U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today after the U.S. Capitol Police requested National Guardsmen remain at the Capitol Complex for an additional two months after the current approval expires on March 12: “I’m outraged that U.S. Capitol Police have requested to keep the nearly 5,000 National Guardsmen at the Capitol Complex for another two months without presenting clear and specific information. I... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) joined Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) to introduce the Fair Access to Banking Act this week to prevent discrimination by banks and financial service providers against constitutionally-protected industries and law-abiding businesses.“No lawful business should be discriminated against, deterred or rejected from using financial services due to political differences,” said Inhofe. “Sadly, that is exactly what is happening to law abiding businesses, including energy... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today delivered opening remarks at a SASC hearing to consider Dr. Colin Kahl, President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy — the number-three civilian position at the Pentagon. In his remarks, Sen. Inhofe expressed concerns that Dr. Kahl’s public, “hyper-partisan” policy stances are “inappropriate” for the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy position, and... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today questioned Dr. Colin Kahl, President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, about Kahl’s past comments regarding Qassem Soleimani, moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and easing sanctions against Iran. Click here to watch Sen. Inhofe’s Q&A. Inhofe: Thank you Mr. Chairman. First, I have three comments before I come forth with my questions.... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) spoke to Ethiopian Prime Minster Abiy this morning about the situation in the Tigray. Abiy shared with Sen. Inhofe that he’s opening access to the Tigray region– a significant development that represents a positive turn around that will promote regional stability and transparency. They promised to continue talking in the coming weeks and months. “I’m encouraged by this significant step that Prime Minister Abiy took today to promote access to the Tigray... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today delivered opening remarks at a SASC hearing on global security challenges and strategy. Witnesses include: Dr. Thomas Wright, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; and LTG H.R. McMaster, USA (Ret.), former United States National Security Advisor. As Prepared for Delivery: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. General McMaster, thank you for your distinguished service to our country, and... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today questioned witnesses about the United States’ top national security priorities with respect to the 2018 National Defense Strategy and how climate change fits into that list of priorities. Witnesses include: Dr. Thomas Wright, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; and LTG H.R. McMaster, USA (Ret.), former United States National Security Advisor.Inhofe: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I've got two... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) voted today against the nomination of Miguel Cardona to be Secretary of Education on the Senate floor. “As the husband of a retired school teacher, my focus for the Department of Education is to make sure it has a leader who will put students and local classrooms ahead of all else—especially big government spending to increase federal control, liberal teachers’ unions and harmful social engineering policies that threaten religious liberty. I voted against Mr.... Continue Reading »
U.S. Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), ranking member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent a letter Friday to President Joe Biden outlining Republican... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), released the following statement today regarding last night’s air strikes in Syria targeting Iran-backed militias: “Iranian proxies’ recent attacks on American and Coalition personnel in Iraq are nothing new, but they must not be tolerated. I support the decision by President Biden and Secretary Austin to continue the approach of the previous administration and hold them accountable. Yesterday’s... Continue Reading »
Today, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) rejected the Senate confirmation of Jennifer Granholm to be the Secretary of Energy.“I am very concerned for the future of Oklahoma’s energy economy and jobs under Jennifer Granholm,” Inhofe said. “As Governor of Michigan, she pushed clean energy and electric vehicles, advocated for auto industry bail outs and approved hundreds of millions of dollars in DOE grants to ‘green’ startups that later went bankrupt. I’m concerned she will push Green New... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today delivered opening remarks at a SASC hearing on the Department of Defense response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Prepared for Delivery: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Because of the coronavirus, we are in one of the most trying periods in our nation’s history. We mourn the loss of over 500,000 Americans. We are thinking of the thousands of Americans who are infected every day, and... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today questioned witnesses about the Department of Defense’s (DOD) role in vaccine distribution and how the Department is addressing supply chain issues for medical supplies like needles and syringes at a SASC hearing on the DOD response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Witnesses included: Ms. Stacy A Cummings, Performing the Duties of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; Mr.... Continue Reading »
Today, U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) led 39 of their Senate colleagues in re-introducing S. 419, the Continuity for Operators with Necessary Training Required for ATC Contract Towers (CONTRACT) Act of 2021. Today, there are 257 air traffic control facilities participating in the FAA’s Federal Contract Tower Program. These contract towers are an important part of our national air traffic control system—serving communities... Continue Reading »
Today, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) senior member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, questioned witnesses at an EPW hearing entitled: “Building Back Better: Investing in Transportation while Addressing Climate Change, Improving Equity, and Fostering Economic Growth and Innovation.”Witnesses included: Larry Hogan, Governor of the State of Maryland; Victoria Sheehan, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and President of the American Association of... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today submitted the following opening statement for the record during today's SASC hearing on "Emerging Technologies and Their Impact on National Security:"Thank you, Mr. Chairman.Dr. Schmidt, Mr. Smith and General Carlisle. Thank you for being here to talk about this important topic today. As highlighted in the 2018 National Defense Strategy Commission report, the US must stay... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) led 25 of their Senate colleagues today in sending a letter urging President Biden to reverse the previous misguided decision to officially recognize the Kingdom of Morocco’s illegitimate claims of sovereignty over Western Sahara and recommit the United States to the pursuit of a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara.The senators wrote: “The abrupt decision by the previous administration on December 11,... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) made the following statement after voting to acquit former President Trump:“My plain reading of Article II, Section IV of the Constitution led me to believe that the Founders did not intend for us to impeach and try former presidents, which is why today I voted to acquit former President Trump. Just as we cannot impeach and convict former Presidents Carter, Bush, Clinton or Obama today for anything they did during their presidency, we cannot, based on my reading of... Continue Reading »
Today, the bipartisan leadership of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), and U.S. Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), announced their appointments, pursuant to Sec. 370 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, to... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, today issued the following statement after the Senate confirmed the nomination of Kath Hicks to be Deputy Secretary of Defense last night:“I’m glad the Senate voted to confirm Kathleen Hicks as Deputy Secretary of Defense. She will be taking on the number-two role at the Pentagon at a critical time, where she’ll need to focus first and foremost on strategic competition with China and Russia. As highlighted in... Continue Reading »
