Oklahoma U.S. Senator Alan Armstrong sat down with FOX23 to discuss his transition to Washington, D.C., after his appointment to the Senate. Armstrong talks about adjusting to life on Capitol Hill, representing Oklahoma in Congress, and the priorities he’s focusing on in his new role.
What Alan Armstrong said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Alan Armstrong, former Williams Companies CEO and now Oklahoma's appointed U.S. Senator, discussed his transition to the Senate, his family's reaction, and his focus on permitting reform. He described the Senate's procedural inefficiencies, specifically the 'voterama' process, which he finds unproductive. Armstrong said he has met the president but works closely with the White House, Secretary Wright, and Secretary Burgum on energy infrastructure. On gasoline prices around $4.19 a gallon in Tulsa, he argued prices are below the $5 national peak from June and July 2022, and emphasized that building more infrastructure, including pipelines and refineries, is the key to lowering costs. He cited California's decline from 43 to six refineries as an example of self-inflicted high costs. Armstrong expressed hope for permitting reform passage, noting bipartisan support but acknowledging it depends on Senate Majority Leader Schumer allowing a vote before the midterms.
Key takeaways
Armstrong's singular focus in the Senate is permitting reform, which he says is holding back U.S. infrastructure and energy development.
Gasoline prices in Tulsa at $4.19 a gallon are below the national $5 peak from June-July 2022, and infrastructure buildout is the key to lower prices.
California's refinery count fell from 43 to six, and the state now relies on imported fuels, raising costs.
Permitting reform passage depends largely on Senate Majority Leader Schumer allowing a vote before the midterms.
Armstrong met the president before his appointment and works with Secretary Wright and Secretary Burgum on energy policy.
0:01How have you adjusted these past few months to your new life?
0:31What's it like to walk onto that Senate floor for the first time and be a senator? What was that like?
1:20If we could go back a little before you were even sworn in, what was the conversation like with your family that this was happening? What did you tell them?
2:56What would you say stands out as a surprise to you that you either didn't know about or wasn't expecting?
Very well. You know, it's a new challenge. It's something I never really had on my list of things I wanted to do, but it's a very different approach and different set of skill sets required. So, every day I wake up and I feel like we've got an important challenge ahead of us as a team. And so it's actually been pretty enjoyable.
Yeah. You know, I mean, I think people use the term surreal a lot of times to speak about times where they kind of look around and think, what am I doing here? So I would say that was kind of the immediate feeling that I got from that. But it's been, you know, certainly an honor for sure. I mean, it's amazing from my perspective to come from what I've done in my career and wind up here in the Senate. And it's a real honor to get to serve with some people that really are committed to trying to make our country better.
If we could go back a little before you were even sworn in, what was the conversation like with your family that this was happening? What did you tell them?
Yeah, you know, I had stepped down as CEO of Williams in July of '25 and then was still the executive chairman at Williams and so still very engaged there. And I was also on the Constellation Energy board as well as the Bank of Oklahoma board. So a lot of board assignments, pretty busy. But I think in particular my wife was pretty anxious to get on with spending a little more time enjoying life. So that was kind of where I was on that. And I'll have to say that my wife Shelley, she's always been a huge supporter of my career and made it possible to do what I did for 40 years at Williams with bringing all the passion and energy I could to that. And so, you know, there was a little bit of an 'oh my gosh' moment, but then after that, she's been very supportive as she always has been in my career. So, it's great to have her support. We have four kids. They still treat me like I should be treated like a normal human being and keeping me humble. So, it's good to have. I have three daughters there in Tulsa and three grandkids, and from their perspective there's nothing any different and I like that.
What we all watch DC from afar through the news and sometimes dramas and things like that. What would you say stands out as a surprise to you that you either didn't know about or wasn't expecting?
7 more exchanges in this transcript
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Armstrong, A. (2026, May 20). FOX23 Exclusive: Okla. U.S. Sen. Alan Armstrong discusses adjusting to life in DC after appointment [Interview transcript]. FOX23 News Tulsa. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/930171/
MLA
Alan Armstrong. "FOX23 Exclusive: Okla. U.S. Sen. Alan Armstrong discusses adjusting to life in DC after appointment." FOX23 News Tulsa, 20 May. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/930171/.
BibTeX
@misc{armstrong2026_930171,
author = {Alan Armstrong},
title = {FOX23 Exclusive: Okla. U.S. Sen. Alan Armstrong discusses adjusting to life in DC after appointment},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, FOX23 News Tulsa. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {may},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/930171/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
