Sen. Markwayne Mullin from Oklahoma found himself in a heated exchange with Sean O’Brien, the general president of the Teamsters.
The incident happened during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing. The altercation escalated from months of social media taunts and provocations initiated by O’Brien towards Mullin.
The event started with Mullin reading aloud a string of insulting tweets and other insults from O’Brien. He had previously challenged Mullin to a bout this year.
Mullin stated: “Sir, this is the time, this is the place. You wanna run your mouth? We could be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.”
O’Brien replied: “OK, that’s fine. Perfect.”
Mullin asked: “You want to do it now?”
O’Brien went on to say: “I’d love to do it right now.”
Mullin demanded: “Stand your b*tt up.”
O’Brien went on to say: “You stand your b*tt up.”
The confrontation intensified as both Mullin and O’Brien exchanged heated words, seemingly ready to engage physically. Mullin stood up, ready for a confrontation.
This prompted Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders to intervene and urge Mullin to take his seat. He reminded Mullin of his role as a United States senator and the decorum required during a hearing.
Sanders stated: “Sit down. You know you’re a United States senator.”
Mullin objected, saying that O’Brien had requested this. O’Brien attempted to add something, but Sanders would not hear it.
The feud between Mullin and O’Brien has been brewing since March, primarily centered around unionization discussions .
O’Brien wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Hey, JohnWayne Mullin … you should get your facts straight because every time you speak in these hearings you’re full of sh*t. The more you run your mouth, the more you show the American public what a moron you are.”
A few days later he tweeted again under TeamsterSOB handle: “In reality, just a clown & fraud. Always has been, always will be. Quit the tough guy act in these senate hearings. You know where to find me. Anyplace, Anytime cowboy.”
Mullin then replied by tweeting: “An attention-seeking union Teamster boss is trying to be punchy after our Senate hearing. Okay, I accept your challenge. MMA fight for charity of our choice. Sept 30th in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’ll give you three days to accept.”
However, a match between the two hasn’t taken place yet.
Mullin won a special election last year to replace retiring Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma).