Mullin slams Gaetz: ‘Living off your daddy’s money’

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who challenged a Teamsters boss to a fight last month, on Thursday slammed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for “living off” his “daddy’s money” after Gaetz cited Mullin’s increase in wealth as a reason to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. 

“I hear @RepMattGaetz has criticism of hard-earned success — he should try building a business that gains value, it’s more gratifying than living off your daddy’s money,” Mullin posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.  

Mullin was reacting to a graphic Gaetz reposted that showed Mullin’s net worth swelled from $12 million in 2018, when he was a House member, to $63 million in 2022, despite earning a $174,000 salary in Congress.

“We should pass a ban on trading stocks!” Gaetz said in his post, citing Mullin’s rise in wealth.

Gaetz also defended his post after Mullin’s comment.  

“The only thing I criticized were your stock trades while a member of Congress. I want to ban those trades. You cashed in and made millions,” Gaetz wrote.  

Mullin’s stock trades have attracted some attention online. 

Capitol Trades pointed out that Mullin bought between $15,000 and $50,000 in Raytheon Technologies stock through a joint account on Sept. 13, noting that company’s stocks have risen 6 percent since the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians outside of the Gaza Strip.  

Gaetz’s family’s wealth has also received media attention.  

Forbes estimated in 2021 that Gaetz and his parents had a net worth of about $30 million.  

Gaetz’s father, Don, reported his and his wife’s net worth as $29.6 million in June of 2020. He served as president of the Florida Senate from 2012 to 2014.  

Mullin showed that he doesn’t take insults lightly when he nearly came to blows with a union official at a Senate hearing last month, challenging Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien to a fist fight during a Senate hearing after O’Brien said the Oklahoma senator is “a greedy CEO who pretends like he’s self made.”