Ballard Partners’ 13th & Park welcomes nominee for DHS Secretary
In early March, Markwayne Mullin was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). To commemorate the occasion, Ballard Partners’ popular digital show, 13th & Park, rereleased an episode featuring the Oklahoma senator.
The episode, which was originally broadcast in December of 2025, saw Mullin sit down with 13th & Park host Adam Goodman for a wide-ranging discussion about Congress, public service, and the future of America. Mullin began his career in public service in 2023, when he was elected to represent his Oklahoma district in the US House of Representatives.
Mullin ran for Congress as a political outsider, having initially made a name for himself as the proprietor of a successful Oklahoma plumbing business. Known for its red vans, Mullin Family Plumbing was initially operated by Mullin’s father. When his father fell ill, Mullin dropped out of college to save the company. Along with his wife, Christie, he has since expanded Mullin Plumbing into the region’s largest service provider.
Mullin had attended college on a wrestling scholarship and later became a mixed-martial arts fighter, going 3-0 over the course of a brief career. His interest in combat sports was instrumental in his entering into the orbit of President Donald Trump, as the two initially bonded at a 2023 NCAA wrestling event in Tulsa.
By that time, Mullin had been sworn in as a US senator after serving four terms in the House. Since replacing Senator James Inhofe, he has brought a unique background to the chamber as its first tribal-citizen member in nearly 20 years. A member of the Cherokee Nation, he is only the second citizen from that nation to become a US senator, and he has spent his time in the chamber advocating for Native Americans’ rights as a member of the Indian Affairs Committee.
“It 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,” said Cherokee Nation principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. upon learning of Mullin’s nomination to DHS secretary.
Mullin is also unique in the Senate as one of the few business owners. Along with operating his plumbing business, he is the founder of an environmental business and a popular steakhouse. A native of Westville, Oklahoma, he lives with his wife and six children on the active cow-calf ranch where he was raised.
During his interview on 13th & Park, Mullin discussed his real-world leadership experience and why he believes Congress needs more members like him. Mullin also talked with Goodman about how, after a wrestling accident left his son with a traumatic-brain injury, Trump supported him and his family, revealing a side of himself that Mullin says few have seen.
13th & Park is a production of Ballard Partners, a leading public affairs firm that, like Mullin, maintains close ties with President Trump. Ballard Partners founder Brian Ballard chaired the Florida Finance Committee for the future president’s 2016 campaign and later served as vice chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee and as a member of the Presidential Transition Finance Committee. Currently, he serves on the board of the Trump Kennedy Center and, as he discussed on a November 2025 episode of 13th & Park, is the individual responsible for introducing the current White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, to Trump.
In the period since Trump initially took office in 2017, Ballard Partners has expanded from a regional Florida-based firm into a national powerhouse with offices across the country and several internationally. Along the way, the firm has recruited former members of the Trump administration to join its ranks of government relations professionals, including several who have served as special assistants to the president.
