Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator from Oklahoma from 2005 to 2015. A Republican, Coburn previously served as a United States representative from 1995 to 2001.

Coburn was an obstetrician who operated a private medical practice in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1994 as part of the Republican Revolution. After being re-elected twice, Coburn upheld his campaign pledge to serve no more than three consecutive terms and did not seek re-election in 2000. In 2004, he returned to political life with a successful run for the United States Senate. Coburn was re-elected to a second Senate term in 2010 and kept his pledge not to seek a third term in 2016. and abortion. Described as "the godfather of the modern conservative austerity movement", In 2017, Coburn discussed the Paris Agreement and denied the scientific consensus on human-caused global warming. He claimed that sea level rise had been no more than 5 mm in 25 years, and asserted there was now global cooling.

Fiscal conservatism

thumb|upright|Senators Coburn and [[Barack Obama discuss S. 2590 in 2006]]

thumb|upright|Senators Coburn and Obama and Congressman [[Jeb Hensarling greet President George W. Bush at the signing ceremony of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006]]

The best-known of Coburn's amendments was an amendment to the fiscal 2006 appropriations bill that funds transportation projects.

On April 6, 2006, Coburn and Senators Barack Obama, Thomas Carper and John McCain introduced the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. In 2016, he became a Manhattan Institute senior fellow.

Electoral history

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|+ results 1994–1998

  • Voices of Oklahoma interview. First person interview conducted on May 4, 2016, with Tom Coburn.

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