As the 2026 legislative session begins, Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton is at war with the leader of Oklahoma’s far-right Freedom Caucus.
In an interview with The Frontier Monday, Paxton, R-Tuttle, accused Freedom Caucus leader Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, of disrupting the work of the Senate and using the group to promote himself.
“The concept of the Freedom Caucus, what they say they stand for, are things I stand for,” Paxton told The Frontier. “But in reality, what it’s become is a platform for Shane Jett. Shane Jett is not a conservative, Shane Jett is a self-promoting populist, and he is doing everything he can do to promote himself at the cost of the Senate and at the cost of the state … and whatever that takes to do, whatever he destroys on the way, is just fine with him.”
The Freedom Caucus doesn’t disclose its members, but at least 9 state Senators are associated with the group. The caucus is now trying to use its power as a voting bloc to drive the legislative agenda in the Senate this year. Members of Freedom Caucus have proposed bills this session to crack down on immigration to crack down on what the group calls “the invasion of illegal immigrants” in the state.
“This has nothing to do with any legislation,” Paxton said. “It has to do with Shane Jett not doing the job he signed up for. And there is no way in the world Shane Jett will ever have a gavel in his hand in an official capacity, as long as I’m the Pro Tem.”
The lawmakers’ dispute has spilled into internal Senate assignments. Paxton removed Jett from two positions: vice chair of the Administrative Rules Committee and as a presiding officer on the Senate floor.
“The concept of the Freedom Caucus, what they say they stand for, are things I stand for,” Paxton told The Frontier. “But in reality, what it’s become is a platform for Shane Jett. Shane Jett is not a conservative, Shane Jett is a self-promoting populist, and he is doing everything he can do to promote himself at the cost of the Senate and at the cost of the state … and whatever that takes to do, whatever he destroys on the way, is just fine with him.”
Jett, in response, called Paxton’s statements about his conservative bona fides “laughable,” noting The Freedom Index, a conservative legislative scorecard, rated Jett as 96% Republican, while Paxton scored a 46%. The Freedom Index is published by The New American, a magazine operated by the conservative advocacy group the John Birch Society.
Jett said Paxton was “a bully” who was afraid to hold his own party members accountable for fear of losing his position as Senate president pro tempore. Fox 25 reported in November 2024 that Senate Republicans narrowly chose Paxton to be their designee for the position by a vote of 20-19 over more-conservative Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant. Paxton later won a vote in the Senate to officially become Pro Tem in January 2025.
Jett has also clashed with other members of the Freedom Caucus.
Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, who chairs the Administrative Rules Committee and is also a member of the Freedom Caucus, last month asked Paxton to replace Jett as vice chair because Jett “wouldn’t show up for work,” Paxton said.
Jett disputed that account, referring to Bergstrom as “weak” and saying Bergstrom’s request stemmed from several speeches Jett gave last year that Bergstrom “took umbrage with.”
Support Independent Oklahoma Journalism
The Frontier holds the powerful accountable through fearless, in-depth reporting. We don’t run ads — we rely on donors who believe in our mission. If that’s you, please consider making a contribution.
Your gift helps keep our journalism free for everyone.
🔶 Donate Now“Bergstrom, at the end of the day, will always buckle to leadership,” Jett said.
The Frontier reached out to Bergstrom for a response and was sent a statement from January in which he admitted to asking Paxton to remove Jett from leadership, calling Jett’s behavior at the end of the 2025 legislative session “troubling.”
Paxton said his issue is not with the Freedom Caucus itself, but with Jett’s conduct toward fellow senators.
“My issue is with how defamatory Shane Jett has been about his colleagues in the Senate,” Paxton said.
Paxton said he recently saw a video in which Jett, speaking at a town hall, called fellow Senate Republicans “cowards.”
Jett has introduced legislation this session to ban state lawmakers from drinking on the job, and has accused some of his colleagues of being drunk during some votes last legislative session.
Paxton said allegations of drunkenness on the Senate floor were unfounded.
“This whole drunkenness on the Senate floor, when there is no evidence to support it. I mean zero evidence to support it, is defaming the entire Senate,” Paxton said.
Despite the public friction, Paxton said he does not believe the conflict will derail the Senate’s work during the upcoming session. In fact, he said Jett’s actions may have had the opposite effect.
“By disparaging the entire Senate, he is uniting the entire Senate, Republicans and Democrats alike,” Paxton said. “Shane Jett is the outlier. He is the one that’s causing the issues, and he’s the one causing the problems, but what he’s saying he’s actually countering what he’s trying to do. He is not dividing the Senate. He is uniting the Senate.”
Paxton predicted Jett would “accomplish very little, if anything, this legislative session,” but would continue attempting to slow proceedings through procedural challenges.
“He will be running around with that rule book, trying to find ways to slow things down to be a problem,” Paxton said. “That’s what his goal is this year. It’s not to accomplish anything for the state of Oklahoma. It’s not to make life better for Oklahomans. It’s not to make home ownership more affordable for Oklahomans. It’s not to improve the reading proficiency of Oklahoma school children. It’s to make Shane Jett look better.”
Jett disagreed, telling The Frontier that the division will only “raise our credibility.”
“Paxton is creating division under the guise of unity,” Jett said. “Now, will it hurt his agenda? Sure it will because it underscores the purpose of the Freedom Caucus. We are always about conservative policy over politics and principles over personality.”
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
