Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford Announces Bid For Vice Chair Of Senate Republican Caucus

Oklahoma Senator James Lankford says he's running for Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Caucus.

That position is the fifth-ranked spot in the Senate GOP. He is one of several Republicans to announce a run for leadership.

It's all part of the ripple effect caused by Mitch McConnell's resignation as party leader in 2023.

Lankford has been in the Senate since 2015 and has been Oklahoma's senior senator since last year.

He was in the national spotlight about a month ago after leading negotiations on immigration reform. The bill failed to advance after criticism from former President Donald Trump and other Republicans.

Despite that, Lankford says he still has a good relationship with his senate colleagues and feels ready to join leadership.

"I want to help push our conference and say how do we push from press conferences to passing legislation? We have to solve the debt, we have to solve our deficit, we've got to solve the border issues, we've got to be able to resolve how we're gonna function,"

The Senate will hold leadership elections in November.

Lankford is currently the only person running for Vice Chair.