Markwayne Mullin credits Trump for mending fences with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien – Washington Examiner
In a recent progress, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien have reconciled after a heated exchange during a Senate hearing in November 2023, where Mullin challenged O’Brien to a fight following insults on X (formerly Twitter). The confrontation lasted nearly six minutes, with Senator Bernie Sanders struggling to keep control of the hearing focused on labor union support. Former President Donald Trump facilitated a meeting between Mullin and O’Brien to garner union support for Republicans ahead of the 2024 presidential elections, marking a historic endorsement from the teamsters for a Republican candidate. Following their reconciliation, Mullin expressed that they have developed a strong friendship despite previous tensions, while indicating his desire to reshape the perception that the Republican Party is anti-union. Amid ongoing challenges regarding the confirmation of labor secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Mullin and O’Brien’s new rapport could play a pivotal role in bridging gaps between labor unions and Republican interests.
Markwayne Mullin credits Trump for mending fences with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien have made up after coming to blows during a Senate hearing in 2023 in an effort to prop up President Donald Trump’s pick for labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
During a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing in November 2023, Mullin challenged O’Brien to a fight in response to insults hurled by O’Brien on X.
“This is the time. This is the place,” Mullin told O’Brien. “If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.”
Mullin and O’Brien threw insults and repeatedly challenged each other to a fight for nearly six minutes while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) struggled to maintain control of the hearing on how labor unions are assisting families.
Trump arranged for Mullin and O’Brien to meet last year in an effort to win over union support for Republicans during the 2024 presidential election cycle, which was the first time in 30 years the Teamsters endorsed a Republican presidential candidate.
“Now we’ve made up, and actually, we’ve got a really good friendship,” Mullin said in a video while standing by Chavez-DeRemer and O’Brien. “In fact, you’d almost say relationship. If this was a relationship, I’d be the man in the relationship.”
“That’s debatable,” O’Brien chimed in.
Mullin was previously highly critical of union leadership but shared with Axios in 2024 that he wants to be part of the dialogue to change the narrative that the Republican Party is anti-union.
“They’ve just got to know that they can trust us,” Mullin told Axios. “We’ve kind of got this picture that we’re anti-union.”
The meeting between Chavez-DeRemer, O’Brien, and Mullin comes as Chavez-DeRemer started her committee hearing on Wednesday.
There is concern that Chavez-DeRemer will not receive enough support from Republicans in the committee, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) saying he would not support her.
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