James Lankford

James Lankford was born in 1968 and is currently serving as the junior United States Senator from Oklahoma. Senator Lankford’s seat will be up for election in 2026.

Lankford was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014. Prior to that, he represented Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 until 2015. Before joining politics, he served with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and was also the program director of Falls Creek.

Senator Lankford is currently serving on the Appropriations Committee; the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; the Finance Committee; and the Indian Affairs Committee.

Below is Senator Lankford’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish community.

Senator Lankford opposed the Iran nuclear deal. He supported the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Senator Lankford cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act, two bills that aim to fight discriminatory boycotts of Israel. He opposed UN Security Council Resolution 2334 that claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity.

In 2018, Senator Lankford cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act, a legislation that supported full funding of security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding.

In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthens Israel’s security and allows a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.