James Lankford was born in Dallas, Texas, and earned a master's degree in divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Before entering politics, he spent seventeen years as the director of a Baptist youth camp in Oklahoma, one of the largest Christian youth camps in the country. Lankford was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010 and then to the U.S. Senate in 2014, where he has served since.
Lankford serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and has been the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He is known for his work on government efficiency, religious liberty, and border security, and attracted national attention for co-authoring a bipartisan border deal in 2024. Lankford has also been active on issues related to federal spending transparency and oversight of executive branch agencies.