Republican Markwayne Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, was sworn in to the 113th Congress on Thursday.

Mullin represents Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional district, which has the largest percentage of Native Americans of any district in the country. Cherokee Nation Chief Bill John Baker presented him with a blanket at a reception on Capitol Hill.

“I know that Markwayne has the ability and the fortitude to make us extremely proud,” Baker said, The Oklahoman reported. “His mother never thought that he would be in Congress. She thought he might be president some day.”

Mullin is now the second Native American in the House. The other is Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.

The 113th Congress includes a record number of women and racial and ethnic minorities, although a Native American woman has never served in the House or the Senate.

Get the Story:
Oklahoma's two new congressmen begin service in House (The Oklahoman 1/4)
The 113th Congress is the most diverse in history (The Washington Post 1/4)
Day of Records and Firsts as 113th Congress Opens (The New York Times 1/4)

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