'Lowest Action I’ve Seen': Lawmakers trade blame, defend vote to remove mental health commissioner Allie Friesen

Bipartisan Vote Ousts Allie Friesen

In a bipartisan move, Oklahoma lawmakers voted nearly unanimously to remove Allie Friesen as commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. The vote came late Thursday night in the final hours of the legislative session, capping weeks of controversy surrounding investigations into the agency she led.

“This is not going to happen with her in leadership right now,” said Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City.

Friesen’s ouster follows at least four separate investigations into alleged misspending at the department. Legislators from both chambers backed a resolution to remove her, citing a loss of trust and accountability issues.

Resolution Backed Despite Personal Attacks

The resolution was authored by Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, who chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. During emotional remarks on the Senate floor, Rosino defended his wife, a part-time employee at the agency, after a statement from Governor Kevin Stitt questioned whether Rosino was trying to protect her.

“To at the very last minute throw a jab at one of our family members is probably the lowest action I've seen within seven or eight years here in this building,” Rosino said. “She is a low-level, part-time employee that has nothing to do with any of this.”

Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton also criticized the governor's statement, calling it “beneath the dignity of his office.”

Questions of Power and Oversight

When state law was changed in 2019 to give the governor the power to appoint agency commissioners, it also gave the legislature the authority to remove them, a balance that lawmakers emphasized on Thursday.

“The same statute that gives the governor the ability to appoint that position also gives the legislature the ability to remove,” Paxton said.

Still, some lawmakers raised concerns about the scope of the governor’s authority.

“I think there’s a little too much power in the hands of the governor to hire and fire — and we’re living through those consequences now,” said House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City.

Dissenting Voice: Sen. Jett Defends Friesen

The only senator to vote against Friesen’s removal was Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee. Jett argued that Friesen was attempting to clean up corruption and make sense of years of financial disarray at the agency.

“You have someone who is trying to correct the agency,” Jett said. “What we have here is political theatre, retribution… instead of applauding someone who is trying to make heads or tails of 10 years of dereliction of duty, we want to hang it.”

Jett claimed Friesen’s efforts had “opened a hornet’s nest of corruption” and accused some colleagues of punishing her for asking “inconvenient questions.”

What Happens Next

The governor will now appoint a new commissioner for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. That nominee must be confirmed by the Senate, a process unlikely to begin until the next legislative session in February.