Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors:
On November 5th, the American people sent a resounding message to Washington, DC, that the status quo has to change. The Biden-Harris agenda was rejected overwhelmingly, and the American people set a new agenda for the nation.
The nation chose President-elect Donald Trump to serve in his second term as president—only the second president chosen in non-consecutive terms (the other being Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States).
The country also chose to give the Republicans the majority in the United States Senate and he United States House of Representatives. This week, Senate Republicans came together to select our leadership for the Senate Republican Conference for the 119th Congress, which begins on January 3, 2025.
For decades, the Republican Conference leadership election has been held a week after the general election during new member orientation. This date allows the newly elected Senators full access, and it allows the newly elected leadership staff enough time to hire staff and prepare for the next session of Congress, which begins in seven weeks. The Conference leadership election date for 2024 was set during January of 2023 when we voted on our Conference rules.
I was honored to be chosen by my colleagues to serve in the new Senate leadership as the Vice Chair of our Republican Conference. This position will allow me to have greater ability to speak into the issues we face nationally and to share some good Oklahoma common sense in the leadership meetings.
As the Conference has always done, Senate Republicans held a closed Conference meeting for internal debate and a vote on each of the six leadership positions. This year, we also held a three-hour forum with the three candidates for Majority Leader the night before the vote.
Senator John Thune of South Dakota was selected to be the new Majority Leader. Senator Thune had one of the highest voting percentage with President Trump in the entire Senate when the President was in office four years ago. He and President Trump have a good working relationship already.
In addition to Majority Leader Thune and my position as the Vice Chair of the Conference, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming was selected to serve as Majority Whip. Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas was selected to serve as Senate Republican Conference Chair. Senator Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia was selected as Senate Republican Policy Committee Chair, and Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina was selected to chair the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
CLICK HERE to watch my remarks at our Senate leadership press conference following my selection as Vice Chair.
CLICK HERE to watch my interview on Fox & Friends about my new role as Vice Chair.
I will work with my colleagues on Senate leadership to find ways we can defend and strengthen our nation and continue to lead us to prosperity. The new leadership team literally met to start organizing for next year less than 24 hours after we were elected to the new roles.
As soon as the Senate takes the oath of office, January 3, 2025, we will immediately begin the work on the President’s nominations, tax policy, budget, government efficiency and energy security. With so much to do, we cannot start the session divided. The American people gave President Trump a mandate and a Republican Senate to get big things done, not to fight each other through the press.
I received many calls just before the leadership elections from people who encouraged me to support President Trump’s choice for the new Senate leader. To be clear, President Trump never shared his preference for the new leadership in the Senate. If the President had a preference, I have never known him not to share it publicly. However, after the election, President Trump posted a very kind statement about John Thune and the whole leadership team in the Senate.
Thank you for your ideas, prayer support, and encouragement as we work toward the positive direction our nation has demanded. We need to confront the skyrocketing prices for things like gas and groceries, secure our southern border, and bring some calm to a very troubled world.
I hope you will remain engaged with my office as we work to bring our nation together in prosperity and peace. We look forward to working on the American agenda with the President and the leadership of the House of Representatives.
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