Republican senators and the head of the Teamsters union nearly got into a fistfight during a Senate hearing Tuesday, but Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders intervened to break it up.
This exchange was conducted by Oklahoma State Senator Markwayne Mullin. read tweet Teamsters President Sean O’Brien posted this in June.
Mullin told O’Brien, who was testifying at a hearing on U.S. unions, “Do you want to shut up? We can end this here with two consenting adults.”
“Okay, okay, perfect,” O’Brien replied. “I want to try it right away.”
“Then stand your ass up,” Marin retorted.
“Get your ass up,” O’Brien said.
Marin, wearing a white shirt and no jacket, stood up and began moving towards O’Brien.
“No, no, sit down! Sit down! You’re a United States senator!” shouted Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Mullin and O’Brien continued to talk trash to each other in the hearing room.
“This is a hearing. God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress. Let’s not make it worse,” Sanders said.
The feud between the senator and the union boss began several months ago.
Mullin told O’Brien to “shut up” during a heated exchange at a preliminary hearing in March.
In a subsequent social media post in June, Mr. O’Brien blasted Mr. Mullin, calling him a “clown and a fraud.”
“Stop acting like a tough guy in Senate hearings. You know where to find me. Cowboy everywhere, always,” O’Brien wrote. on X.
Sean M. O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, spoke at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing at the Washington State Capitol. He will give a lecture entitled, “How are we improving this?” , USA, November 14, 2023.
Elizabeth Franz | Reuters
A few days later, Marin countered that he had accepted the invitation and proposed a mixed martial arts match for charity.
The exchange prompted Mullin to take on O’Brien at Tuesday’s hearing.
This is developing news. Please check back for the latest information.
