If you’re a candidate for a position in President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet, you might want to brush up on your self-defense skills in preparation for any future meetings. Why? Because according to a Monday report from NOTUS, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) – who once threatened to strike a witness during a congressional hearing – may be tapped to serve as Secretary of the Interior or head of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Mullin, a former U.S. representative elected to the Senate in 2023, made headlines in November of last year after he threatened to fight Teamsters President Sean O’Brien in the middle of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Hearing.
Months of social media sparring between Mullen and O’Brien came to a head during the union president’s testimony. “Do you want to run your mouth?” Mullen said of O’Brien’s social media comments: “We can be consenting adults, and we can end it here,” and called him a “greedy CEO pretending to be self-made.” In reality, just a clown and a fraud,” and asking him to “stop acting tough at Senate hearings.” You know where to find me. Anywhere and anytime, cowboys.
During the hearing, Mullen confronted O’Brien. “Do you want to run your mouth? We can be consenting adults, and we can end it right here.” The senator went so far as to stand up and appeared to adjust his rings in preparation for a punch before committee chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called the hearing back to order.
The senator later defended his actions, saying he could have hit O’Brien if not for “political correctness.”
Mullen’s temperament has not deterred Trump’s circle from considering him for a position in his cabinet. Mullen, a native of the Cherokee Nation, is a member of the Senate Committees on Indian Affairs. Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; Environment and Public Works; and Armed Services. Mullin served as a surrogate for the Trump campaign throughout the election cycle, working closely with the campaign’s Native American outreach.
According to sources who spoke to NOTUS, Mullen has not explicitly indicated whether he would accept an appointment in a second Trump administration, but he would certainly consider it if the offer came.
This news could come soon, as the president-elect has already begun filling the many positions he will need in his upcoming administration. So far, his campaign chair Susie Wiles has been tapped as chief of staff, Tom Homan, an immigration hawk and mass deportation enthusiast, has been dubbed the “border czar,” and Stephen Miller – Trump’s former racial-nationalist adviser – has been named the “border czar.” He is expected to be named deputy chief of staff for policy.
A source