#senator

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has chosen a cowboy-hat-wearing former MMA fighter who once nearly challenged a witness to fight and who likes to bounce a rubber ball to relieve stress to be the new leader of the Department of Homeland Security. 

On Thursday, Trump announced Kristi Noem, the face of his disastrous immigration crackdown in Minnesota, would be replaced by the at-times confrontational and pugnacious GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.

“I am super excited about this opportunity,” Mullin told reporters. “It came not as a complete surprise, but as a little bit of a surprise.”

“It’s just pretty humbling when you start to think about it,” he added. “Little kid from west Oklahoma gets to serve in the president’s cabinet. That’s pretty neat.”

Mullin, 48, is well-liked among his Senate GOP colleagues and by Trump. He’s been one of Trump’s top defenders on Capitol Hill, making seemingly nonstop appearances on cable news shows defending his administration, a strategy that almost certainly helped him get the nomination. 

WATCH: Oklahoma senator challenges Teamsters president to a fight during Senate hearing

Nov 14, 2023

A Senate hearing escalated into a near brawl on Tuesday when Oklahoma's Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin asked Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, if he wanted to fight “right now.”

The move came after O’Brien, testifying before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions about unions, challenged Mullin, who fought as an MMA fighter prior to coming to Congress, to a fight in June on X, formerly known as Twitter.

O’Brien’s social media post called Mullin a “clown” and “fraud” and ended with, “You know where to find me. Anyplace, Anytime cowboy.” The thrust of O'Brien's post challenged Mullin's "self-made" characterizations of his business background.

Mullin used his time during questioning to confront O’Brien over the comments. “Sir, this is a time. This is a place. You want to run your mouth? We can be two consenting adults — we can finish it here,” Mullin said.

“OK, that’s fine. Perfect,” O’Brien responded to the challenge.

"Well, stand your butt up then,” Mullin taunted, with O’Brien telling Mullin to do the same.

Committee chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who was running the hearing, began pleading for them to stop.

“This is a hearing and God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress," Sanders said.

@gar-romance-month Prompt: Bail Organa