Senator Cindy O'Loughlin was elected president pro tempore of the Missouri Senate on Jan. 8, 2025, by a roll-call vote the presiding officer recorded as 34 yeas and 0 nays. The nomination was made from the floor and seconded before the chamber voted; the presiding officer announced O'Loughlin as the new president pro tem.

In her first address after taking the oath, President Pro Tempore Cindy O'Loughlin laid out several priorities she said should guide the chamber's work: strengthening families, improving literacy and basic education outcomes, reforming child-welfare responses to emphasize local supports, and confronting violent crime and drug trafficking. "Our policies must reflect those values," O'Loughlin said in the well of the chamber, adding that "every child can learn, and every child must be taught to read." She also criticized certain diversity and inclusion initiatives as misplaced and said Missouri should "stand firmly with law enforcement."

O'Loughlin described a posture of accountability for state spending and an emphasis on measurable results in education and child welfare. She urged colleagues to prioritize local solutions and to act with "purpose and urgency" for children she described as being "left behind." The new president pro tem also framed her priorities in moral terms, calling for policies that support "strong, healthy families" and decrying what she said were social trends that have "left deep and lasting challenges for families across our state."

The election of a president pro tempore is a formal leadership step that determines committee assignments and floor priorities; O'Loughlin is the first woman elected to that post in the Senate's history, a fact she noted in her remarks. She closed by calling for collaboration and "decisions rooted in sound policy," and the presiding officer adjourned the organizational portion of the session following the speech.

The nomination, seconding and roll-call vote were recorded on the Senate floor; the roll call names were read into the record prior to the announcement of the vote total of 34-0.