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CNN
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Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma advised a witness to “close your mouth” all the way through a heated alternate at a Senate listening to on Wednesday.
The witness, normal president of the World Brotherhood of Teamsters Sean O’Brien, went toe-to-toe with Mullin on the listening to earlier than the Senate Well being, Hard work, Training and Pensions Committee. The panel’s chairman, Vermont unbiased Sen. Bernie Sanders, needed to interfere a couple of instances to get the wondering again on course.
“I wish to make it very transparent. I’m no longer towards unions. I’m by no means. A few of my superb buddies paintings for unions, they paintings exhausting, they usually do a excellent task,” Mullin stated. “Please don’t make an assumption that I’m anti-union, however I additionally wish to set the document instantly.”
Mullin then criticized the panel for no longer discussing allegations of unions intimidating employees who don’t want to sign up for their organizations, and pointed to his personal enjoy the place he alleges unions attempted to intimidate him and his staff.
“I’m no longer petrified of bodily disagreement, in reality once in a while I stay up for it. That’s no longer my drawback,” he stated. Mullin is a former mixed martial arts fighter.
He requested O’Brien his wage. “Neatly, I’m satisfied you requested that query,” started O’Brien, earlier than Mullin reduce him off through studying off his 2019 annual source of revenue. O’Brien and Mullin went from side to side on what UPS drivers make, with O’Brien pronouncing Mullin’s numbers have been “misguided.”
O’Brien advised Mullin that his line of wondering used to be “out of line,” at which level Mullin responded, “Sir, you wish to have to close your mouth.”
“You’re gonna inform me to close my mouth?” O’Brien fired again. “Difficult man. ‘I’m no longer petrified of bodily disagreement.’”
Sanders banged his gavel and advised Mullin to let O’Brien solution the questions.
“It used to be rhetorical,” Mullin stated.
“You ask a query, he has a proper to respond to that,” Sanders advised him.
Sanders many times needed to forestall the witness and senator from criticizing each and every different, as Mullin stated this used to be appearing how union leaders behave.
“No, this presentations your habits,” Sanders ordered. “Keep at the factor, please.”
Mullin’s time expired with out O’Brien answering every other query.
