Sen. Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma Republican who is resigning his seat on Jan. 3 — two years before his term expires — took to the Senate floor on a Friday afternoon to tie it up one last time.

Coburn, an obstetrician who arrived in Congress 20 years ago, had one day earlier given a tearful farewell address in which he criticized the way the Senate is run and urged his colleagues to think less about what they could bring back to their states and more about how they can serve their country.