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Republican (1854-present)

James Lankford

Before his service in Congress, James served students and families for more than 20 years in ministry, including 15 years as the Director of Student Ministry for the Baptist Convention of Oklahoma and Director of the Falls Creek Youth Camp, the largest youth camp in the United States, with more than 51,000 individuals attending each summer.

James and his staff enjoy serving people from all backgrounds across Oklahoma. As Ranking Member of the Government Operations and Border Management  Subcommittee, which covers border security, management, and operations; regulatory reform; and the federal workforce. He demands we have a secure, more fiscally responsible, and transparent federal government, and our nation remains the world leader. He believes that the federal government has an important role in our nation, but empowered families, individual people, and private businesses grow our economy and pass down our values.

House Impeachment Inquiry

  • On Wednesday, September 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally announced that the House would begin an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
  • House Democrats have focused their inquiry on President Trump and his Administration’s engagement with Ukraine.
  • Since the inquiry began, the House Intelligence Committee, Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Committee on Oversight and Reform have begun to subpoena witnesses, hold closed-door hearings, and gain testimony from current and former members of President Trump’s team and national security personnel.
  • Unfortunately, the impeachment hearings and information-gathering sessions have been held largely behind closed doors, so there is very little information available to the public or many Members of Congress about the evidence or content of the investigation. The only two documents available to review in their entirety were released by the White House.
  • One of the most serious checks and balances in our system of government is impeachment, which is why previous inquiries have been conducted through public hearings in which all sides can fully participate.
  • Senator Lankford believes people have a right to their own opinions about the President, but he believes the American people deserve to at least make up their mind based on all the facts, not just the details the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee deems the most important news of the day.
  • Constitutionally, any impeachment proceeding must start in the House, which has jurisdiction to conduct an investigation, file articles of impeachment, and vote to impeach. If that happens, the Senate’s role is to conduct a trial to convict or acquit. Ultimately, the Senate cannot act until the House votes.
  • On October 24, Senator Lankford cosponsored a Senate resolution, led by Majority Leader McConnell and Senator Graham of South Carolina, to urge the House of Representatives to conduct a transparent impeachment inquiry process.
  • Senator Lankford believes if House Democrats are as serious about impeachment as they are acting, they should apply an equal level of gravity to the process they think is so important.
  • Senator Lankford has pointed out that Speaker Pelosi could not even wait for the whistleblower report to be made public before calling for an official impeachment inquiry.
  • The resolution:
    • calls on the House of Representatives, prior to proceeding any further with its impeachment investigation into President Trump, to vote to initiate a formal impeachment inquiry;
    • calls on the House of Representatives to provide President Trump, like every other American, with due process, to include the ability to confront his accusers, call witnesses on his behalf, and have a basic understanding of the accusations against him that would form any basis for impeachment; and
    • calls on the House of Representatives to provide members of the minority with the ability to participate fully in all proceedings and have equal authority to issue subpoenas and other compulsory process.
  • CLICK HERE to read the full text of the resolution.