CHEYENNE—The first day of the 68th Wyoming Legislature’s general session got off to an emotional start Tuesday, punctuated by moments of religious declaration, as the Wyoming Freedom Caucus officially took control of the state’s House of Representatives.
During the legislative session, it’s typical to see lawmakers begin with the Pledge of Allegiance and a formal prayer. But on Tuesday, several lawmakers made their own statements of faith, citing Bible verses and offering prayers during an intimate swearing-in ceremony, as well as in speeches on the House and Senate floors.
Before the general session convened at noon, a small group of freshman lawmakers ideologically aligned with the Freedom Caucus met in the Capitol’s Historic Supreme Court Room for an intimate swearing-in ceremony.
“We’re here because God led us here,” said Rep. Steve Johnson (R-Cheyenne). “I’m incredibly proud to be included in this freshman class of the 68th Legislature.”
The ceremony included a few prayers, a Scripture reading and a promise to uphold conservative values. Wyoming Freedom Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody) joined in welcoming the new legislators, adding it was an emotional day for her.
Although the Freedom Caucus contingent grew significantly following the 2024 general election, a few notable members lost their races, including one outspoken member, former Rep. Jeanette Ward of Casper.
“(I’m) a little emotional this morning, because there’s been such a change, a drastic change, in this election,” Rodriguez-Williams said. “But I, too, am excited about the growth of the conservative movement. We know that God had a plan. He brought each and every one of you here.”
‘God sees everything’
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray called the House of Representatives to order at noon Tuesday. A former state lawmaker himself, Gray has previously announced his close working relationship with lawmakers to push forward legislation that he says will tighten Wyoming’s elections. Gray has said he believes such proposals will garner “35 votes at least” from the 62 members in the lower chamber.
“We’re in a golden age if we seize this opportunity,” Gray said. “… Never forget that God sees everything. We ask for God’s blessing, His wisdom, His strength and His discernment.”
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus, a group of hard-line Republicans, is now officially in control of the House, with its members filling leadership positions. House Speaker Chip Neiman (R-Hulett), a Freedom Caucus member, appeared to hold back tears as he gave his opening speech Tuesday.
“I even put a thing in my foot. I was going to step on it, hurt it so bad that I would not be able to get emotional in this time,” Neiman said.
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus grew from a small band of representatives to controlling the House within a few years, and members promised to stay true to the will of their constituents. Neiman remarked on the change in political landscape, both at the state and national levels, with the incoming second Trump administration.
“Across this nation, voters made clear that they wanted changes,” Neiman said. “Wyoming voters also sent a strong message this election. … As I take the gavel as Speaker, I want Wyoming voters to know that we listened, and we heard them loud and clear.”
The Freedom Caucus met with the media last week to review their “Five and Dime Plan” and “20-20 Vision.” The group hopes to pass a series of bills in line with its conservative goals, including policies targeting transgender people, election reform, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in higher education and property tax reform.
Speaker Pro-Tempore Rep. Jeremy Haroldson (R-Wheatland) quoted Ronald Reagan, saying that government is not a solution to the problem but a problem itself.
“The only thing that will bring us out of the time of crisis that we are in is an understanding that more government will never fix the problem (that is) caused by more government,” Haroldson said.
In the Senate on Tuesday, as the old guard handed authority over to new leaders, some made their own declarations of religious fervor.
Longtime Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, thanked his colleagues for their support before Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, was elected Senate president. Biteman thanked his family and colleagues for putting their trust in him, and newly appointed Senate Vice President Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, invoked God.
“On this day, I think of my wife, my son and my Savior,” Salazar said on the Senate floor.
Political theater?
This legislative session, Wyoming Republican lawmakers are proposing legislation that brings politics into school boards, hampers reproductive health care and targets transgender community members. That’s according to their Democratic counterparts, who argue these bills are all “political theater” and would create more problems, rather than actually solve them.
House Minority Floor Leader Mike Yin (D-Jackson) said “it’s pretty clear” there’s a heightened focus on national hot-button issues this legislative session.
“Are they solving the problems that we want to solve in the state of Wyoming? Is it making sure that you can find a good job? Is it making sure that you can have a good education?” Yin said. “I don’t think it’s doing any of those things.”
During his opening remarks to the House of Representatives, Yin shared his vision for the future of Wyoming, as the 68th Wyoming Legislature started its first day of the planned 37-day general session.
“As we gather here today, let us focus on a shared vision for Wyoming, a vision that rises above politics and reflects the hopes of every Wyomingite,” Yin said after the House of Representatives was called to order. “It’s a vision where hard work is met with opportunity, where raising a family is not only possible, but promising, and where future generations can thrive in the communities that we build today.”
Wyoming’s eight Democratic lawmakers – two in the Senate and six in the House – met with the media Tuesday afternoon to offer their perspective on the first day. This will be a different kind of legislative session for the Democrats with the Wyoming Freedom Caucus officially in control of the Legislature’s lower chamber.
Yin told the media that half of the bills filed in the House fail to move toward the Democratic vision he laid out earlier that day.
“Frankly, I think some of them create new problems, more than actually solve problems,” Yin said.
Sen. Jared Olsen (R-Cheyenne) filed a bill that would require candidates for school boards – a traditionally nonpartisan position – to declare their party affiliation. Rep. Ken Chestek (D-Laramie) said this bill “goes exactly in the wrong direction.”
“The more we try and divide ourselves into tribes, the worse off we’re all going to be,” Chestek said. “We’re going to dislike each other and fight with each other, and that’s not helping anybody, but especially not helping the students.”
Senate Minority Whip Chris Rothfuss (D-Laramie) described this legislative session as a “coffee shop” session.
“Most of what we’re talking about is great for the coffee shop. It makes people angry. They get their passion up. They can shake their fist at somebody and feel like something good is going to happen as a result of it,” Rothfuss said. “But when you look at the legislation, nothing good is going to come of most of these bills that we’ve been talking about here with you today. They don’t help the people of Wyoming. They don’t solve problems. Most of them are trying to address imagined problems, and it’s largely political theater.”
House Minority Whip Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie) added that many of these bills are campaign fodder for the next election season. This was a complaint traditional Republican lawmakers who aren’t aligned with the Freedom Caucus – many of whom lost their reelection bids last year – had about bills from the 2024 budget session.
“The point of the manufactured rage is for postcards in the 2026 election,” Provenza said. “That didn’t used to be the way that this institution ran. This institution used to serve the people. It used to be about passing laws and ensuring that we’re protecting the people of Wyoming, not about the political theater that is going to make or break elections.”
Provenza added she hopes there is earnest intent behind this legislation, but she also said she wasn’t sure what problems these bills were trying to solve.
Perhaps if our state constitution was written in King James English the freedom caucus folks would actually fulfill their oaths of office.
Hopefully, these “God fearing” folks will remember that we need to help each other including the sick, the poor, and the down trodden. Matthew 25:35-45 comes to mind. James 2:14-17 is another one.
These “God fearing” folks need to remember that Jesus was born into poverty.
I read through the bills introduced by the freedom caucus members, then watched as all these members swore to uphold both the federal and state constitutions, and I had to believe that their oaths were lies. Their speechifying about doing their god’s will instead of that of their constituents served only to support my belief. Our national exceptionalism is due to the fact that ours was the first nation on earth NOT claiming divine right for our rulers. We the people are self-governing and answer to the god of no one, but only to each other, and our constitutions.
One more important point – Wyoming was founded by progressives, with equality for all, including women. We’ve not ’always’ been conservative!
Our country was founded on the separation of church and state. Lawmakers need to heed this and keep their god and personal religious beliefs to their own lives and out of politics.
Led to Cheyenne by the Almighty or not, they were each chosen by us all. They have willingly accepted the responsibility to love and care for the well-being of every soul in this state; and it is not ours to judge them for their declared intentions or condemn them for their perceived motivations, but to hold them wholly accountable for their decisions and their actions. If you’re a believer: pray that they really are divinely inspired to do the next right thing. If you’re a sceptic: know that the true believer really believes they will pay a price worse than death for knowingly breaking a covenant made in the name of their Creator. The grain and the chaff will be winnowed and Wyoming will reap the harvest it has sown…
Appears to me that our Legislators are able to work through issues just fine referencing this Wyofile article. I think the citizenship needs to unite as a community as much as the Legislator do. I’m seeing too many one-sided close minded comments. Let others have a different opinion w/o the visceral attacks.
https://wyofile.com/abortion-stance-spurs-leadership-dustup-in-the-wyoming-senate/
Legislators are sworn to uphold the US and Wyoming Constitutions. What part of “no religious test” (Article VI, US Constitution) or “no person shall be rendered
incompetent to hold any office of trust or profit, or to serve as a witness or
juror, because of his opinion on any matter of religious belief whatever” (Article 1, Section 18, Wyoming Constitution) do they not understand?
I find articles such as this very disturbing. To hear politicians on the far right preach about moral values and religion goes against what this country was founded on. In fact our founding documents give us religious freedom. We were never established as a Christian nation. In fact the first amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Those who come into governments with a self righteous agenda which includes pushing their religious beliefs on others, is the opposite of what this country was indented to be and in some ways similar to other religious extremist. It might also be noted that the percentage of people who say they are Christians in this country is actually falling. A Gallup survey from 2023 indicates that of the entire U.S. population, about 67% are Christian. I myself only personally know of two families who regularly attend church. Everyone else I know as friends and/or colleagues are either Christians who don’t go to church, are of a non Christian religion, agnostic, or are atheists. None of these people, including the non attending church Christians are religious fanatics that want to force people to believe they way they do through government laws and constitutional changes. For now, these holier than thou people within our government are still in the minority, but they are slowly creeping in, so should be of concern for the majority of the people in this country.
This all reminds me of the Taliban, and how they think they are doing God’s will when they take freedoms away from the people. I wonder how it is that some people are so cocksure of what God’s will for other people is.
At last! A photo of Chip Neiman without his “Cowboy” hat on.
Prayers for a state dying an economic death. How appropriate.
Religion, weather it’s the bible or the tRump manifesto, has no place in Wyoming’s government.
One, two, three strikes and you’re out. Jeremy Harlodson proves he knows nothing about history, the Constitution or the bible. Ronald Reagan was all talk as he grew government and if anyone should have been impeached it was him.
Based on the legislation they are proposing they are expanding government while defying god’s requests. They do not even attempt to fashion laws that would support god’s view in Genesis 1 and they are still convinced that Genesis 3 is about an apple instead of a sexual encounter between two males and a female.
I will have to hand it to the Hebrew goat herders, they did capture the sequence of the Creation of the Universe correctly and now we know what Genesis 3 means as Homo Sapiens were beguiled by Neanderthals and they did eat or was it the other way around? If Maury Povich were around he would declare that Adam was not the Father of Cain but he was the Father of Abel.
The bible tells a lot of stories. just not the ones Pastor Haroldson tells; otherwise the offering plate would be empty but Jeremy does not see that as the love of money is the root of all evil and this I know, for the bible tells me so.
I’ve wondered with the christian nationalist’s agenda if women will be able to own property or have a bank account. Christian nationalist’s are no different than the Taliban. Worse than insecure stagnant white men controlling women in the name of Jesus Christ are the obedient women who follow them and vote against their own kind. I’ve wondered what dirty little secrets they are trying to make up by pushing their extreme agenda-their own abortion choice? porn addiction? sexual perversion? not accepting their own sexuality? I stand for freedom. I’m not pro abortion, I’m pro women. We must make our decisions because we are the ones who must live with those decisions.
Kind of along these lines Patrica. I worked on a ranch in Montana when I was a kid that was owned by two brothers. They have long since passed away. The ranch was divided between the daughters of one of them, the other half from the other brother to a nephew. I visited one of the daughters this past summer. I asked her if she gets along with her cousin that has half the ranch. She said no, for one thing he doesn’t believe that women should own land. I should have asked her which century he was born in.
GOD didn’t lead you. Your own self righteous arrogance did.
Humbug.
Republican politicians love to pander. Like Democrats suddenly acquiring an urban or ethnic accent when making stump speeches in certain districts.
I hope they are sincere in this case, turning your back on God is a California Government Doctrine and look how it’s working out for them.
The crazies are now running the government. God help us all!
If “God” led you there, and he had a “plan”, and he “brought each and every one of you” there, then what do you need with constituencies and elections? Just do what all religious zealots do in every deluded religion and claim divine providence and rule by decree. Stop hiding your mental illness and go full crazy! God knows you earned it!