OKC Standard

Today, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) delivered his maiden speech on the U.S. Senate floor to honor the life and legacy of former U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, who passed away earlier this morning.

Excerpts from Senator Mullin’s remarks include:

“This is my first time to speak, and it comes at an occasion that is the right time to speak. A gentleman that I took great pride in knowing, who I refer to quite often as a grandfather, Senator Jim Inhofe. He passed away unfortunately this morning.”

“How do you describe Jim Inhofe? How do you describe his family, how do you describe Miss Kay who the first time I ever met her made me feel as comfortable as I was her own child?”

“Senator Inhofe would often take me by the hand, literally and say, ‘listen to me son.’ Over time, he became quite a mentor of mine. I get asked all the time, ‘how do you plan on filling the shoes of Senator Inhofe?’ and I say, ‘How do you fill the shoes of a gentleman whose middle name was Mountain?’ How fitting was that? A Senator whose name was James Mountain Inhofe. He was a mountain of a man. He blazed his own trail. He was full of grit and tenacity. You always knew where he stood. I never doubted what his thoughts were.”

“It saddens me deeply to know that today on this Earth there is less one gentleman that I think we all learned from. Everybody in this chamber that knew James or Senator Inhofe knew the guy as a friend. You knew he was someone you could trust.”

“He allowed me to change my focus from my understanding that all the outside distractions that can take place…that can all easily go away if you stay focused on what you were elected to do which is serve the great state of Oklahoma. Just focus on constituent service. Just focus on building things for the state…All he did every day was work hard for Oklahoma, and I am grateful to get to know him.”

“If you knew Jim or Senator Inhofe, he was always going home. Miss Kay was his priority…his kids loved him, his wife loved him, his grandkids loved him.”

“He blazed a trail I can build a highway on. And I have full intentions of doing that.”

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