Alan Armstrong

Alan Armstrong
Official portrait, 2026
United States Senator
from Oklahoma
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 24, 2026
Serving with James Lankford
Appointed byKevin Stitt
Preceded byMarkwayne Mullin
Personal details
BornAlan Stuart Armstrong
(1962-07-11) July 11, 1962 (age 64)
McLennan County, Texas, U.S.
PartyRepublican
SpouseShelly Armstrong
Children4
EducationUniversity of Oklahoma (BS)
WebsiteSenate website
Armstrong's voice
Armstrong's first speech on the Senate floor
Recorded July 16, 2026

Alan Stuart Armstrong (born July 11, 1962) is an American politician and businessman serving as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he has held since March 2026. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2011 to 2025 as the CEO of the oil and gas company Williams.

Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Armstrong to the Senate after Markwayne Mullin resigned to become secretary of homeland security. Armstrong had never held office before his appointment. Under Oklahoma law, he is ineligible to run for a full term in 2026. He will be succeeded by fellow Republican Kevin Hern, who won the election.

Early life

Alan Stuart Armstrong was born on July 11, 1962, in McLennan County, Texas. He was raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where he graduated from Sooner High School. Both of his grandfathers, one grandmother, an uncle, and his parents worked for Phillips Petroleum.

Career

Armstrong graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1985 and in 1986 started working as an engineer for the Williams Companies, an oil and gas company. He served as CEO and executive board chairman of Williams from 2011 to 2025. Armstrong also served as vice president of gathering and processing from 1999 to 2002; vice president of commercial development from 1998 to 1999; vice president of retail energy services from 1997 to 1998; and director of commercial operations for the company's Gulf Coast midstream operations from 1995 to 1997. Since January 2026, he has served as a director of Constellation Energy.

After the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Armstrong donated $5,800 to U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who voted to impeach President Donald Trump in the attack's aftermath. Armstrong has also donated to the campaigns of senators John Barrasso, Tim Sheehy, Shelley Moore Capito, Mike Crapo, Josh Hawley, James Lankford, Joe Manchin, and Heidi Heitkamp.

In August 2022, President Joe Biden appointed Armstrong to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.

U.S. Senate

Armstrong during his swearing-in to the U.S. Senate by Chuck Grassley.

Appointment

On March 21, 2026, NOTUS reported that Governor Kevin Stitt would appoint Armstrong to the U.S. Senate after President Trump nominated incumbent senator Markwayne Mullin for secretary of homeland security. On March 24, Armstrong was formally announced as Stitt's choice for the appointment.

Tenure

Armstrong was sworn in on March 24, 2026, by Senate president pro tempore Chuck Grassley. Per Oklahoma law, Armstrong is ineligible to run for reelection.

Armstrong has leaned on his background as an energy executive to draw attention to federal permitting reform. In June 2026, he joined a bipartisan Senate delegation to Ukraine.

On June 24, 2026, Armstrong introduced energy project permitting reform aimed to make it faster and easier to approve energy, pipeline, and mining projects by streamlining federal permitting and environmental reviews.

Personal life

Armstrong lives in Tulsa with his wife, Shelly, and their four children.

References

  1. 1 2 Svirnovskiy, Gregory (March 24, 2026). "Stitt picks energy executive Alan Armstrong as next Oklahoma senator". POLITICO. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Sen. Alan Armstrong - R Oklahoma". LegiStorm.
  3. ↑ United States Congress. "Armstrong, Alan". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Williams: an American success story" (PDF). Williams Companies. 2018. p. 9. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  5. ↑ Stancavage, John (June 12, 2009). "5 questions with Alan Armstrong". Tulsa World. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  6. ↑ Kalia, Katha; Srivastava, Vallari (May 5, 2025). "Williams CEO Alan Armstrong to step down after 14 years at the helm". Reuters. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Williams announces executive management changes". sec.gov. May 5, 2025. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Constellation appoints Alan Armstrong to board of directors". sec.gov. September 29, 2025. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  9. ↑ Mitchell, Scott (March 22, 2026). "Alan Armstrong is Stitt's U.S. Senate pick: what led to the decision and what's next?". news9.com. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  10. ↑ Meyer, Theodoric; Alfaro, Mariana (March 24, 2026). "Oklahoma energy executive Alan Armstrong sworn in as U.S. senator". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  11. ↑ "President Biden announces appointments to the President's National Infrastructure Advisory Council". whitehouse.gov. August 31, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  12. ↑ Gorman, Reese (March 22, 2026). "Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and his likely Senate appointee to meet with Trump on Sunday". NOTUS. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  13. ↑ Svirnovskiy, Gregory (March 24, 2026). "Stitt picks energy executive Alan Armstrong as next Oklahoma senator". Politico. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  14. ↑ Carney, Jordan (March 24, 2026). "Introducing Sen. Alan Armstrong". Politico. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  15. ↑ Armstrong, Sen. Alan (June 16, 2026). "Op-Ed: Sen. Alan Armstrong: The same permit snare that stops pipelines will stop the grid buildout too". Washington Reporter. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Bipartisan US Senate delegation arrives in Ukraine". Interfax-Ukraine. June 30, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  17. ↑ Miller, Alex (June 25, 2026). "Senate Republican pushes overhaul to cut red tape and speed up American energy projects". Fox News. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  18. ↑ "2014 distinguished graduates". ou.edu. Retrieved March 22, 2026.