In a striking reversal of tone and temperature, Sen. Markwayne Mullin used a Senate HELP Committee hearing to publicly call Teamsters president Sean O’Brien his “friend,” praise their frequent conversations, and propose working together on national security shipbuilding.
The remarks came during a hearing, where Mullin – who famously challenged O’Brien to fight in a 2023 hearing – said, “I’d like to welcome you back to committee and call you my friend… We don’t agree on every issue, but… we found quite a friendship.” That’s a long way from the viral standoff a year earlier, when Associated Press video showed Mullin bristling, O’Brien firing back, and Sen. Bernie Sanders stepping in to restore order.
The 2023 Flashpoint Everyone Remembered
To recall how hot things got: in November 2023, during another HELP Committee hearing, Mullin confronted O’Brien over union rhetoric, saying, “You know where to find me – any place, any time, cowboy.” O’Brien replied, “This is a time, this is a place,” before the two men squared up verbally. Sanders, chairing the hearing, cut in quickly: “You are a United States senator. Sit down.” That Associated Press clip ricocheted across social media as the quintessential Washington meltdown. The fact that both men now appear on the same page doesn’t erase the clash; it underscores the scale of the turnaround.
The New Tone: “We Talk All the Time”
In the latest hearing, Mullin credited shared priorities – “our common love for those that work in the labor industry” – and even invoked “the leadership of President Trump” as part of the backdrop for this détente. He didn’t pretend they’d resolved every policy difference. But he leaned into a practical partnership ethos, which is how real shifts in Washington start: not with metaphysical conversions but with phone calls, shared goals, and a willingness to leave old slights in the archive.
Mullin’s Shutdown Broadsides, Then a Pivot
Before getting to labor, Mullin used his microphone to lash Democrats over the government shutdown, arguing that members who were now decrying a continuing resolution had voted for the same language previously. He also pinned responsibility on Sen. Chuck Schumer for, in his telling, refusing to “release his members,” and argued the president has leeway to deem federal employees essential during a shutdown. You can agree or disagree with the mechanics of that critique, but it’s notable that Mullin then pivoted sharply away from the brawl-of-the-day and toward a big industrial question: how to rebuild America’s shipbuilding capacity.
A Concrete Olive Branch: Rebuilding the Shipyards
Mullin’s ask of O’Brien was simple and specific: help stand up a public–private push to revive dormant shipyards and supply the skilled labor to run them. He framed it as a national security imperative – “we need to be focused on national security for ship building” – and an economic one. He argued that union skill sets are uniquely suited to the task and that unions could also apply pressure on states to get key yards “back up and running.” You don’t hear a Republican senator say “we need the labor to do it” unless he’s serious about a coalition that crosses the usual trench lines.
O’Brien’s Answer: Yes, and Train the Next Generation
O’Brien didn’t just accept; he broadened the case. Calling shipbuilding a “noble profession,” he said the United States should build ships at home “to avoid any type of breach of security issues.” Drawing on his Port Authority experience, O’Brien talked about expanding ports and businesses on those ports, and emphasized training – “this next generation of workers to successfully build the best ships in the world.” That’s the right frame: if you want to scale fast in heavy industry, you invest in people as much as plant and tooling.
The Handshake that Rewrote a Headline
To punctuate the moment, Mullin invited O’Brien to stand and shake hands. O’Brien obliged – deadpanning, “for the record, I’m not a hugger” – and the two put months of bad blood behind them with one quick clasp. That’s not just symbolism. A handshake on the Senate dais gives cover to managers, contractors, and union locals who want to cooperate but worry about being flanked by partisans. It signals, “You can work together on this without losing your team jersey.”
Mullin’s Amazon Pay Sidebar – and Why It Matters
Mullin also waded into a technical point about labor numbers, pushing back on a colleague’s global statistic about Amazon wages by noting U.S. pay differs from pay in developing countries. He asserted starting U.S. pay is around $55,000–$60,000 and that experienced workers can earn $75,000–$177,000 with bonuses and skills. Whether every figure stands up to checking is less important here than the instinct: he was trying to get everyone operating from the same data terrain before debating policy. When labor and management argue from dueling spreadsheets, nothing moves; when they agree on the denominator, deals happen.
Industrial Policy Needs Unlikely Friends
I’ll be blunt: if Congress wants to reconstitute a world-class shipbuilding industrial base, it can’t do it on talk-radio alliances. It needs odd couples – Republican senators and Teamster bosses, defense hawks and apprenticeship evangelists, port authorities and community colleges. Mullin’s practical olive branch to O’Brien is precisely the kind of coalition-building that built the Arsenal of Democracy the first time. It’s also how you shorten timelines. A union that’s in the room on day one can help sequence training cohorts, align safety protocols, and reduce rework – all of which saves months and millions.
The Political Optics Cut Both Ways
There’s political risk in this for both men. For Mullin, some on the right will say he “went soft” on a labor leader he once dubbed a thug. For O’Brien, skeptics on the left will ask whether partnering with a Republican undermines leverage on other fights. But the reward dwarfs the risk: a visible win in an area, shipbuilding, where America genuinely needs capacity. If the handshake yields an actual pilot yard reopened, a signed public–private framework, and cohorts of trainees headed to good-paying jobs, the critics will look small and the result will look big.
Sanders’s Role Then – and Why It Helped Now
It’s also worth remembering that if Sanders hadn’t slammed the brakes in 2023, the spectacle could have permanently poisoned the well. By insisting the hearing stick to economic issues, Sanders preserved a lane for policy to outrun performative politics. That doesn’t make him a matchmaker; it makes him a chairman who kept the forum functional enough for today’s rapprochement. Ironically, the clip that made the men look worst also became the reference point for how far they’ve come.
What Success Would Look Like from Here
If this nascent friendship is going to matter, we should see three things next. First, Mullin and O’Brien should convene a working group – yard owners, Navy/MSC representatives, labor leaders, state officials – to map the top two or three yards that could be reactivated quickly. Second, the Teamsters and other trades should stand up accelerated training pipelines tied to those yards, with clear wage ladders and credentialing. Third, the Senate should grease the skids for contracting that values domestic production and labor stability in scoring, not just low bid. None of that requires a hug. It requires follow-through.
From Cage Match to Coalition
A year ago, Mullin barked, “Stand your butt up.” This week, he stood up to shake hands. The tone shift, captured by Forbes Breaking News, is more than etiquette; it’s a permission structure for cooperation on a strategically vital industry. And while the Associated Press will always have the footage of that combustible 2023 exchange with O’Brien – and of Sanders restoring order – the more consequential video may be the one of two adversaries deciding to build ships instead of social media clips. If they keep this up, they won’t just avoid a fight. They might actually help win one that matters.
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Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.