Congressional Conflicts: Multi-millionaire senator blows deadlines on disclosing stock trades

(The Center Square) -- One of Congress’ richest members has been the least likely recently to comply with a 2012 federal law on disclosing stock trades, an investigation by The Center Square found. 

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, has blown past more deadlines to report his dealings than any lawmaker since Dec. 31, according to third-party websites that track members’ trades. The law requires members of Congress to file what is known as a periodic transaction report within 30 days of being notified or 45 days of the sale or purchase of stock, bonds, and other securities worth more than $1,000. Sen. Mullin has filed three reports since Dec. 31 with trades so long ago that they occurred during the Biden Administration.   

On Aug. 13, Mullin reported the sale or purchase of more than 70 stocks and bonds worth tens of millions of dollars in 2023 and 2024. Most trades were of stocks worth $1,001 to $15,000 that he, his wife, or the couple made through a joint account. Others included the purchase of $100,001 to $250,000 of bonds from the Canadian County Educational Facilities Authority, a public trust in Oklahoma, on Jan. 2, 2024. 

A Mullin spokeswoman did not reply to two email requests for comment. Mullin is one of twenty-two lawmakers who filed reports with late trades this year.

Kevin Kosar, a resident scholar at The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, said he is troubled by lawmakers’ tardy disclosures. 

“The public already is suspicious of Congress: they tend to think legislators are on the take,” Kosar said in an interview. “Failing to report trades in a timely manner does not improve Congress's reputation.” 

Dan Schwager, the former chief counsel and staff director of the House Ethics Committee, said the 2012 federal law has helped deter lawmakers from engaging in insider trading.

“The fact that reporters write stories and lawmakers have to file reports makes them think twice,” Schwager said in an interview. 

Mullin, the 48-year-old former business owner of a plumbing company, has a net worth of $65.7 million, according to Quiver Quantitative, a news tracking website. The fortune makes him the 23rd wealthiest member among the 535 members of Congress.

Mullin’s three reports that disclosed late trades means that he is liable to pay fines.  

Under the 2012 Stock Act, members are assessed fees on a graduated scale.

The first time a member files a report with a trade that occurred past the 30- or 45-day deadline he or she pays $200. The second, third, and fourth times a member does so he or she pays $200 based on the month that the trades occurred. The fifth time and more is based on the number of late trades. In other words, a lawmaker could file a report with 100 late trades and be fined only $200, while a lawmaker who filed five reports with five late trades would be fined at least $1,000.

Questionable trade timing

Mullin’s latest filing, on Oct. 1, differed from his reports on Dec. 31, July 30, and Aug. 13 in that all the trades occurred within the 30- to 45-day window. Among the trades was the purchase through a joint account of $15,001 to $50,000 of stock in UnitedHealth Group Inc on Sept. 24.  

The trade is notable because seven days later, on Oct. 1, UnitedHealth announced that it will stop providing Medicare Advantage, an alternative to Medicare for health and drug coverage, in 109 counties, most of which are rural, next year. 

Bobby Hunter, who runs the company’s government programs, told Reuters that "(w)e need a model that is sustainable and allows us to bring care to folks in those areas in a cost-effective way." 

Sen. Mullin sits on a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the budget of the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency that administers Medicare Advantage. In addition, he introduced legislation in April for Medicaid and Medicare recipients in rural areas to get access to telehealth for specialty services.  

Since UnitedHealth’s announcement and after Mullin's purchase, the company’s stock has increased 5 percent, rising to $362.62 a share at 1:10 p.m. EDT on Oct. 3 from $344 a share at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 1. 

Other representatives sold stock before other key announcements as The Center Square reported last month.

Mullin was not the only lawmaker to have filed reports with late trades this year.  

U.S. Rep. David Taylor, an Ohio Republican, filed two reports with trades past the 30- to 45-day window.

On Sept. 3, he disclosed the purchase of $1,001 to $15,000 of stock in Dallas-based AT&T Inc. on July 17, 46 days late. On April 4, Taylor reported he sold $1,001 to $15,000 of stock in New York-based J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., a global investment bank, on Jan. 29, a trade 63 days after the fact.

A Taylor spokeswoman did not reply immediately to a request for comment.

U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, a Florida Republican, reported on Aug. 14 that he bought $1,001 to $15,000 of stock in Capital One Financial Corp, a McClean, Virginia-based bank holding company, on June 7, a trade disclosed 72 days late. On March 11, Dunn bought $15,001 to $50,000 of stock in MicroStrategy, now Strategy, Inc. a Tysons Corner, Virginia-based software and Bitcoin treasury company, a purchase revealed 76 days late.

Dunn did not respond to requests for comment.

Nineteen other lawmakers filed one periodic transaction report this year disclosing late trades.

Congress is weighing legislation to ban members, their spouses, and children from stock trading altogether. On July 30, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee approved legislation from U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, to do just that. Neither the House nor the Senate has ever voted on a stock ban bill. 

Schwager, the former chief counsel to the House Ethics Committee, said he doubts Congress will vote on legislation to ban stock trades absent an insider-trading scandal on Capitol Hill.

"It’s going to have to be something that really gets their attention,” Schwager said.