August Editorial Winner

Newsletter's right about Congress, not Trump

By Kim Poindexter, Tahlequah Daily Press

Sen. Markwayne Mullin has a newsletter, and a few days ago, a snippet made the rounds on social media, “From the office of Senator Markwayne Mullin.” He finally admitted something most Americans already know: Congress no longer serves a purpose.

The message read: “It’s pretty clear that we didn’t need acts of Congress to end forever wars; the same way we didn’t need Congress to secure the border, what we needed was a new president. Donald Trump is the ‘Peace through Strength’ president, and he’s negotiating with world leaders across the globe to bring an end to senseless fighting and violence. We’ve also crossed an important milestone in the America First administration; we’re now more than 200 days into the great American comeback!”

If all we need is the president, U.S. taxpayers could save more than $94 million a year. And members of Congress, most of whom are millionaires or billionaires, won’t miss the extra loot. Mullin himself has increased his wealth exponentially since joining that august body – the one for which he promised to term-limit himself until the Lord – or someone else – alerted him he could “make a difference” by staying the course.

In recent months, he’s filed information on stock trades that elicited murmurs of conflict of interest. Since February 2023, Mullin has served on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which scrutinizes and makes recommendations about education issues to the Senate. Countless media sources reported the belated financial disclosures, with Newsweek giving one example: In July 2024, he bought stock worth between $1,001 and $15,000 in Stride Inc., which organizes online private schools across the country. The trade wasn’t disclosed until November that year, and while the share values weren’t disclosed, Stride has scored $405,000 in federal contracts since 2020.

To be fair, Mullin is the tip of the iceberg. Others in Congress, in both parties, have openly enriched themselves to a degree the average American can scarcely comprehend, because there are too many zeroes after the dollar signs. And it’s mostly legal; they’ve made sure of that. But Mullin is an exceptional case, mainly because of his tendency to snack on his foot – as he did with his about-face on clinging to power. And who can blame him? Why should he give up his cushy berth, when Oklahoma voters seem fine with this type of behavior?

Mullin famously implied he had “lost money” by serving in Congress, and asserted the American people did not, in fact, pay his salary. In defending pay increases for those poor souls slaving away at the Capitol, he was quoted as saying: “If we’re not careful, you’re only going to get the individuals that are millionaires-plus that’s able to serve in Congress. ... The worst financial decision I ever made was running for Congress.” Trouble is, that’s a flagrant fib, since he has become one of those “millionaires-plus.”

But back to Mullin’s assessment of Congress: Almost everything he said is provably false. Those “forever wars” grind on and on, even if Trump’s most ardent fans want to deny it. And while he may be playing verbal shuffleboard with tyrants like Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, the “across the globe” claim is a gross exaggeration, as public statements by most world leaders affirm. Props to Trump if he does eventually play a role in bringing “an end to senseless fighting and violence,” but the U.S. isn’t setting a very good example with its bullying and blustering on the world scene.

As far as labeling Trump’s reign the “great American comeback,” only time will tell. But right now, consumer prices, open bigotry and hate are all on the rise. And one thing’s for sure: Mullin will have to face voters soon, and they need to remember what he’s done and said.