Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.)

For Rep. Markwayne Mullin, the typical congressman’s wardrobe doesn’t come naturally.

“I never owned a suit until after the election,” he says while tugging at his suit jacket. “I got married in jeans and boots. My wife and I, when we went to prom, I was in a pair of jeans.”

{mosads} A pair of denim is better suited for how the first-term lawmaker likes to spend his time back home in the Sooner State. “My favorite thing to do, hands down — I’m not really one to have hobbies — I love working cattle with my family,” says Mullin. “It’s the time where the family probably gets the maddest at each other, but we laugh the hardest afterwards.”

After a day wrangling sometimes-uncooperative livestock, Mullin says his family usually comes back to an “amazing” home-cooked meal, courtesy of his wife, Christie. “We come in, we laugh about the ones that got kicked that day. You’re working around cattle, you’re going to get hurt. If it doesn’t send you to the hospital, it’s a good time.”

When cattle aren’t kicking him, Mullin says he enjoys snake hunting with his five kids. 

Whether in Washington or back at home, Mullin said he starts every day with a ritual that includes a devotion and an hour-long workout. The congressman, who used to own a gym, fits cardio and weights into his routine, followed by a three-minute ab workout.

When asked if he follows one of those quick six-pack-building DVDs, Mullin balks and exclaims, “No, that’s a dance routine! We don’t do dance routines.”

Mullin says he works out to eat, not the reverse, and “loves” ice cream and peanut M&Ms.

And how would he describe his style? “Awkward,” he replies with a smile.

But there’s one thing he’s certain of, as far as his personal fashion goes.

“The idea of having to match a pair of socks to your tie or to your pants just doesn’t make any sense to me. … With boots you don’t have to worry about it. Nobody sees your socks,” he says.

He’ll go so far as to say he’ll absolutely never be caught dead in anything other than his cowboy boots: “If you want to know when I took a drink out of the Potomac, it’s when I have a pair of fancy dress shoes on. Or I lost a bet.”

— Judy Kurtz