'This shows your behavior': Oklahoma GOP Sen. admonished for telling union leader 'shut your mouth'

Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin attempted to silence a union leader by telling him "shut your mouth" during a recent Senate hearing, CNN reports.

Per CNN, the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee chairman, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), "had to intervene multiple times to get the questioning back on track," and the witness' "time expired" before he could fully respond to the question asked.

The dialogue between the two became heated when Mullin questioned general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Sean O’Brien, but refused to let the union leader complete his answer.

READ MORE: How unions safeguard workers' sweat equity

CNN reports:

He asked O’Brien his salary. 'Well, I'm glad you asked that question,' began O’Brien, before Mullin cut him off by reading off his 2019 annual income. O'Brien and Mullin went back and forth on what UPS drivers make, with O’Brien saying Mullin’s numbers were 'inaccurate.'

According to CNN, O'Brien told Mullin "his line of questioning was 'out of line,'" before Mullin said, "Sir, you need to shut your mouth."

"You're gonna tell me to shut my mouth?" O’Brien said. "Tough guy. 'I'm not afraid of physical confrontation.'"

CNN reports:

[Mullin] criticized the panel for not discussing allegations of unions intimidating workers who do not want to join their organizations, and pointed to his own experience where he alleges unions tried to intimidate him and his employees.

READ MORE: Why union workers are a front-line defense to protect Social Security

"I want to make it very clear. I’m not against unions. I’m not at all. Some of my very good friends work for unions, they work hard, and they do a good job," Mullin said. “Please don't make an assumption that I’m anti-union, but I also want to set the record straight."

CNN reports:

Sanders banged his gavel and told Mullin to let O'Brien answer the questions.

'It was rhetorical,' Mullin said.

'You ask a question, he has a right to answer that,' Sanders told him.

Sanders repeatedly had to stop the witness and senator from criticizing each other, as Mullin said this was showing how union leaders behave.

'No, this shows your behavior,' Sanders ordered. 'Stay on the issue, please.'

READ MORE: Bernie Sanders details how the 'decline of unions' has 'cost American workers dearly'

According to Business Insider, Mullin "drastically understated how much money he made in the private sector" while arguing with O'Brien.

Business Insider reports:

While lambasting Teamsters president Sean O'Brien for his nearly $200,000 salary, Oklahoma's Senator Markwayne Mullin claimed that he paid himself a salary of just $50,000 when he ran a plumbing business. But his financial disclosures show his salary was nearly $92,000 in 2012, the year he was first elected to Congress. His total income was even greater.

Watch the video below or at this link.

'Shut your mouth': Senator confronts labor leader in heated exchange over union intimidationyoutu.be

READ MORE: Robert Reich: Workers should look out for these four union-busting warning signs

CNN's full report is available at this link. Business Insider's report is here.