plans prior to the transactions, the Times reported.
Chevron’s price has steadily risen substantially since December 2025, despite oil prices around the globe soaring in the wake of Trump’s war on Iran. Mullin invested as much as $2.8 million total across 31 companies, including Chevron, on Dec. 29.
Some of the companies Mullin has invested in can be affected by Senate committees he serves on, which include Armed Services, Health, and Indian Affairs.
The Times reported that Mullin had made investments in the defense contractor RTX—according to his financial disclosures—which has contracts with the DHS.
By law, members of Congress must report their stock transactions regularly—within 45 days—but Mullin has sometimes failed to do so, the Times reported.
The Daily Beast reached out to Mullin for comment.
Mullin, who has said that he speaks with the president “all the time,” is set to appear before the Senate on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing to replace Noem as the head of DHS.
Trump fired Noem on March 5, announcing Mullin as her successor in a Truth Social post.
“A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda,” Trump wrote on March 5.
Trump himself has advocated limits on members of Congress’s stock trading, urging lawmakers to pass the Stop Insider Trading Act during his State of the Union address last month.
