Jim Inhofe, longstanding US senator from Oklahoma, dies at 89

Congressman Jim Inhofe and President George W. Bush appear at a fund-raiser in Oklahoma City. Staff photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks at the Republican watch party in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

Framegrab from C-Span of Jim Inhofe with snowball.

Jim Inhofe, Mary Fallin as he delivered an address to delegates at the Oklahoma Republican state convention Saturday, May 8, 2004. Staff Photo by Bill Waugh.

Sen. Jim Inhofe

Senator Jim Inhofe speaks during the Republican watch party at the Oklahoma City Marriott on Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City on Tuesday Nov. 4, 2008. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman

Sen. Jim Inhofe on the NewsOK set, Wednesday, December 23, 2015. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe speaks to the media at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, Friday, March 11, 2016. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston and U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe stand on stage during an NRA Rally at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., Thur. Oct. 31, 2002. Staff photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

ELECTION DAY / GENERAL ELECTION / WIN / WINNER / U.S. / UNITED STATES / SENATE / SENATOR / SEN. / INCUMBENT / JAMES INHOFE: Senator Jim Inhofe speaks during the Republican watch party at the Oklahoma City Marriott on Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City on Tuesday Nov. 4, 2008. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD

U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe addresses the Oklahoma Farm Bureau conference in OKC Tuesday morning. Staff Photo by Roger Klock, The Oklahoman

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe is shown at Vance Air Force Base in July. [Photo by Ben Felder, The Oklahoman Archives]

Tulsa, Okla. - October 13, 2003. Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, left, answers questions from the media at the Tulsa Press Club, 415 S. Boston, with Senator Jim Inhofe at his side. Humphreys announced the formation of a campaign committe for U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy left by Sen. Don Nickles. Sen. Inhofe will be the honorary chairman for the committee. Staff photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

U.S.Senator Alfonse D'Amato, R-NY, and Oklahoma U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe visit with the press Friday evening before a fund-raising dinner for Inhofe at the oklahoma City Golf and Country Club. Staff Photo by Roger Klock, The Oklahoman

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and his wife, Kay, are shown praying in this 2014 file photo. [Sarah Phipps/The Oklahoman]

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, talks with Republican 5th Congressional district candidate James Lankford before speaking at Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Oklahoma City Thursday, August 26, 2010. Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD

U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, Rep. Ernest Istook and Sen. Tom Coburn, from left, listen as Sen. Jim Inhofe, at right, speaks Feb. 11, 2006, at an Oklahoma Press Association meeting in Oklahoma City.

OKLAHOMA CITY OK. THURSDAY 9-16-04. U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa at left, speaking to the press on the south lawn of the state Capitol as Republican Senate candidate Tom Coburn, right, looks on. Staff photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman

ARLINGTON, VA - OCTOBER 12: Jane Horton, widow of U.S. Army Spc. Christopher D. Horton, receives an American flag from U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) during a burial service for Horton at Arlington National Cemetery October 12, 2011 in Arlington, Virginia. Horton, of Collinsville, Oklahoma, died September 9, 2011 in Paktia Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked with small arms fire. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 13: (R-L) Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) hold a news conference to announce their plan to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, at the U.S. Capitol March 13, 2013 in Washington, DC. Although the conservative senators expect the legislation to fail, they believe it is an important survey of who supports health care reform. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 22: Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) (R) questions Retired US Army Gen. David Petraeus while Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) (L) listens, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill September 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. The hearing focused on United States Middle East Policy. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - FEBRUARY 26: Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) introduces Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) at a campaign stop February 26, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Oklahomans will vote on Super Tuesday, March 1, for their candidates for president. (Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 11: Senate Armed Services Committee members (L-R) Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) and ranking member Sen. Jack Reed (R-RI) listen to testimony during the confirmation hearing for Richard Spencer in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill July 11, 2017 in Washington, DC. Spencer was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the 76th secretary of the U.S. Navy. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis (L) speaks with Senator James M. Inhofe (R-OK) before a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill April 26, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 20: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) speaks on immigration issues while meeting with members of the U.S. Congress in the Cabinet Room of the White House June 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. Trump said he would sign an executive order later today relating to the issue of immigrant children being separated from their parents while being detained. Also pictured is Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK). (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Jan 21, 2020; Washington, DC, USA; Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), heads to the U.S. Senate chambers before the start of Senate impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY

Mar 4, 2020; Washington, DC, USA; U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe (R–Okla.) during hearing on the Department of Defense budget with Mark T. Esper, Secretary Of Defense and Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff on March 4 2020 in Washington, DC. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY

April 23, 1995; Oklahoma City, OK; Prayer service following bombing of Alfred Murrah Federal Building. (From left, Ernest Istook, Rabbi Packman, Brooks Douglass and Jim Inhofe.)Mandatory Credit: Steve Sisney/The Oklahoman-USA TODAY NETWORK

U.S. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D.-Ariz., (left) and Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., share a moment after arriving in the U.S. Senate Building at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., for a night vote on Feb. 4, 2019.

Oklahoma's U.S. senators, James Lankford, center left, and Jim Inhofe, officially cut the ribbon Friday, Oct. 18, 2019, during a ceremony for the new KC-46 Pegasus hangar at Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City. The Pegasus will be the Air Force's newest refueling aircraft. Kc 46 Pegasus Hangar

U. S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, left, tours First National with developer Gary Brooks, center, and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt on Wednesday, May 2, 2018. They are shown inside the former bank's vault in the basement of the skyscraper. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman Photo 49

US Sen. Jim Inhofe, right, talks to Secretary Sonny Perdue. United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was at Cattlemen's Restaurant in the Stockyards District of Oklahoma City Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, to host a luncheon roundtable with representatives of the state's diverse agricultural community. Seated with Perdue at the head table were the state's congressional delegation and Gov. Mary Fallin. Guests were invited to share their opinions about agriculture topics and could ask questions of the secretary. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman Photo 48

Oklahoman reporter Chris Casteel speaks with U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe at The Okahoman studio in Oklahoma City, Okla. on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman U S Sen Jim Inhofe

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe met with workers and toured the GM Assembly plant in Oklahoma City Monday afternoon. He stands between the two sport utility vehicles made at the plant; left is Chevrolet Trailblazer, right is the GMC Envoy. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman Photo 37

Senator Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, speaks to student leaders at Central Junior High School in Moore. He also met with a group involved in the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Photo by Jaconna Aguirre, The Oklahoman Photo 36

Senator elect Jim Inhofe receives congratulations on his win from Oklahoma's senior senator Don Nickles. Photo by Paul HellsternPhoto by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman Photo 1

Vice President Dick Cheney shakes hands with U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe R-Tulsa during a fundraising event for Inhofe at the Doubletree Hotel in Tulsa, Okla., Friday, April 27, 2007. Photo by James Plumlee, The Oklahoman. Photo 17

Sen. Jim Inhofe arrives for a press conference at the Lindsey Street and I-35 construction site on Friday, May 12, 2017 in Norman, Okla. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman Photo 51

President George W. Bush, begins his speech during Oklahoma State University Spring Commencement at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., May 6, 2006. At right is Sen. Jim Inhofe with Boone Pickens next to him. By Nate Billings, The Oklahoman Photo 20

THE OKLAHOMAN VIDEO SERIES Jim Inhofe, U.S. Senator, Tuesday, August 25, 2015. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman Photo 3

President Ronald Reagan gives a wave to the small entourage of state Republican leaders on hand to greet him at Tinker Air Force Base Monday evening. Following the President are Republicans U.S. Sen. Don Nickles and Tulsa Mayor Jim Inhofe. Staff photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman Ronald Reagan Okc Visits 1982

April 20, 1990 - Congressman Jim Inhofe - Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman File

May 25 1974 -- James Inhofe Tulsa - Candidate for Governor - Photo by Gary Giudice, The Oklahoman File

Oct 14 1974 - St Sen. James Inhofe - candidate for Gov. 1974 -- Photo by Roger Artman, The Oklahoman File