| Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors: This has been one of the most productive summers in the US Senate in decades. We started July with the passage of the remarkable tax and national security “One Big Beautiful Bill.” We followed that by reducing federal spending with a historic vote to cut $9 billion out of current-year spending, as we confirmed even more of President Trump’s nominees than in his first term and passed three appropriations bills—the earliest that appropriations bills have passed in the Senate in a decade. All of that is on top of the record number of votes taken in the last seven months. We have been very busy in Washington, DC. Over the past seven months, Senate Republicans confirmed twice as many nominees as President Trump had in his first term. As August began, Senate Republicans and President Trump negotiated together to get even more nominees done until late on Saturday night, August 2, when Senator Schumer demanded billions of dollars in spending to confirm a handful of ambassadors, and President Trump rightly said no. Senate Democrats talk about the importance of diplomacy and the State Department, but when it came time to confirm ambassadors, they blocked even the nominees who passed in committee in a strong bipartisan vote. A new President nominates more than 1,200 people for Senate confirmation. Each of them could require three to 30 hours of debate time on the floor of the Senate. Because of the long Senate floor process, most nominees pass the Senate with a rapid “voice vote” with consent from both sides of the aisle once they get out of committee and everyone knows they will pass on the floor. At least that was how it used to happen. So far this year, Democrats in the Senate have prevented every one of President Trump’s nominees to pass by voice vote. Zero nominees passing by voice vote at this point in the Senate calendar has literally never happened before. During the first terms of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, 90 percent of their nominees passed by voice vote. This unprecedented obstruction demands an unprecedented response. Over the last seven months, we passed nominees the hard way, staying in session at night, on weekends, and into early August. Over the past seven months, we have been in session more days than any Senate in the last 40 years. We refused to allow Democrats to stall the America First agenda or stand in the way of President Trump’s qualified nominees. However, everyday we are confirming nominees, we are not getting legislation done. We cannot allow Democrats to control the calendar by stalling nominees. Developing a new Senate process for nominees will be one of my many projects this month. Big Wins for Oklahoma and Our Nation I looked back on the past seven months while on the Senate floor this week to give a brief summary of what we have been able to get done this year. It has been truly historic. If you have a few minutes, I encourage you to CLICK HERE to watch my speech on the Senate floor highlighting the many successes so far in the Senate for President Trump’s second term. On July 4, the President signed into law one of the most significant bills the Congress has passed in decades, the aptly named, “One Big Beautiful Bill.” I sent out a detailed overview of the bill, but if you missed it, CLICK HERE to read more about the details of the bill. The more people learn about the new tax policy, nonprofit deductions, secure border, modernized air traffic control systems, farm policies and more, the more they like the bill. The economy under President Trump seems to have a new positive news story every other day. The second quarter of 2025 saw a jaw-dropping three percent increase overall in economic growth, which for the world’s largest economy is a big deal. I recently met again with the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to give him our Oklahoma perspective on the many trade deals that he and the President are working through right now. He is opening up new markets for American products and getting tariffs to a consistent level. Just last week, President Trump finalized a trade deal with the EU that brings a $500 billion investment in the US and, more importantly for Oklahoma, a $750 billion investment in American energy. In addition to that great trade deal, he secured trade deals in Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, UK and many more. His trade team even secured greater access to ag markets in Australia so we can sell American beef in Australia for the first time in 20 years! That is a huge win for Oklahoma producers. I hosted a live social media town hall from the US Capitol on July 30 to answer questions on energy, education, spending reductions, tax policy, foreign policy, and even a question on Jeffrey Epstein. CLICK HERE to watch the social media town hall. Getting Out from Under the Biden Budget Because Congress passed a “Continuing Resolution” to fund the government last year, we are still living under the old Biden budget. It’s past time to get out from under it. Under Chuck Schumer and the Democrats last year, the Senate passed exactly zero spending bills despite my continued to push to do our job and properly fund the government. Currently, we are still operating under a continuing resolution passed in December 2024, which is the Biden budget. I am pressing my Senate colleagues to get all 12 spending bills (known inside the beltway as appropriations bills) passed so we can fund the government with the priorities of the Republican majority and President Trump in 2025. This week, the Senate passed three of the 12 spending bills. That is the earliest the Senate has passed an appropriations bill since 2018. The spending bills give new priorities for military construction, veterans, and agriculture. CLICK HERE to watch my recent interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News talking about the need to fund the government and get out from under the Biden budget. |
