The head of the Oklahoma Senate on Friday defended his decision to strip a fellow Republican of his leadership roles after he accused some senators of being drunk.

Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton accused Senator Shane Jett of intentionally trying to create division within the Republican caucus, according to a letter sent to members. Oklahoma Voice obtained a copy of the email sent to the 40-member caucus and confirmed its authenticity.

“Shane Jett is hellbent on dividing this caucus, and his actions make that clear,” Paxton, R-Tuttle, wrote.

Paxton said his decision to remove Jett, R-Shawnee, as vice chairman of the Senate Administrative Rules Committee and to suspend his privileges to preside over the chamber had nothing to do with a bill Jett filed to ban alcohol on the Senate floor.

“It has everything to do with his lack of integrity and his lack of respect for his fellow senators,” Paxton wrote.

He said he removed Jett because he “does not deserve that role or the responsibility of holding the gavel.” Paxton said he gave Jett “multiple” opportunities to prove himself.

“He failed each time,” Paxton said.

Jett did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.

Paxton’s announcement that Jett had been stripped of his leadership posts came as Jett filed legislation that would bar lawmakers from possessing and consuming alcohol while on the job. While he did not name specific individuals, Jett said the legislation was needed because some senators were drunk the final night of the 2025 legislative session while they were considering whether to fire the state’s mental health commissioner.

Jett, chair of the conservative Freedom Caucus, said he brought the matter to the attention of Paxton, who did nothing about it, despite a prohibition against drinking in the Senate rules. Alcohol and low-point beer are not allowed inside the Capitol.

Paxton wrote in the email to Republicans that after Jett talked to him, he asked floor leaders and the majority whip to determine whether there was evidence to support Jett’s allegations.

“Even if credible evidence had existed, it would have been too late to take any action,” Paxton wrote. “To date, Senator Jett has not provided a single name of anyone he is accusing of this behavior.”

Instead, Jett has turned to “surrogates via social media to carry his water,” Paxton wrote. Those individuals have accused certain members of the allegations, Paxton said.

“Every single member of the Legislature should be appalled by these actions,” Paxton wrote.

After Jett made his accusations, some Facebook users were examining video footage of the final night of the session and trying to identify who Jett might have been referring to. They also posted a social media hashtag called “PullPaxton.”

Throughout the interim, Jett has sought media attention and resorted to “childish name-calling that isn’t creative or remotely humorous,” Paxton said.

Late Thursday, Senator Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, said in a press release that he asked Paxton at the end of the legislative session to remove Jett as vice-chairman of the Senate Administrative Rules Committee because he was not performing his duties.

“The continued rhetoric, name calling and efforts to demonize fellow members have gone too far,” said Bergstrom, a member of the Freedom Caucus.

Lawmakers return Monday to the Capitol for the start of the 2026 legislative session.