A former minister who prefers a private life, the soft-spoken Oklahoman now serves as a spokesman and vice chairman for the Senate Republican Conference.
WASHINGTON—It may have been the two decades navigating the challenges of leadership in Christian ministry that best prepared Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) for his latest role in elected office.
For 15 years in that earlier period of his life, the soft-spoken Oklahoman directed the largest youth camp in the United States. More than 51,000 young people filtered through Falls Creek each summer.
Now, after 10 years as a U.S. senator, he’s helping to direct activities again—this time guiding colleagues as vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. The group informs the media and the public about the efforts and mission of the party’s senators.
Lankford was elected to the role by peers in November. Since then, he has been tasked with doing whatever Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) needs him to do.
It’s a “wild-card” role, said Lankford, 56, and one that mainly involves working to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.
And though he’d prefer not to have such a public job, he frequently appears as a voice for Senate Republicans in interviews for newspapers and television.
He doesn’t care for the idea of people knowing much about him, and he’d prefer to be more anonymous in his work.
Constituents, too, should “know their government is doing its job and trying to stay out of their life,” he said.
Goals in Congress
As part of the 119th Congress, Lankford is focused on securing the border, reforming the tax code, developing the domestic energy industry, and protecting the unborn.
The Senate will have to work well as an institution to pass Trump’s wish list, Lankford said.
“We have to be able to move a set of ideas and literally relearn how to be able to pass bills,” he told The Epoch Times. “The Senate has not done a lot of legislation work of late, and so there’s a lot of pent up energy to be able to do that.”
He embraces the challenge of urging his fellow Republican senators to work well together.
“For me, it’s helping bills get to the floor, guiding the process, being more efficient in how we’re handling the [Senate] floor.”
Thune controls the actions there. But Lankford aims to help move votes through faster, taking up to 30 minutes, rather than dragging them out for an hour or more. That will allow for more agenda items to move through.
