Former Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) has died at the age of 89, his family announced Tuesday.
Inhofe died shortly before 5 a.m. Tuesday, surrounded by his wife, Kay, and three surviving children, Molly, Jimmy and Katy, the family said.
Inhofe’s family said he contracted a sudden illness but did not provide details. The Associated Press reported he had a stroke over the July Fourth holiday.
His death comes nearly two years after the former senator retired from the upper chamber in 2023, having served for more than 20 years in Congress. He was Oklahoma’s longest-serving U.S. senator.
Prior to his time in the Senate, Inhofe served in the House for seven years. Before his time on Capitol Hill, Inhofe was the mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma for six years and served stints in the state Legislature.
Inhofe, who was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1934, grew up in Tulsa and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tulsa. He later served in the U.S. Army in 1955 and worked in aviation, real estate and insurance before entering the political world, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society.
During his time in the Senate, Inhofe served as chair of the Armed Services Committee and as chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
The senator was known in part for his denial that human activity contributes to climate change. He made headlines in 2015, when he threw a snowball on the Senate floor to push back against claims that the earth’s temperature was rising due to greenhouse gas emissions.
Inhofe was a steadfast supporter of the military and his state’s five military installations, the AP noted. Often flying himself to and from Washington, D.C. as a licensed pilot, he worked to secure federal funding for local road and bridge projects and advocated for congressional earmarks.
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) paid tribute to Inhofe in a statement Tuesday, calling him a “dear friend and mentor, a titan in Oklahoma and a higher effective leader in D.C.”
“He will always be remembered as a fighter, especially for our military service members,” Hern wrote. “Jim’s legacy of service, leadership, and faith reflect the Oklahoma Standard and the pride he held in his work.”
“Along with the family, friends, and many Oklahomans who knew and loved him, I mourn the loss of a great man,” he added.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he was saddened to learn of Inhofe’s death.
“For nearly three decades, the Senator for Oklahoma lived up to his unique and distinguished middle name: Jim was a Mountain of a man,” McConnell wrote in a statement. “The people he served, a group much larger than the proud residents of the Sooner State, were better for it.”
“Jim’s diligent stewardship of massive infrastructure projects transformed life across the Heartland. His relentless advocacy for American energy dominance unlocked new prosperity across the country,” he added. “And his laser focus on growing and modernizing the U.S. military strengthened the security of the entire free world.”
Rep. Mike Carey (R-Ohio) described Inhofe as a “good man and a champion for working Americans.”
The Oklahoma GOP paid condolences to Inhofe’s family and OKGOP Chair Nathan Dahm said the state “lost a giant.”
“He served the people of this State from the local level and rose to leadership at the national level where he represented us so well in Washington D.C. He was a staunch defender of our military, even before he served as Chairman of the Armed Services Committee,” Dahm wrote.
Inhofe is survived by his wife, three surviving children and more than a dozen grandchildren. His son Perry Inhofe died in 2013 in a plane crash near Tulsa. Like his father, Perry Inhofe was a licensed pilot and also a flight instructor.
Al Weaver contributed to this report, which was updated at 12:14 p.m. EDT.