As one of the Republican Senators who stopped Democrats from passing an unwritten infrastructure bill this week, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe called it nothing but a “stunt” by Democratic leadership.
Wednesday’s procedural vote failed to reach the 60 required votes by a margin of 49-51 as Democrats tried to force unilateral approval to advance the infrastructure package without a final bipartisan agreement or providing any text of the measure.
That not only led to Inhofe’s opposing vote but it angered him as well as he called the effort a “non-starter.”
“ Republicans have worked to negotiate in good faith, but this stunt is not the way we achieve success for the American people,” said the Senator in a release from his office.
“I have always said there are two main things we should be doing here in Congress, building roads and defending America – and we need a serious, real infrastructure bill that will meet the needs of our aging infrastructure in Oklahoma and across America. Over the years, we have proved it can be done through regular order and without playing games. Setting a vote without even having a bill that we can read undermines that process.”
Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford was also one of the 49 Republicans who voted against the measure.