{"id":5360,"date":"2025-06-03T17:37:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T17:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/?p=5360"},"modified":"2025-06-03T11:00:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T11:00:35","slug":"oklahoma-legislative-session-ends-in-drama-with-veto-overrides-appointee-ouster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/03\/oklahoma-legislative-session-ends-in-drama-with-veto-overrides-appointee-ouster\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Legislative Session Ends in Drama with Veto Overrides, Appointee Ouster"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full\" dir=\"auto\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-4\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto py-5 [--thread-content-margin:--spacing(4)] @[37rem]:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(6)] @[72rem]:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(16)] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:32rem] @[34rem]:[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @[64rem]:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto flex max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 text-base gap-4 md:gap-5 lg:gap-6 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden\">\n<div class=\"group\/conversation-turn relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\">\n<div class=\"relative flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"d5853ebc-d66b-44a1-87dc-117b6bb6e039\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full break-words light\">\n<p data-start=\"86\" data-end=\"373\">OKLAHOMA CITY, OK \u2014\u00a0What began as a surprisingly smooth end to Oklahoma\u2019s 2025 legislative session descended into late-night political turmoil, culminating in a record-breaking series of veto overrides and the unprecedented removal of a high-ranking gubernatorial appointee.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"375\" data-end=\"672\">In a year when lawmakers appeared to be largely aligned, with minimal public friction and no looming budget battles or special session threats, tensions flared in the final days after Governor Kevin Stitt began vetoing bills at a historic pace\u201468 in total, more than any governor in state history.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"674\" data-end=\"1015\">\u201cThis is stuff that I know is bad for Oklahoma, bad for taxpayers,\u201d Stitt said in a video posted to his official Facebook page. Among the bills vetoed was a bipartisan measure requiring insurance companies to cover diagnostic mammograms, authored by Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa), who is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1017\" data-end=\"1226\">\u201cI just want to say, did you read the bill? Did you understand what it was we\u2019re trying to do?\u201d Provenzano said in response to the veto, echoing the outrage felt by many legislators on both sides of the aisle.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1228\" data-end=\"1460\">Other vetoed bills included legislation aimed at strengthening DUI laws, enhancing open records access, mandating ethics training for agency heads, and dedicating resources to address the backlog of missing Indigenous persons cases.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1462\" data-end=\"1816\">Initially, legislative leaders signaled they would consider overriding only a select number of the vetoes. However, after Stitt publicly threatened to support primary challengers against lawmakers who opposed him, the House and Senate pushed back, placing all 68 vetoed bills up for possible override. Ultimately, 47 were overturned\u2014another state record.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1818\" data-end=\"2092\">The friction peaked late Thursday night when lawmakers swiftly moved to oust Mental Health Commissioner Allie Friesen, a controversial Stitt appointee. The resolution, introduced by both a representative and a senator, came after mounting concerns over Friesen\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2094\" data-end=\"2346\">Stitt responded by releasing a statement suggesting\u2014without providing evidence\u2014that the wife of one of the senators who introduced the resolution may have played a role in the department\u2019s problems. The allegation sparked immediate, bipartisan outrage.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2348\" data-end=\"2545\">\u201cI\u2019m very, very, very disappointed in our governor, that he would put out a press release as disrespectful and disingenuous as this one,\u201d said Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2547\" data-end=\"2691\">\u201cI haven\u2019t teared up the whole session, until I read that,\u201d added Sen. Christi Gillespie (R-Broken Arrow). \u201cWe\u2019re better than that, we all are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2693\" data-end=\"2862\">\u201cWe need to leave family out of it. That is crossing a line,\u201d said Sen. Casey Murdock (R-Felt). \u201cI will cut your throat to protect my district, but there are standards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2864\" data-end=\"3009\">The condemnation continued from across the Republican caucus, with Sen. Bill Coleman (R-Ponca City) calling the statement \u201cfalse\u201d and \u201cbaseless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3011\" data-end=\"3202\">In a rare show of unity, both chambers voted overwhelmingly to remove Friesen from her position in a dramatic, middle-of-the-night vote, marking a stunning end to an already volatile session.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3204\" data-end=\"3449\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">While the final days were mired in conflict, lawmakers now head into the summer with a reshaped power dynamic\u2014and a clear signal that even in a deeply red state, unity can fracture under the weight of personal attacks and political brinkmanship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex min-h-[46px] justify-start\">\n<div class=\"touch:-me-2 touch:-ms-3.5 -ms-2.5 -me-1 flex w-full items-center p-1 select-none -mt-1 duration-[1.5s] focus-within:transition-none hover:transition-none pointer-events-none [mask-image:linear-gradient(to_right,black_33%,transparent_66%)] [mask-size:300%_100%] [mask-position:100%_0%] motion-safe:transition-[mask-position] group-hover\/turn-messages:pointer-events-auto group-hover\/turn-messages:[mask-position:0_0] group-focus-within\/turn-messages:pointer-events-auto group-focus-within\/turn-messages:[mask-position:0_0] has-data-[state=open]:pointer-events-auto has-data-[state=open]:[mask-position:0_0]\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"absolute\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"pointer-events-none h-px w-px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-edge=\"true\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OKLAHOMA CITY, OK \u2014\u00a0What began as a surprisingly smooth end to Oklahoma\u2019s 2025 legislative session descended into late-night political turmoil, culminating in a record-breaking series of veto overrides and the unprecedented removal of a high-ranking gubernatorial appointee. In a year when lawmakers appeared to be largely aligned, with minimal public friction and no looming budget [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5360","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oklahoma"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Oklahoma Legislative Session Ends in Drama with Veto Overrides, Appointee Ouster - Enid Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/03\/oklahoma-legislative-session-ends-in-drama-with-veto-overrides-appointee-ouster\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oklahoma Legislative Session Ends in Drama with Veto Overrides, Appointee Ouster - Enid Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OKLAHOMA CITY, OK \u2014\u00a0What began as a surprisingly smooth end to Oklahoma\u2019s 2025 legislative session descended into late-night political turmoil, culminating in a record-breaking series of veto overrides and the unprecedented removal of a high-ranking gubernatorial appointee. 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