Rep. James K. Lankford (R-Okla.) is ready to step into a big pair of shoes – and has long been preparing. Last week, Lankford’s fellow Oklahoma Republican and notable government reformer Sen. Tom Coburn announced he would be retiring from the Senate two years early, at the end of this year. On Monday, Lankford announced he would run to fill the rest of Coburn’s Senate term, the first major GOP player to enter the race.
Coburn is praised as the pinnacle of integrity and reform in government. The Wall Street Journal commended him for his work to reduce the size of it. Unlike many senators, he has readily challenged members of his party when they wasted money or pursued “crusades they know can’t succeed.”
“Coburn has never played any political games in his life,” says Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, Lankford’s GOP House colleague who said Sunday that he wouldn’t run for Coburn’s seat.
Coburn is well-known for his annual Wastebook, which outlines disgraceful abuses of taxpayer money. He cites waste that both parties are often hesitant to cut (Democrats don’t want to make cuts to green energy projects, and Republicans are often cautious to toy with Pentagon spending). In this way, his reform efforts transcend party lines, as his loyalty lies with the people – not either party.
Coburn, the “citizen politician,” is extremely principled and amiable – even President Obama considers him a friend, writes David Keene.
“Those who care about reducing government spending, the deficit and ultimately the federal debt are going to miss him.”
If any congressman could be described as the “Coburn” of the U.S. House, it very well may be Lankford. He is the chairman of both the Republican Policy Committee — the fifth-most powerful position in House Republican leadership by ranking — and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy, Policy, Health Care, and Entitlements.
The government efficiency duo of Coburn and Lankford has worked together on numerous reform efforts. In 2011, they were two of a small bipartisan group that introduced a bill to “end unemployment payments to jobless millionaires,” saving “$100 million by stopping federal unemployment payments to those earning more than $1 million.”
In 2012, Lankford was a lead sponsor of the “Taxpayers Right to Know Act” in the House, and Coburn led the charge in Senate. The bipartisan bill was focused on government accountability, as “[e]very federal agency would be required to provide taxpayers an annual report card for each of its programs.”
“One of the reasons I was elected was to prevent waste, duplication, and inefficiency,” Lankford said in a statement. “This bill provides Congress with the tools to see the waste and act on it.”
Coburn has also testified before the subcommittee of which Lankford is chairman on multiple occasions and about government waste.
Potentially further strengthening the bond between these legislators, The Hill reported a source claimed that Coburn would endorse Lankford.
Lankford’s decision to run for Coburn’s soon-to-be vacated seat is sensible and obvious to those familiar with both men’s work. In many ways, Lankford has been a Coburn-in-training since his election to Congress.
One might wonder what in the Sooner State’s water fosters bipartisan government reformers, and whether a water line should be run from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C.
