Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s highest-profile political appointment yet is showcasing the governor’s habit of selecting people from the business world, particularly the energy sector. This time, he’s hoping for a national impact.
Stitt believes oil and gas executive Alan Armstrong can accomplish a key goal during his short time in the U.S. Senate: Pass safeguards into law that would protect major energy projects from political upheaval.
Stitt touted Armstrong’s expertise in the oil and gas sector, particularly regarding pipelines, as a major reason why he chose Armstrong to succeed former Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is now the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security.
Armstrong is chairman of Williams Cos., a publicly traded energy infrastructure company based in Tulsa. He has advised President Donald Trump’s Cabinet on energy issues as a member of the National Petroleum Council.
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Armstrong said he will prioritize permitting reform to accelerate energy infrastructure construction across the country. He will have about seven months to get the job done. His term expires once Oklahoma voters elect a new senator in November.
“It is really a critical time for our country,” Armstrong said during a news conference Tuesday, March 24. “I look around and realize how important energy decisions are and in general, infrastructure decisions are. If you travel around the world these days, you realize we are falling behind on being the leaders in infrastructure.”
Pam Pollard, an Oklahoma delegate to the GOP convention and former chair of the Oklahoma Republican Party, said Stitt has always believed the government needs to have a business approach to its operations. Stitt’s pick of Armstrong fits in that mold.
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“A business leader has experienced the need for matching expenses to revenue and knows treating clients with respect is the greatest way to grow a business,” Pollard said.
She added that she believed taxpayers would benefit from Armstrong’s service and experience in the oil and gas industry as the U.S. works to become energy independent.
Oil and gas the main economic driver in Oklahoma
Oil and gas is the primary economic driver in Oklahoma, and the state is viewed as a national leader on energy policy and issues. That reputation took a hit earlier this year after two legacy energy companies agreed to move their headquarters out of the state.
Stitt has made energy a special focus during his tenure. At times, his stances have drawn pushback across the political spectrum, over his move to block tribal nations from having a say in regulating energy projects on tribal lands, as well as over his support of so-called green energy projects like transmission lines and wind and solar power.
Permitting reform has been a contentious issue in the U.S. for decades. Critics of the current process say it delays energy infrastructure projects and drives up costs.
During the news conference announcing Armstrong’s appointment, Stitt pointed to the “pendulum swing” of the proposed Keystone XL crude pipeline, which could have carried 830,000 barrels per day of oil from the oil sands of northern Alberta to the major U.S. storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, and then on to Gulf Coast refineries.
The project was rejected by Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration and revived by Republican President Donald Trump during his first term. Though construction work had started, the pipeline was never completed after President Joe Biden revoked a key permit for the U.S. stretch of the project in 2021.
Trump said in February that he would like to see the Keystone expansion built and pledged easy approvals for the project if the company that was building the pipeline were to “come back to America.”
“We can’t have a country that picks and chooses,” Stitt said. “When you do everything right and you get those permits, we can’t let a new administration come in and kill projects.”
The governor said Armstrong and Trump are aligned on energy policy, adding that fewer people have done more to champion an “America First” agenda to keep Oklahoma in the center of domestic production of clean, reliable and affordable energy.
Stitt mentioned wind energy among forms of power sources in need of permitting reform. The governor has championed a “best of everything” approach to energy, while Trump constantly rails against wind turbines.
The University of Oklahoma’s Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band play March 24 at the Capitol after Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the appointment of Tulsa oil and gas executive Alan Armstrong to the U.S. Senate.
The Trump administration recently agreed to pay a French energy firm nearly $1 billion to cancel its plans to build a pair of wind farms off the East Coast as a strategy to block offshore wind.
Stitt said Armstrong will work across party lines to achieve permitting reform. He added that the oil and gas executive’s perspective will bring people together.
“Alan views this appointment not as a political opportunity, but really as public service,” Stitt said.
Armstrong said he’s thankful to have a relationship with Oklahoma’s senior U.S. senator, James Lankford, saying he appreciates his knowledge and admires the Republican.
On social media, Lankford said with Armstrong’s energy background, he brings real-world experience at a “critical time” for the American economy.
“I look forward to working with him to support Oklahoma workers, strengthen our energy independence and keep costs low for families,” he said.
Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the appointment of Tulsa oil and gas executive Alan Armstrong to take over Markwayne Mullin’s U.S. Senate seat.
Gov. Stitt chooses Alan Armstrong over Harold Hamm, Cabinet members
The March 24 announcement ends weeks of speculation about who might succeed Mullin. Names in Stitt’s Cabinet were thought to be potential picks, along with Oklahoma oil tycoon Harold Hamm, who reportedly asked Stitt and the White House for the appointment.
Stitt mentioned Hamm and Larry Nichols during the news conference, calling them titans of the oil and gas industry. However, he said he doesn’t believe anyone knows pipelines better than Armstrong.
“It was the pick that I thought was going to serve our country best, serve Oklahoma the best at a critical time,” Stitt said.
Armstrong is not the first political appointee by Stitt from the energy sector. In 2024, the governor appointed Jeff Starling as Oklahoma secretary of energy and environment.
Starling served as chief legal and administrative officer and corporate secretary at Oklahoma City-based Lagoon Water Midstream, which says it provides water management solutions and develops and operates water infrastructure. Before that, Starling worked for Devon Energy Corp. in Oklahoma City, where he was assistant general counsel.
Stitt also appointed now-gubernatorial candidate Chip Keating as Oklahoma secretary of public safety in 2019. Keating worked for Chesapeake Energy before starting Keating Investments in 2010.
Stitt has also selected people from the private sector to help him close out his second and final term in office. In 2025, he tapped consultant Donelle Harder as the next secretary of state, though she could not assume office because did not meet the constitutional requirements for the role. She now serves as the governor’s chief of staff.
At the time, Stitt also appointed restaurant franchiser David Ostrowe as chief operating officer and communications executive Dustin Hilliary as his senior adviser.
The governor recently appointed Hilliary to the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, pending confirmation by the Oklahoma Senate.
Stitt also has made a habit of choosing political outsiders to take over troubled agencies, including retired Rear Adm. Greg Slavonic who was placed in temporary charge of Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in June 2025.
Stitt also appointed Slavonic as interim executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs in March 2023 after the agency’s former director, Joel Kinstel, was removed for revolting against the agency’s commission.
Stitt also appointed John Nash as secretary of Military and Veterans Affairs in 2022 and John Budd as the chief executive officer of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Alan Armstrong is on a mission in the U.S. Senate. Why he was picked
