- GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenged a union boss to a MMA fight for charity.
- Mullin's challenge comes after months of back and forth with Teamster leader Sean O'Brien.
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma on Monday challenged Teamster Union boss Sean O'Brien to a MMA charity fight amid simmering tensions between the two after O'Brien called Mullin a "greedy CEO" during a testy exchange at a recent Senate hearing.
"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," Mullin wrote on his official Twitter account.
A spokesperson for Mullin confirmed to Insider that senator intended to fight on September 30th in Tulsa if his challenge is accepted.
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 3 days to accept. pic.twitter.com/9WpvuTpDlG
— Markwayne Mullin (@SenMullin) June 26, 2023
Mullin would enter the fight with a potentially enormous advantage, before entering politics the Oklahoman boasted an undefeated record in local mixed martial arts fights. He was also honored by the Oklahoma chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. O'Brien is a fourth-generation trucker, who in 2021 defeated James P. Hoffa, the son of the labor legend and infamous Jimmy Hoffa, to lead the Teamsters.
This is not the first time Mullin has challenged someone to a fight. In 2018, the then-Oklahoma congressman said he would fight Michael Avenatti after Avenatti, who had made a name for himself representing Stormy Daniels, challenged Donald Trump Jr. to a fight.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, had to intervene during a March 8 hearing when Mullin and O'Brien got into it over unionization tactics. Mullin took particular issue over efforts to unionize his plumbing business. The Tulsa World reported last October that the lawmaker had sold his business, jumping his reported net worth to at least $31 million.
Insider later reported that Mullin lowballed his own estimate of how much salary he made in the private sector when he argued with O'Brien over how much he made for leading the Teamsters.
"You're out of line, man," O'Brien told Mullin during the exchange, as Sanders frantically tried to regain control.
Mullin then said, "You need to shut your mouth" before O'Brien mocked the senator for being a "tough guy" who had just said he was "not afraid of physical confrontations."
Mullin wasn't done, and pressed O'Brien on whether he had ever created a job.
"We create opportunity, because we hold greedy CEOs like yourself accountable," O'Brien replied.
Since the hearing, O'Brien has occasionally tweeted at Mullin, further escalating the budding feud.
It remains to be seen if the pair will come to actual blows. Insider's request for comment to a Teamsters spokesperson was not immediately returned.