Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) said he will not wait long to announce a replacement for Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) after a meeting at the White House arranged despite his recent dust-up with President Donald Trump.
Stitt met with Trump on Thursday to discuss Mullin’s pending resignation from the Senate, an opening that Stitt will fill as governor of Oklahoma. Mullin, tapped to be Trump’s next homeland security secretary, is set to be confirmed by the end of the month.
Stitt reportedly has two candidates in mind for the Senate job, a temporary appointment through the end of the year, and may even be considering a run for the full, six-year term himself.
The meeting comes weeks after Stitt, chairman of the National Governors Association, had a falling out with Trump over a White House dinner in which two Democratic governors were excluded. The two also have a rocky relationship dating back years after Stitt endorsed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for the 2024 presidential nomination.
Still, Stitt offered a diplomatic statement after the meeting on Thursday, thanking the president for his time.
“I appreciate President Trump taking time to meet to discuss the importance of appointing a new U.S. senator for Oklahoma,” Stitt said. “President Trump has made a great selection in Markwayne Mullin to join his Cabinet, and I am committed to making a swift decision on his replacement once Mullin is confirmed by the Senate.”
Stitt is likely considering two people for the temporary appointment: oil magnate and Trump ally Harold Hamm or Dustin Hilliary, one of his senior advisers. Under Oklahoma state law, whoever is appointed by Stitt would have to sign an affidavit stating that they would not run for the full term.
His visit to Washington also included meetings with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Stitt is term-limited and will leave the governorship after the November elections.
While the governor huddled Thursday with Trump, suggesting Stitt wants to stay aligned politically on who succeeds Mullin, the two have not always seen eye-to-eye.
In a Truth Social post earlier this year, the president called Stitt a “RINO” after he announced that the White House “intends to limit” invitations to an annual event with the National Governors Association.
Last year, Stitt also opposed Trump sending National Guard troops across state borders without the permission of local leaders, marking rare pushback from a Republican governor.
In an interview with the New York Times, Stitt said that “Oklahomans would lose their mind if Pritzker in Illinois sent troops down to Oklahoma during the Biden administration.”
The political rift is not new. In the 2024 GOP primary, Stitt upset Trump by endorsing DeSantis, even after Trump had endorsed Stitt’s past gubernatorial bids.
In terms of other possible contenders for Mullin’s Senate seat, Stitt is not the only big-name Oklahoman who might be interested.
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) has already launched his candidacy, and Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) is exploring a run as well.
Hern, a member of House GOP leadership who has represented the Tulsa area in Congress since 2018, was calling senators to gather support for a campaign before he made his Wednesday announcement.
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All of this comes as Mullin prepares to leave the Senate after being nominated to replace Kristi Noem, with his confirmation hearing tentatively set for Wednesday.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Stitt’s and Thune’s offices for comment.
David Sivak and Christian Datoc contributed to this article.