OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Oklahoma’s 2025 legislative session came to a dramatic close late Thursday night, marked by a record number of veto overrides and heightened political tension between Governor Kevin Stitt and lawmakers.
For much of the session’s final days, the atmosphere suggested a smooth ending. There were no bills held hostage, no calls for a special session, and no typical budget impasse. The House, Senate, and Governor appeared largely aligned—until Stitt issued a record 68 vetoes, igniting a fierce showdown.
“This is stuff that I know is bad for Oklahoma, bad for taxpayers,” Stitt said in a Facebook video explaining his decisions.
Among the vetoed bills was one sponsored by State Representative Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa), who is currently battling breast cancer. The bill, which aimed to require insurance companies to cover diagnostic mammograms, had garnered bipartisan and near-unanimous support before Stitt vetoed it.
“Did you read the bill? Did you understand what it was we’re trying to do?” Provenzano said after the veto.
Other vetoes included legislation to strengthen DUI laws, expand open records, require ethics training for state department heads, and allocate resources to address the backlog of missing Indigenous people cases.
Legislative leaders initially planned to override only a handful of the vetoes, but Stitt responded by threatening to support primary challengers against those lawmakers, posting a video to his official Facebook page.
In defiance, the legislature placed all 68 vetoed bills on the table for override votes. Ultimately, lawmakers overrode 47 vetoes—a new state record.
Late Thursday, a resolution was introduced to remove Mental Health Commissioner Allie Friesen, a Stitt appointee, from office. In response, Stitt issued a controversial statement suggesting, without evidence, that the wife of the Senate resolution’s author was responsible for the department’s issues.
The governor’s statement drew swift bipartisan condemnation.
“I’m very, very, very disappointed in our governor, that he would put out a press release as disrespectful and disingenuous as this one,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle).
Senators across party lines, including Christi Gillespie (R-Broken Arrow), Aaron Reinhardt (R-Jenks), Casey Murdock (R-Felt), and Bill Coleman (R-Ponca City), denounced the statement, emphasizing the need to keep family out of political disputes.
The resolution to remove Friesen passed overwhelmingly in both chambers, marking the end of a tumultuous legislative session.
The 2025 Oklahoma legislature will be remembered for its unprecedented veto battles and the intense political drama that unfolded in its final days.
