Report: Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe Expected to Announce Retirement

Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe is reportedly expected to announce his retirement in the coming days, likely triggering a special election.

The 87-year-old Oklahoma Republican is expected to announce his retirement in the coming days, according to a person familiar with the senator’s plans who told Politico. Inhofe’s early retirement would likely trigger a special election to replace him this fall.

Politico reported:

Sen. Jim Inhofe is expected to announce his retirement in the coming days, according to a person familiar with his plans, likely triggering a special election to replace him this fall.

The 87-year-old Oklahoma Republican was elected to another six-year term in 2020, but has missed more votes than usual recently and told reporters in December his wife has been sick. His decision to step down will surely fuel a competitive Republican primary to succeed him in ruby-red Oklahoma.

Inhofe is expected to serve the remainder of the current Congress and to announce his retirement sometime next week. He’s a longtime top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

One of the recent votes Inhofe missed was for an amendment that would have defunded President Joe Biden’s remaining vaccine mandates.

The amendment ultimately failed after Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Inhofe did not show up, depriving Senate Republicans a potential majority to pass the amendment to the continuing resolution (CR).

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.