During a hearing in Washington on Wednesday, a Republican senator dramatically understated his private-sector earnings.
While criticising Teamsters President Sean O’Brien for his nearly USD200,000 salary, Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin claimed that when he ran a plumbing business, he paid himself only USD50,000. However, according to his financial disclosures, he earned nearly USD92,000 in 2012, the year he was first elected to Congress. His total earnings were even higher.
“What did you make when you ran your own business?” O’Brien inquired.
“When did I establish my company? I kept my salary around USD50,000 per year because I invested every penny of it “Mullin responded.
Mullin’s main source of income, like many business owners, was not his salary. In 2012, he reported earning between USD200,000 and USD2 million from two family businesses, Mullin Plumbing Inc. and Mullin Plumbing West, as well as another USD15,000 to USD50,000 from bank shares.
Mullin also earned well over USD50,000 in 2011. His salary was more more than USD77,000, and his other earnings from the same two businesses totaled more than USD200,000. He also reported over USD50,000 in rent from Mullin Properties that year.
A request for comment from Mullin’s office was not returned.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by democratic socialist Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, held a hearing on “Defending the Right of Workers to Organize” on Wednesday. Before questioning O’Brien, Mullin described himself as a job creator and stated that a union attempted to intimidate his employees into unionising in 2009.
“I began with nothing. There is nothing. In fact, I began with nothing. And I started this small plumbing company with six employees, and now we have over 300 “He stated.
On Wednesday, O’Brien appeared to enjoy sparring with Mullin. At one point, he could be seen grinning, and after the hearing, he tweeted information from more recent financial disclosures about Mullin’s worth tens of millions of dollars.
Mullin’s fortune increased to at least USD31 million in October, according to the Tulsa World, following the apparent sale of his plumbing business to HomeTown Services, a residential heating, air conditioning, plumbing, and electrical company.
Mullin has been a member of Congress since 2012, and was elected to the Senate in a special election last year. He is a Cherokee tribal member and the Senate’s only Native American member.
He is well-known for clashing with State Department officials in 2021 while attempting to enter Afghanistan on a self-appointed rescue mission.
Info source – Business Insider