Secretary-elect Markwayne Mullin: Faith, Family and Public Service

Senator Markwayne Mullin, President Trump’s choice to replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary, is often seen walking the halls of the U.S. Capitol wearing his signature cowboy hat and boots — and bouncing a pink rubber ball.

It’s an old habit the Oklahoma rancher and Sooner Hall of Fame wrestler traces back to middle school, a tactic used to concentrate and maybe even burn off some energy.

Washington, D.C. is full of characters with eclectic interests, and Secretary-elect Mullin is no exception. But to ask him, the Cherokee Nation member will tell you his life can be boiled down to three priorities:

“It’s God,” he said. “I mess up on Him all the time. It’s family, and then everything else. And they come in that order.”

Senator Mullin says he grew up in a Christian home, but didn’t turn his heart over the Lord until he was an adult.

“Well, I was raised in church my whole life,” he told Fox News’ Shannon Bream. “But I went to church out of respect for my parents. You know, my parents, they didn’t force it on us. They just expected us to go to church every Sunday and every Wednesday. And so, even though I moved out of the house when I was 15, I still didn’t miss a church service, just out of respect for my parents. But I wasn’t living for the Lord.”

Markwayne met Christie, his now wife of 28 years, in high school. They obviously loved each other, but also fought too much. He recalls a specific incident and being disgusted with himself for his agitation and pettiness. 

“I just apologized to her,” he said. “I decided I didn’t want to live my life that way. That wasn’t something I wanted to do.”

On that very Sunday he asked for forgiveness, he suggested they go to an Assemblies of God church around the corner from their apartment. 

“Two weeks later, I gave my heart to the Lord, literally gave my heart to the Lord,” he recalled. “There’s a difference in going to church, attending church, and actually servingthe Lord. And I gave my heart to the Lord in August of ‘97, and I’ve screwed up a lot since then. I still tell everybody I’m one mistake away of being exposed to the hypocrite that I’m in, or that I am, because I’m very capable of messing up. But I tell you what, when I’m trying to serve the Lord, I have a lot less screw-ups. Not that I’m perfect, but my life has changed in ways that I never thought was possible.”

The Mullins are blessed with six children — three biological and three they had the privilege of adopting. 

“I say we have three that came naturally, and three we chose, or three we got stuck with,” he said. “I always joke when I’m around them. I say, ‘Which one do you think we love the most? I love my family.”

Senator Mullin says he’s not looking forward to the empty nest. That’s because children and work are his hobbies. “I don’t party, I don’t drink, I don’t play golf. I used to race motorcycles.”

Having served five terms in the House of Representatives and in the Senate since 2023, the former MMA fighter has been fiercely protective of Saturday and Sunday.

“The weekend is with my family,” he says. “If my family isn’t going with me, I’m not going. You’re never going to get me to do anything on Sunday.”

The Senator says he measures his effectiveness by how he’s doing in the home.

“What’s the point of being successful in life, in business, or in politics, if you’ve lost your family along the way? If they’re not a priority to you and you don’t make them a priority … If you had the world and you’ve lost your family, you have nothing.”

Sound familiar? Warned Jesus: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). 

Senator Mullin, who will have his hands full leading Homeland Security, is deserving and in need of our prayers. But long before his appointment, he described his daily routine — and it’s a discipline that will serve him well in his new assignment:

“I get up every morning and I pray that the Lord would give me the wisdom to know the good from the bad, and open doors He wants me to go through and shut the doors that He doesn’t — and not let me have one lazy bone in my body.”

Whether leading Homeland Security or your own home, that’s a good prayer for all of us.