Aluminum smelter study denied, Oklahoma lawmaker claims censorship

OKLAHOMA CITY — A House lawmaker said Wednesday that a fellow Republican has blocked his efforts to hold a study at the Capitol to probe a controversial aluminum smelter that the Trump administration wants to build in his hometown.

Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, denied his request to hold an interim study about aluminum smelters. Gann said he was further censored when he was barred from using House resources to distribute a news release letting the public know why the hearing would not take place. 

“They don’t want to be transparent, they just want the narrative to support their position,” Gann told Oklahoma Voice. “… This is taxpayer resources that people pay for to hear from their elected officials, for their elected officials to speak to the issues that concern them, and then you’re denied those resources. It’s absolutely censorship.”

Hilbert’s office declined to comment or answer questions from Oklahoma Voice. Hilbert has publicly supported the Inola smelter. 

Gann said the purpose of interim studies is to educate the public and lawmakers on issues before the state. Legislators often use the studies to help craft legislation. Gann said he wanted to dig into the ownership of the smelter and the resources it would use.

“The people in Inola are desperate for information,” he said. “They want to know more about what’s taking place and why it’s taking place.”

Officials announced in May 2025 that Gov. Kevin Stitt had signed a deal with Emirates Global Aluminum to build a $4 billion smelter in Inola, a small town about 25 miles east of Tulsa. The proposed foreign-owned aluminum smelter is a priority of President Donald Trump and Stitt. It would be the largest smelter in the U.S., producing 600,000 tons of aluminum, doubling the country’s production.

There has been strong public opposition to the smelter project from Inola residents. Last month, Inola leaders issued a 60-day permitting moratorium. Attorney General Gentner Drummond also sued to prevent its construction, alleging that Inola and surrounding communities will be severely polluted. 

Earlier this month, the Muscogee National Council also unanimously approved a motion to oppose it.

Gann said he called Hilbert on Monday and was told that the study, along with two others he proposed, had been denied because the topics had already been discussed. 

“That answer is lame,” Gann said. “That’s not a good answer. It’s a denial, it’s a lack of transparency on his part.” 

Other topics, like workforce, are discussed year after year at interim studies, he said. 

Gann also said when the Legislature passed an incentive package for the smelter, there was little discussion or transparency. Millions of public dollars are set to go toward the project, including $500 million in federal funding and $255 million in state-level incentives. 

Denying the study because it’s already been discussed “ignores significant new developments” and the smelter is currently “dominating” conversations in Oklahoma, Gann said in a news release. 

Gann said he wrote the news release and tried to send it out using House resources, but was told he couldn’t send it through the chamber’s media office. He instead sent it to Oklahoma Voice using his personal email.

“The (House) rules give the speaker ultimate authority,” he said. “So instead of having servant leadership, you’ve got tyrannical leadership that dictates everything. And it all falls underneath (the Speaker’s) office, so he’s responsible for everything.”