This Major Conservative Culture Warrior May Have Finally Gone Too Far

Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma are investigating whether state superintendent Ryan Walters is equipped to do the job he was elected to do.

Oklahoma’s top education official is under fire from his fellow Republicans after being accused of withholding critical funds from the state’s schools. The state legislature is investigating Ryan Walters, who is well-known for his right-wing culture war attacks on Oklahoma teachers.

Last week, Republican state Rep. Mark McBride led a letter to House Speaker Charles McCall, calling for a possible investigation into impeachment. The letter outlined several reasons for an investigation into Walters, including that he had failed to fulfill Open Records Act requests and had withheld funding the state legislature had intended for physical school security enhancements and asthma inhalers.

“I have repeatedly met one-on-one with the Superintendent, where I pled with him to please focus on the responsibilities and duties of his office, and work with the Legislature to improve and advance the cause of Public Education in Oklahoma,” McBride wrote in the letter that was signed by 16 other Republican lawmakers. “These pleas have fallen on deaf ears and the Superintendent has chosen to pursue an aggressively opposite path, one filled with name-calling, obstruction, defiance, and secrecy.”

In response, Walters challenged lawmakers to go ahead and begin impeachment proceedings.

Walters, who is the head of the Oklahoma State Department of Education, has frequently made headlines for outlandish or extremely conservative proposals for Oklahoma schools. In January, he likened the school system to “Epstein Island,” a reference to the home where late billionaire and child predator Jeffrey Epstein would abuse children.