Mullin on beef with Teamsters president: ‘What are you supposed to do with bullies?’

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who went viral this week after challenging Teamsters head Sean O’Brien to a fisticuffs during a hearing, said Wednesday he’s felt bullied during his life and was in a reactionary mode during the outburst.

“He needs to be called out for his actions,” Mullin said during an appearance on CNN just a day after challenging O’Brien to a fight, a situation that prompted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the committee chair, to step in to cool things down.

“I can do something about it,” he added. “What are you supposed to do with bullies? Ignore them or stand up to them?”

The tensions bubbled over after O’Brien tweeted a photo of Mullin, who is in his first Senate term after being in the House for a decade, standing on a makeshift stool to apparently make him appear taller in a campaign debate.

Mullin, a mixed marshal arts fighter, read the text of the tweet during the hearing and asked O’Brien for an explanation.

Mullin challenged O’Brien to “stand your Butt up” over the online posts and settle the feud. When O’Brien responded telling Mullin to “stand your Butt up,” Mullin stood up, forcing Sanders to step in and tell them to settle down.

Mullin on CNN divulged his life history, as a child who had to wear leg braces and struggled through a speech impediment, also calling O’Brien a “mob mentality teamster boss.”

“I’ve never bullied anybody in my life. I’ve stood up to a lot of people. I was bullied myself. I was born with bad legs, had braces on my legs and a super-bad speech impediment until I was in grade school. I understand what bullying is,” Mullin said. “I learned how to do one thing … I learned how to fight.”

The Hill has reached out to O’Brien through the Teamsters for comment.