Will there even be a Senate race? Brecheen and Trump endorse Kevin Hern

Republican Congressman Kevin Hern (OK-01) is running for the Senate seat currently held by Markwayne Mullin, whom President Trump has nominated to head up the Department of Homeland Security. 

In the past few days, first Congressman Josh Brecheen (OK-02) and then President Donald Trump himself have endorsed Hern's Senate bid. Add to this the fact that Hern is starting his Senate run with over $7,000,000 in cash on hand (with ~$5M in personal loans), and he has what likely amounts to an insurmountable jumpstart. At this point, will any legitimate, viable candidate even challenge Hern?

Rep. Josh Brecheen Endorses Hern for Senate

TULSA, OK (March 12, 2026) – Today, Congressman Josh Brecheen (OK-02) announced he’s backing Kevin Hern for U.S. Senate. Brecheen is the first member of the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation to endorse Hern.

Gov. Stitt announces illegal immigration enforcement agreements with DHS, ICE

Governor Stitt Announces Finalized Agreements with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE

OKLAHOMA CITY (February 21, 2025) - Today, Governor Kevin Stitt announced that the State of Oklahoma has officially finalized three agreements with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, granting state law enforcement agencies enhanced authority to enforce federal immigration laws under Operation Guardian. Through these agreements, the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN), and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) will work alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify, arrest, and remove criminal illegal aliens from Oklahoma.

Oklahoma man with Irish mob ties sentenced for orchestrating murder from prison

Oklahoma man with Irish mob ties sentenced for orchestrating murder from prison 

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 23, 2024) – An Osage County judge today sentenced a man with ties to organized crime to life in prison for ordering the 2021 murder of a fellow Irish mob member. The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office and several partner agencies handled the case against Zachary Millard, who had been convicted earlier this month for the slaying of Mitchell Roberts in Tulsa.  

Brecheen votes to defund DHS Sec. Mayorkas, build border wall, empower ICE agents

Congressman Brecheen Votes to Defund Mayorkas, Build the Wall, and Empower ICE Agents

Washington, D.C. (June 28th) – Today, Congressman Josh Brecheen voted in favor of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act, which funds DHS and includes many conservative policy wins such as cutting Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ salary to $0, building $600 million worth of physical barriers on the Southern Border, and providing $1.2 billion for new ICE detention beds and for deportation costs.

AG Drummond to testify before House committee in impeachment hearing against Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas

Drummond to testify before U.S. House committee in impeachment proceedings against Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 8, 2024) - Attorney General Gentner Drummond will testify Wednesday to the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee as part of that panel’s impeachment proceedings against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The action comes in the wake of Mayorkas’ failure to secure the nation’s southwest border. 

Drummond was invited to testify due to his focus of ridding Oklahoma of the foreign nationals who have invaded the marijuana industry. He is expected to tell committee members how the recent influx of illegal immigrants into the U.S. has allowed criminal enterprises, primarily populated by Mexican and Chinese nationals, to jeopardize public safety through drug trafficking and other crimes. 

AG's Organized Crime Task Force seizes 72k pounds of illegal marijuana

Photo courtesy of the Attorney General's office

 Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force seizes 72,000 lbs. of illegal marijuana 

OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 14, 2023) – The Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) last week seized more than 36 tons of illegal marijuana in searches conducted in Wagoner County and Lincoln County. Attorney General Gentner Drummond established the task force earlier this year to combat Oklahoma’s many illegal marijuana operations.

“Our state has been overrun with criminals who are trafficking drugs in our local communities and throughout the country,” Drummond said. “I will not tolerate this serious threat to public safety. I am proud of the work of the Organized Crime Task Force and our law enforcement partners for their efforts to eliminate this blight on our communities.”

Cong. Brecheen comments on 22nd anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks

Congressman Josh Brecheen Issues Statement on 22nd Anniversary of 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Josh Brecheen issued the following statement to mark the 22nd anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

“Twenty-two years ago, America changed forever, as nearly 3,000 innocent men and women were tragically killed in a cowardly terrorist attack that shook our nation to its core. Today, I join Americans across the country in solemnly remembering and honoring these victims and the families they left behind.

Brecheen's bill to address waste, inefficiency in border security contracts passes committee

Congressman Josh Brecheen’s Bill to Empower Border Patrol Agents to Defend the Homeland Advances Out of Homeland Security Committee

Washington, D.C. (July 12th) – Congressman Josh Brecheen’s bill, H.R. 4467, The “DHS Border Services Contracts Review Act,” advanced out of the House Committee on Homeland Security today clearing the way for the bill to eventually be sent to the House Floor for consideration by the full House of Representatives.

The bill would ensure the federal government is spending taxpayer dollars in a responsible manner when executing government contracts at the Southern border.

“This is an important first step to empowering our border patrol agents to focus their time on defending the homeland, while also ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used efficiently. I am happy to see that my colleagues on the House Committee on Homeland Security agree,” said Congressman Josh Brecheen.

Congressman Brecheen spoke during the Committee markup, which you can watch here.

The DHS Border Services Contracts Review Act requires the Under Secretary of Management at DHS to create a report that assesses the role of contractors at the Southern border. 

Within this report, it will require the Under Secretary for Management to create a strategy to improve the procurement and delivery of services of contracts that assist DHS with services needed along the Southern border.

More Information on the DHS Border Services Contracts Review Act:

From medical services to food and waste services, different DHS contractors working amid the historic influx at the Southwest border can often overlap, leading to mismanagement of both taxpayer funds and personnel.

• This legislation demands accountability by directing DHS to find its weaknesses, increase cost effectiveness, and enable DHS employees to conduct their primary mission responsibilities efficiently. 
• 
  
• It also conducts oversight by mandating that DHS provides Congress with a strategy to improve their procurement process for contractors.

Congressman Josh Brecheen Introduces Bill to Empower Border Patrol Agents to Defend the Homeland

Washington, D.C. (July 6th) – Today, Congressman Josh Brecheen introduced the DHS Border Services Contracts Review Act to ensure the federal government is spending taxpayer dollars in a responsible manner when executing government contracts at the Southern border.

Cong. Brecheen: "There is an invasion at our Southern border…No state is safe from its impact"

Congressman Josh Brecheen: “There is an invasion at our Southern border…No state is safe from its impact”

Washington, D.C. (Feb. 28th) – Congressman Josh Brecheen participated in the House Homeland Security Committee’s first full committee hearing entitled, “Every State is a Border State: Examining Secretary Mayorkas’ Border Crisis.”

The hearing discussed the widespread and debilitating impact President Biden’s border crisis is having on communities across the United States.

Congressman Brecheen named to Budget and Homeland Security committee

Good news for fiscal conservatives -- Brecheen is on the Budget Committee:

Congressman Josh Brecheen to Serve on House Committee on Homeland Security and Committee on the Budget

Washington, D.C. (January 23rd) – Congressman Josh Brecheen announced today his selection to serve on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Budget Committee for the 118th Congress.

Lankford, Cotton file bill to defund Homeland Security's "Disinformation Board"

Lankford, Cotton, Colleagues Lead Effort to Defund Homeland Security’s “Disinformation Board”

WASHINGTON, DC (May 3rd) – Ahead of a hearing in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) tomorrow with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), and their colleagues introduced legislation to stop federal funds from being used to establish a DHS Disinformation Governance Board.

State Reps call on AG O'Connor to challenge Biden's 'Disinformation Governance Board'

Phillips Calls on AG O'Connor to Challenge Biden's Disinformation Governance Board

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 3rd) – Rep. Logan Phillips, R-Mounds, has requested that Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor challenge the constitutionality of the Biden Administration's recently announced Disinformation Governance Board.

OK Education Dep't receives $1.74M in school safety grants

Hofmeister announces more than $1.7 million in school safety grants

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 24, 2019) – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister today announced that the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), in partnership with the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security and its subsidiary, the Oklahoma School Security Institute (OSSI), has received three federal grants of more than $1.7 million to strengthen safety, security and mental health initiatives in public schools statewide.

“For students to learn, they must first feel safe,” said Hofmeister. “These grants will support violence prevention efforts in our schools. By working to keep schools safe, we are giving kids the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential in a positive learning environment.”

“The Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security, through our Oklahoma School Security Institute, have for many years worked closely to make schools safe and secure for our youth,” said Kim Carter, director of the institute. “These grants will allow both of our agencies to strengthen our partnership and to provide more resources than ever before to accomplish that mission.” 

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded OSDE $996,855 over the next three years to create and train a state Crisis Team. The team will consist of two new state-level positions – a licensed school counselor and a school psychologist plus a Strike Team of 20 existing OSDE employees. The Crisis Team will be deployed during school emergencies and provide guidance to schools on identifying students who may need additional behavioral health supports or mental health interventions.

In a second grant, OSDE received $498,915 to hire a full-time anti-bullying program specialist to implement school-based prevention and intervention strategies and support Oklahoma parents whose children have been victims of bullying. The grant will also fund a regional representative to assist school districts in completing a risk and vulnerability assessment. This specialist will be housed at OSSI.

The DOJ also awarded OSDE with $250,000 over the next three years to implement a mobile phone app that will allow for real-time anonymous reporting of violence and threats. This app will work in conjunction with the Oklahoma Fusion Center’s telephone tip line, which has received a low volume of calls since 2014 and none from students. The new phone app will allow for anonymous, two-way communication, images and video to be sent 24 hours a day.

“In order for students to flourish, they must be able to focus on their studies without the threat of aggression or violence,” said Hofmeister. “If students don’t feel comfortable going to school, they may put their academic future at risk. We must do everything in our power to ensure student safety and are grateful for the opportunities these grants provide.”

Oklahoma Receives REAL ID Extension through October 2019

Oklahoma Receives REAL ID Extension through October 2019

OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor Mary Fallin and the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) [last week] announced they have been notified that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has granted the state’s REAL ID extension through Oct. 10, 2019.

This means the federal government will continue to recognize Oklahoma driver’s licenses and ID cards until that time.

“This is great news for Oklahomans, and means there will be no restrictions on individuals using Oklahoma licenses to fly or access federal buildings through October 10 of next year,” said Fallin. “Oklahoma is actively working towards full compliance.”

Public Safety Commissioner Rusty Rhoades said: “There have been many questions recently about Oklahoma’s status regarding REAL ID. DPS is actively working towards making Oklahoma REAL ID compliant and will use this time to gain compliance.”

Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 to make driver's licenses harder to forge. Oklahoma legislators in 2007 passed a bill forbidding the state from meeting provisions of the act.

Lawmakers in 2017 passed legislation that was signed by the governor, which allowed state officials to begin work on building a compliant system. That includes training tag agents and creating a centralized office to handle card manufacturing and storage.

There are 43 total requirements that must be met by states to be in full compliance. Oklahoma currently is in full compliance with 30 of those requirements, partial compliance with 12, and only one non-compliant.  The one non-compliant is the final certification letter that the state can’t complete until it has the system in place to issue the documents.

For more information and frequently asked questions, go to the USDHS website or the DPS website.

How did the anti-Bridenstine ads stop?

Early last week, American Action Network targeted Congressman Jim Bridenstine and two other conservative Republican congressmen with radio and TV ads over the looming Homeland Security budget vote. AAN is led, in part, by the former chiefs of staff for House Speaker John Boehner and RNC chairman Reince Preibus.

Many conservatives, both in Oklahoma and across the country, were not happy, to say the least. Frustration with the GOP leadership in Washington, D.C., continues to build among the grassroots activists, and when groups with close ties to that leadership attack conservative members of Congress who are trying to correct the course in Washington, it doesn't sit well.

Enter Oklahoma Republican Party chairman Dave Weston.

Let me start this by saying that I have not publicly picked sides in the OKGOP chair race, nor have I told any of the candidates who I plan to vote for. I gave each of the candidates the same exact survey (view those here: Brogdon, Pollard, Weston), and the same opportunity to share their vision for the Party. This post is not picking sides in that race.

Evidently, Chairman Weston contacted the leadership of AAN about the Bridenstine ads. The press release on okgop.com says Wednesday, March 4th, although the OKGOP email I received was sent Thursday the 5th, same as the party's social media postings. I don't know when the conversation took place; I'm assuming sometime Wednesday.

I applaud the chairman for being proactive about defending a conservative Oklahoma congressman from attack. However, I think his role has been over-touted in this case. I've talked with some people who got the impression from the OKGOP press release that Weston was taking credit, directly or indirectly.

Here's the problem: when the ads were first announced, they were specifically going to be running on just Tuesday and Wednesday. A specific dollar amount was named, and a specific number of ads was named, in addition to specific radio programs ads would also be run on. The House then voted on and passed the DHS funding bill on Tuesday.

So here's what we have. Ads were stopping Wednesday anyway. The bill passed the House on Tuesday afternoon, making further ads pointless, as the legislation in question was on its way to the President's desk.

Did Weston play a role in stopping the ads? Considering that they were already stopping on Wednesday, plus the other points I mentioned above, I think that's stretching the facts a bit.

Former Boehner, RNC chiefs-of-staff targeting Bridenstine & other conservatives

From Breitbart.com:

The former chiefs of staff to House Speaker John Boehner and Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus are part of a concerted effort to target House conservatives with advertisements aimed at pressuring them to cave to President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty and fund it in its entirety through the end of the fiscal year. 

“An outside group aligned with House GOP leadership will spend $400,000 this week to urge dozens of conservative House Republicans to vote for Department of Homeland Security funding — a new and more aggressive phase in the legislative battle among Republicans that’s consuming Capitol Hill,” Politico wrote about a new effort from American Action Network, a group whose board is home to power players including Boehner’s ex-chief of staff Barry Jackson and immediate previous RNC chief of staff Mike Shields. 

The massive ad buy against Republican members by Boehner’s and Priebus’ ex-top aides, pressuring conservatives to drop their strong opposition to Obama’s executive amnesty, targets three specific House Republicans: Reps. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) and Jim Jordan (R-OH). 

“The 30-second spot will run at least 50 times in each district — on broadcast, in prime slots — Tuesday and Wednesday as the House is expected to take up a DHS funding bill,” Politico wrote.

[...]

 AAN is one of the biggest supporters of amnesty, having lobbied Congress in favor of the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” amnesty bill that failed in the last Congress. Other board members include former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), Thayer Lodging Group head and hotelier Fred Malek, former Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno, and several other lobbyists and former members of Congress from the establishment.

Read more here from Breitbart, and here from Politico.