On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the death of former U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe. Inhofe was a former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and one of the most vocal climate change deniers in the U.S. Senate.
Inhofe, 89, served in the U.S. Senate from 1994 until he retired in 2023. According to McConnell, Inhofe’s “diligent stewardship of massive infrastructure projects transformed life across the Heartland.”
Who Is Jim Inhofe?
Jim Inhofe was a relentless advocate, and his advocacy for American energy dominance unlocked new prosperity across the country. Talking about laser focus, Inhofe ensured he grew and modernized the U.S. military, strengthening the security of the free world.
During his last years in the Senate, Inhofe was a defense hawk. He served as the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and was also a former chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
During his tenure, he drew the anger of environmentalists over his condemnations of climate change as a “hoax.” Most people know him as the senator who brought a snowball to the Senate floor to argue against the existence of climate change.
Jim Inhofe’s Career and Legacy
When Inhofe announced his decision to retire, he noted his 55-year political career began after he visited 27 government offices to obtain a dock permit. His career spanned from the state legislature to Tulsa mayor to the U.S. House and Senate.
During his time, he frequently denounced the mainstream science that human activity contributed to Earth’s climate changes. He once called it “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.”
In February 2015, when temperatures in the nation’s capital were below freezing, Inhofe became popular. He brought a snowball onto the Senate floor and tossed it before claiming that environmentalists focus attention on global warming as it kept getting cold.
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As Oklahoma’s senior U.S. senator, Inhofe was a stubborn supporter of the state’s five military installations and a vocal fan of congressional earmarks. He was also an Army veteran and licensed pilot who would fly himself to and from Washington.
He secured federal money to fund local road and bridge projects and criticized House Republicans who wanted a one-year moratorium on such pet projects in 2010. Inhofe was a strong backer of President Donald Trump, who praised him for his “incredible support of our #MAGA agenda” while endorsing the senator’s 2020 reelection bid.
During the Trump administration, Inhofe served as Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee following the death of Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona. U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called Inhofe a good friend whose work benefited the nation.
The Good Deeds of Jim Inhofe
In Oklahoma, Jim Inhofe helped secure millions of dollars to clean up a former mining hub that spent decades on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list.
In a massive buyout program, the federal government purchased homes and businesses within the 40-square-mile (104-square-kilometer) region of Tar Creek, where children consistently tested for dangerous levels of lead in their blood.
Jim Inhofe championed veterans and firmly believed in the “American Dream,” said Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, who ordered flags on state property to fly at half-staff through Wednesday.
In 2021, Inhofe defied some in his party by voting to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, saying that to do otherwise would violate his oath of office to support and defend the Constitution. Notably, he voted against convicting Trump at both of his impeachment trials.
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