Matt Gaetz has unexpectedly hailed Bernie Sanders of Vermont as a “hero” after the progressive politician stopped Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin from starting a physical fight with union leader Sean O’Brien on Tuesday.
Talking on his own podcast show, Firebrand with Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican criticized Mullin for failing to show up for “the fights that matter” and being all “tough talk” and no action.
“Markwayne Mullin beating some guy’s a** who doesn’t like him in a Senate committee room isn’t going to help his constituents,” he said. “It’s not going to ensure that we’re in any better position… Markwayne Mullin, if you want to fight, let’s actually get into the fights that matter, on our budget, on our border, where you’ve been kinda noticeably absent,” he continued.
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“With Markwayne Mullin is a lot of tough talk, that was a real strange display. And maybe the hero of that entire exchange was Bernie Sanders, who knows, kind of the ‘Get off my lawn’ older grandfather type, telling him to sit down,” he concluded.
An extract from the podcast was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, by Ron Filipkowski of MeidasTouch, while the entire episode was shared on the platform by Gaetz.
On Tuesday, chaos unfolded in the Capitol Hill building during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, when Mullin challenged O’Brien to a physical fight after the Oklahoma Republican read out tweets by the union leader that referred to him as a “clown” and “fraud.”
“You want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here,” Mullin, a former mixed martial arts fighter, said, asking O’Brien: “You want to do it now?”
The situation escalated when the Teamsters president dared Mullin to “stand your butt up,” prompting the senator to spring up his seat. At that point, committee chair Bernie Sanders stepped in, telling Mullin: “No, no, no, sit down. Sit down! You’re a United States senator, sit down.”
“If you have questions on any economic issues, anything that was said, go for it. We’re not here to talk about physical abuse,” Sanders added.
Newsweek called Mullin’s office for comment on Wednesday but did not receive an immediate response.
The incident was one of many to involve Republican lawmakers on Tuesday. On the same day, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reportedly got into a physical brawl with one of the Republicans who ousted him last month, Tim Burchett of Tennessee.
According to NPR, McCarthy shoved Burchett as he was walking past him on the House floor, which led to the latter to chase him and lunge at him, starting a physical fight.
Also in the lower chamber, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky got into a verbal altercation with Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida. The two argued over reports that Comer loaned his brother $200,000, despite criticizing President Joe Biden for doing the same thing.
Comer denied those reports, but Moskowitz asked the Kentucky Republican why the American people should believe that.
“There’s a different rule for the president. There’s a different rule for you. Why should they believe what you’re saying?” he said. Comer shouted as the two went back and forth, at one point calling Moskowitz “a liar.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.