Christie and Markwayne Mullin, who met in high school, have been married for 28 years and have six children
Credit: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- President Donald Trump joked during Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s swearing-in ceremony that Mullin’s wife, Christie, looked less than half her age
- Christie, Trump said, “looks like she’s about 22 years old. I see these kids, but she looks very young”
- The America First Policy Institute describes the mom of six, the conservative policy think tank that she co-chairs, as a “lifelong Oklahoman” and “passionate business owner”
President Donald Trump joked that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s wife, Christie, looked less than half her age during Mullin’s swearing-in ceremony at the White House on Tuesday, March 24.
“I want to thank the family, because without the family, he's not here,” Trump said after Mullin was sworn in, gesturing to Mullin’s wife and children. “And that goes especially for mom, who looks like she's about 22 years old. I see these kids, but she looks very young.”
The remark drew laughter from the room, including from Christie, 47. The couple met in high school and celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary in June.
“It’s a great couple,“ Trump said Tuesday, speaking from a podium near the South End of the Oval Office. “Congratulations to you both.”
The president also briefly invited Mullin’s eldest son, Jim, to join him.
“Did he do a good job? Are you impressed with your father?” Trump asked him. “How about me? Don’t answer, you like your father better.”
As he stepped away, Trump grabbed Jim’s arm and squeezed his bicep. “Don’t wrestle him,” Trump told reporters and others attending Mullin’s swearing-in ceremony, adding that Jim, who wrestled at Oklahoma State University, is “made of steel.”
Christie, with whom Mullin has six children, is described by the America First Policy Institute, the conservative policy think tank that she co-chairs, as a “lifelong Oklahoman” and “passionate business owner.” She and her husband took over his father’s plumbing operation as teenagers, and have founded at least three more businesses in Oklahoma since then.
Credit: Heather Diehl/Getty
Christie also serves as a youth ministry sponsor at a local Pentecostal Christian church, coaches girls’ gymnastics, and leads self-defense classes for young women as a second-degree black belt in karate, according to the organization.
Asked for her advice to women and girls during a recent interview with Benny Johnson, a conservative political commentator and YouTuber, Christie said, “Put the lord first.”
“If you want to be that wife and mom, it starts with being a godly woman,” she said.
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Mullin joked about his wife’s age and youthful appearance in a 2022 Instagram post celebrating her birthday. “Christie turned 24 for the 20th time today!” he captioned a photo of the couple embracing on a dance floor.
The former Oklahoma senator will take charge of the Department of Homeland Security amid historic turmoil. The department’s funding lapsed in February, and lawmakers in Washington have struggled to reach an agreement to end the partial government shutdown.
With his swearing-in, Mullin formally replaced former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, whom Trump dismissed earlier this month after a pair of contentious oversight hearings in which lawmakers on Capitol Hill questioned her ability to lead the department and adequately supervise its aggressive immigration enforcement operations.
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