Oklahoma’s New Senator Has Only Months to Make Permitting Mark

Only weeks into his temporary tenure, Republican Sen. Alan Armstrong is putting all his weight behind making it easier to build domestic energy projects.

Appointed by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt to replace Markwayne Mullin after he was tapped to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Armstrong—former CEO of one of the largest gas-pipeline operators, Williams Companies—said he has no political ambitions.

The eight months he has left in Mullin’s term allows him to focus solely on speeding up federal environmental reviews of new projects just as lawmakers are on the hunt for solutions to electricity demand spikes caused by artificial ...