(The Hill) – 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. Don Gaetz served as president of the Florida Senate from 2012 to 2014.
Last month, Mullin demonstrated his willingness to engage in a physical fight with a union official at a Senate hearing, 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.”
