WASHINGTON – Oklahoma’s Republican delegation gathered Monday in the Nations Capitol to celebrate the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States.
Trump, who won Oklahoma by 66% in November included Oklahomans in the inauguration ceremony. Carrie Underwood, of Checotah, sang America the Beautiful joined by the crowd of roughly 600 assembled in the Capitol Rotunda.
“Checotah, Oklahoma’s own Carrie Underwood demonstrated grace under pressure today and her incredible talent. Thank you for honoring our beautiful nation,” Senator James Lankford (R) said in a post on X after the ceremony. Lankford was joined by a majority of the Oklahoma delegation in congratulating Underwood on her performance, including Representative Stephanie Bice (R-OKC) who stated how grateful she was to be able to represent Oklahoma’s 5th district and to be allowed to witness the ceremony firsthand.
Lankford, afforded a front-row seat, spoke on News Nation ahead of the inauguration saying, “Common sense returns today.”
This sentiment was also stated in Trump’s inaugural address with the President referencing a “revolution of common sense,” and challenging Americans by saying “it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor and the vitality of history’s greatest civilization.”
Along with Representatives Kevin Hern (R-Tulsa) and Tom Cole (R-Moore), Lankford will be a key figure in implementing President Trump’s legislative agenda which was also referenced in his inaugural address.
Hern said in a post on X, “President Trump is setting a bold agenda & it’s time for Congress to get it done!”
Bice echoed these thoughts saying that the President has laid out an agenda for the next four years that will focus on the Southern Border and the economy.
All of the Oklahoma delegation, including Governor Kevin Stitt (R) was afforded a seat in the Capitol Rotunda for the ceremony.
Stitt posted a video on X before the inauguration ceremony saying, “It is going to be so fun to have a president in the White House that believes in law and order.”
Stitt also joined the Congressional delegation in congratulating Underwood, referencing the singer’s calm after a technical difficulty with the accompanying music.
President Trump’s second inauguration fell on another historic day for America, Martin Luther King Day. King’s message of hope and reconciliation was a theme Trump referenced in his address, which was a message underlying a statement that Representative Tom Cole (R-Moore) made after the inaugural ceremony.
“We are renewed by a hope of not only what America is— but what America can be,” Representative Tom Cole (R-Moore) said in the statement. “No challenge is too great, no comeback is too daunting, and no dream is too bold.”
Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net.
