Nothing to see here? DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin shares a D.C. home with a Republican congressman

This story originally appeared on The Advocate.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has reportedly shared a Washington, D.C., home with Rep. Jason Smith for three years, renewing speculation about the two men.

Mullin, a former professional fighter, met Smith, the Missouri Republican who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, while leading bipartisan congressional workouts, The New York Times reported in 2014. The workouts also included former Rep. Aaron Schock, an Illinois Republican who came out as gay after leaving Congress.

Mullin has called Smith his best friend in Congress. Sources close to Mullin told the Daily Mail last week that he has lived with Smith in a row house near Capitol Hill for the past three years. Lawmakers sometimes share housing in Washington, and Mullin represented Oklahoma in the Senate for much of that period. The arrangement reportedly continued after his confirmation as Homeland Security secretary.

“It's strange that a cabinet secretary still has a roommate," one source told the Mail. “Maybe it's because he is so rarely in DC since he flies home so often. He literally uses it as a crash pad.”

Related: Senate confirms brawler Markwayne Mullin to lead Homeland Security Department after Kristi Noem

Mullin’s financial disclosure lists a separate Washington residential property held through Mullin Realty LLC and valued at $1 million to $5 million. It reports rental income from that property. Mullin reportedly pays rent to live in Smith’s home. The disclosure does not explain his housing choice.

Mullin oversees agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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Smith chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. He was a close ally of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, another member of the workout group. Smith also became the target of a personal attack by former Rep. Matt Gaetz in 2023, when the Florida Republican said on his Firebrand podcast:

“Jason Smith says if my lips are moving, I'm lying. Well, you know what? If Jason Smith is breathing, he is living a lie,” Gaetz said. “There might not be another member of Congress who lives a lie every day more than Jason Smith, and Jason Smith knows exactly what I am talking about. And by the way, so does almost every member of the House Republican caucus. So, there's a good deal of projection in Jason Smith calling me a liar when it's Jason Smith who literally has to live a lie, and I honestly pity him for that because it wouldn't be something that—I wouldn't live that way. "

Gaetz later told Newsweek he was referring to Smith’s relationships with lobbyists, not his sexuality.

Smith, 46, has never married. Mullin and his wife, Christie, have been married for 29 years.