Senator Tom Coburn leads the charge. 5 of the 7 members of the Oklahoma delegation voted against the $50 billion in assistance for Hurricane Sandy due to unmet demands that $50 billion were not cuts elsewhere - so this shows some consistency. The division weakens the state's influence in Congress.
Speaker Boehner has stated that Oklahoma will get federal relief, but there is no guarantee that Republicans in the House will support it. This will be a test of his leadership abilities, and that of other Republican leaders in the House. Can they persuade the Republican delegation to go along with disaster relief without conditions, or will the Republican rank and file make mandates on him? Who leads the Republican conference?
