Sen. Inhofe: Aid for Oklahoma 'totally different' from Sandy relief requests

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) seemed to contradict his colleague Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-OK) stance on Tuesday on federal assistance for victims of the Moore, Oklahoma tornado, suggesting that there will be help coming. But he also differentiated that need from his opposition to aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

"That was totally different," he told MSNBC host Kris Jansing, saying that requests for help after the hurricane went instead to "things in the Virgin Islands. They were fixing roads there. They were putting roofs on houses in Washington, D.C. Everyone was getting in and exploiting the tragedy that took place. That won't happen in Oklahoma."

As ThinkProgress reported at the time, Inhofe joined Coburn and 35 other Republican senators in January 2013 in voting against a $50.5 billion aid package for communities hit by the storm, saying it contained too much "pork."

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that President Barack Obama has issued a major disaster declaration for the area, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist in recovery efforts.

Watch Inhofe's interview with Jansing, aired Tuesday, below.

David Edwards contributed to this report