SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. Sen. Markwaye Mullin (R-Okla.) listens during a November 14, 2023 Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing in Washington, D.C.
(Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
'Sit Down!': Sanders Stops GOP Senator From Fighting Teamsters President at Hearing
A fomenting feud between Sen. Markwayne Mullin—a former undefeated professional mixed martial arts fighter—and Teamsters leader Sean O'Brien nearly erupted into a physical brawl.
Nov 14, 2023
A U.S. Senate hearing on corporate greed and labor organizing took a testy turn on Tuesday as Sen. Bernie Sanders stepped in to stop Republican lawmaker and former professional mixed martial arts fighter Markwayne Mullin from physically fighting Teamsters president Sean O'Brien.
Mullin (R-Okla.)—a former undefeated mixed martial arts pro—and O'Brien appeared to be on a collision course during Tuesday's Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing as the senator reignited a running feud with the labor leader.
It all began at a previous HELP hearing, where O'Brien called Mullin a "greedy CEO" and then took to social media to challenge him to a fight, saying: "You know where to find me. Anyplace, anytime, cowboy." Mullin responded by challenging O'Brien to a charity MMA match.
After rehashing O'Brien's "anyplace, anytime, cowboy" comment, Mullin said Tuesday: "Sir, this is a time, this is a place. You wanna run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults; we can finish it here."
O'Brien retorted, "OK, that's fine; perfect."
Mullin: "You wanna do it now?"
O'Brien: "I'd love to do it right now."
Mullin: "Well stand your butt up, then."
O'Brien: "You stand your butt up, big guy."
As Mullin proceeded to rise to his feet, Sanders (I-Vt.)—who chairs the HELP Committee—interceded.
"Hold it... Stop it. Sit down," Sanders said forcefully while repeatedly hammering his gavel. "You're a United States senator!"
"This is a hearing," he added. "And God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress, let's not make it worse."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A U.S. Senate hearing on corporate greed and labor organizing took a testy turn on Tuesday as Sen. Bernie Sanders stepped in to stop Republican lawmaker and former professional mixed martial arts fighter Markwayne Mullin from physically fighting Teamsters president Sean O'Brien.
Mullin (R-Okla.)—a former undefeated mixed martial arts pro—and O'Brien appeared to be on a collision course during Tuesday's Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing as the senator reignited a running feud with the labor leader.
It all began at a previous HELP hearing, where O'Brien called Mullin a "greedy CEO" and then took to social media to challenge him to a fight, saying: "You know where to find me. Anyplace, anytime, cowboy." Mullin responded by challenging O'Brien to a charity MMA match.
After rehashing O'Brien's "anyplace, anytime, cowboy" comment, Mullin said Tuesday: "Sir, this is a time, this is a place. You wanna run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults; we can finish it here."
O'Brien retorted, "OK, that's fine; perfect."
Mullin: "You wanna do it now?"
O'Brien: "I'd love to do it right now."
Mullin: "Well stand your butt up, then."
O'Brien: "You stand your butt up, big guy."
As Mullin proceeded to rise to his feet, Sanders (I-Vt.)—who chairs the HELP Committee—interceded.
"Hold it... Stop it. Sit down," Sanders said forcefully while repeatedly hammering his gavel. "You're a United States senator!"
"This is a hearing," he added. "And God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress, let's not make it worse."
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
A U.S. Senate hearing on corporate greed and labor organizing took a testy turn on Tuesday as Sen. Bernie Sanders stepped in to stop Republican lawmaker and former professional mixed martial arts fighter Markwayne Mullin from physically fighting Teamsters president Sean O'Brien.
Mullin (R-Okla.)—a former undefeated mixed martial arts pro—and O'Brien appeared to be on a collision course during Tuesday's Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing as the senator reignited a running feud with the labor leader.
It all began at a previous HELP hearing, where O'Brien called Mullin a "greedy CEO" and then took to social media to challenge him to a fight, saying: "You know where to find me. Anyplace, anytime, cowboy." Mullin responded by challenging O'Brien to a charity MMA match.
After rehashing O'Brien's "anyplace, anytime, cowboy" comment, Mullin said Tuesday: "Sir, this is a time, this is a place. You wanna run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults; we can finish it here."
O'Brien retorted, "OK, that's fine; perfect."
Mullin: "You wanna do it now?"
O'Brien: "I'd love to do it right now."
Mullin: "Well stand your butt up, then."
O'Brien: "You stand your butt up, big guy."
As Mullin proceeded to rise to his feet, Sanders (I-Vt.)—who chairs the HELP Committee—interceded.
"Hold it... Stop it. Sit down," Sanders said forcefully while repeatedly hammering his gavel. "You're a United States senator!"
"This is a hearing," he added. "And God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress, let's not make it worse."
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.