Oklahoma Governor Ignored Trump’s Pick to Fill Mullin Senate Seat and Tapped a Man Who Bankrolled Adam Kinzinger

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has been a thorn in Trump's side for years.

Now it looks like he’s trying to plant one in the US Senate.

Stitt just selected Alan Armstrong – Williams Companies executive chairman – to fill the Senate seat vacated by Markwayne Mullin, who is heading to DHS. The problem? Armstrong’s support for Adam Kinzinger just two months after January 6.

The Kinzinger Connection Trump Can't Ignore

Kinzinger wasn't just any anti-Trump Republican. He voted to impeach Trump in 2021 and then joined Nancy Pelosi's January 6 committee – the partisan witch hunt designed to destroy Trump's political future.

Armstrong cut Kinzinger two checks in March 2021, according to FEC records: $2,900 to "Kinzinger for Congress" and $2,900 to "Adam Kinzinger – Future 1st Committee." That's $5,800 to the man who made it his mission to end Trump's career – donated months after Kinzinger stabbed the entire conservative movement in the back.

Stitt and Armstrong were set to sit down with Trump at Mar-a-Lago Sunday. The Kinzinger money was going to be front and center. And per multiple sources, the pick wasn't final – Trump could still kill it.

He should be very cautious.

https://twitter.com/Karajones0412/status/2035848287320994062

Stitt Has Been Defying Trump for Years

This isn't Stitt's first act of defiance. It's a pattern.

Stitt refused to endorse Trump in the 2024 Republican primary – after Trump had saved his governorship with a critical endorsement in 2022.

Trump called him a "wiseguy" and a "RINO" on Truth Social, and accused Stitt of never having his back. A presidential adviser said Trump still holds the betrayal against him.

Stitt has also broken with Trump on immigration – publicly questioning mass deportations on CNN and suggesting the administration was getting "bad advice." He's the governor of a state that gave Trump 66% of the vote, and he's out there defending illegal immigrants with work permits.

Now, with weeks left in his final term, Stitt is handing a U.S. Senate seat to a man who financially backed the Republican congressman most committed to destroying Trump.

Trump had already made his wishes clear. He endorsed Rep. Kevin Hern for the permanent Senate seat just days ago, calling him a "true friend of MAGA" and a "Great Patriot." Hern entered the race explicitly promising to be Trump's "loyal ally" in the Senate. Stitt bypassed the entire MAGA infrastructure to install a political unknown who gave money to Adam Kinzinger.

America First Means Vetting Every Appointment

The temporary appointee cannot run in November's election for the full Senate term under Oklahoma law – so Armstrong's influence is limited to the months before voters decide. But limited doesn't mean harmless.

Every Senate vote is precious. Republicans hold a slim majority, and every senator who might peel away on a critical confirmation, a budget vote, or a border funding bill matters. Installing someone whose political instincts ran to Adam Kinzinger after January 6 is a risk Trump doesn't need to take.

The America First movement can’t let RINO governors quietly slip anti-Trump donors into the upper chamber as a parting gift.

Trump now has the FEC receipts in hand and the leverage to say no. He might think about using them.

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Sources:

• Reese Gorman, "Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and His Likely Senate Appointee to Meet With Trump on Sunday," NOTUS, March 21, 2026.
• Jim Hoft, "Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Appoints Oil & Gas Executive Who Reportedly Donated to Adam Kinzinger to Fill Mullin's Senate Seat," The Gateway Pundit, March 23, 2026.
• Staff, "Oklahoma Governor's Reported Replacement For Sen Mullin Is A Virtual Unknown Who Gave Money To Trump Foe," The Daily Caller, March 22, 2026.
• Staff, "Trump Endorses Kevin Hern in Oklahoma Senate Primary Race," Bloomberg, March 14, 2026.
• Lindsay Kornick, "Republican Governor Believes Trump Getting 'Bad Advice' on Immigration," Fox News, January 26, 2026.