U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman likes to remind us she’s a rancher’s daughter from Fort Laramie. She wears the boots, speaks the lingo and throws around phrases like “Wyoming values.” But her actions tell a different story — one where the people she actually serves live in Washington, D.C., not in Sublette County or Sheridan.
Opinion
Take the recent push by Republicans in Congress to sell off millions of acres of federally managed public land — land that belongs to the American people and is cherished by Wyoming families in particular. The bill could open the door to selling large swaths of public land right here in Wyoming, threatening access for hunters, anglers, ranchers and anyone who cares about our wild and open spaces.
And where is Hageman? Instead of defending Wyoming, she’s making excuses for the very people trying to carve it up. She’s downplaying the threat. She’s calling public concern “misinformation.” And she’s echoing talking points straight from the beltway — saying it’s about affordable housing or “disposing of useless land” — even though the bill contains no affordability mandate, no environmental review and no requirement to consult local communities or tribes.
Let’s not kid ourselves. This isn’t about housing. It’s about greed. And Hageman is carrying water for the same corporate and ideological interests that have wanted to privatize the West for decades.
This is what happens when a politician stops representing the people who elected her and starts answering to the donors and powerbrokers who control her future in Washington. Hageman isn’t standing up to D.C. — she’s standing in line. Her votes and her silence speak louder than any speech she gives back home.
The truth is, you can’t claim to love Wyoming and also help sell it off. You can’t say you believe in freedom and then take away the public lands that make freedom possible for ranchers, sportsmen and working families. You can’t ride into office on a horse called “states’ rights” and then back a bill that gives Washington, D.C., the final say on what happens to our land.
Harriet Hageman wants us to believe she’s one of us. But her record tells the truth: She works for them.
And if she won’t fight for Wyoming, Wyoming needs to fight back.
Always thrilling when people running for important offices tell us they will listen and what they will do for the people they represent. Then when they get elected they tell us we’re just dumb hicks and that they know what is best for us. How many of us have ever felt better afterwards? I usually don’t feel like eating for a few days until my stomach calms down.
she’s just like some of the other rino’s she lies and l’ll never vote for her again I just called her Washington they all say it’s not true more lies al walker Thermopolis WY.
If you are a fan of no trespassing signs vote Republican by all means
Federal land should be opened up for affordable housing. In many places like Moab and St George, Utah; Jackson and Cody, etc. Most resort communities have housing issues that can be addressed by leasing federal land for affordable housing or selling it. The leasing option allows the Fed to bypass the onerous zoning and land use regulations that were designed to keep affordable housing from being built.
The environmental concerns are always overblown by NIMBYs.
this is not the only important issue where the three stooges have lost the plot and proven time and time again they don’t represent wyoming values regardless of how many versions of a red hat they wear.
The fallacy of doing this to get more affordable housing is absurd. Like a trojan horse, lets get our foot in the door and then see what we can do
I feel your pain Wyoming – I have been in your beautiful state many times! I am a life long Oregonian, raised near Mt Hood national forest. The idea of selling off public lands anywhere in the west is a betrayal to all Americans – if your congressional representatives are not listening in Wyoming, put pressure on ALL western states republican representatives!!! They may not represent you directly but they represent the west and they know how important and loved public lands are to those of us who live here! As someone said earlier, if we all stand together we can have a stronger voice. I love Oregon and it breaks my heart to think our public lands can be taken away. We must do everything we can to stop this, together!
Actions speak louder than words. “Harriet Hageman wants us to believe she’s one of us. But her record tells the truth: She works for them” In reality, Harriet works for whomever will do her career the most good.
you’re absolutely right. her loyalty is only to her political longevity.
wyoming is for sale, and she wants to be in the front of the line.
My name is Rose Marie Martinez. I live in Guernsey. I am very concerned about Hageman’s support of land sales. My family have been hunters and fishermen to generations. We usually use public lands and walk in areas. I don’t want us to loose these great experiences for my grand – and great grand children. I really like this article, truth at last. I heard Arnold Swartzenagger say yesterday that our people in Congress need to. Be reminded that they were elected to serve the people of their state, not be a “hack” and only serve their party
I’m not surprised in any way. I foresee sold land, never to be returned and all 3 representatives returning. Never underestimate the power of the willfully ignorant. It’s what got trump elected in the first place. I mean you have people eating de-worming paste and drinking bleach to fight viruses. This country is going to fall because of these type of people. Just wait for elections to be cancelled.
It’s time to reduce the power of the Republican party. The Democrats have their problems but they wouldn’t try to steal our public lands.
Democrats just block your access to our “public lands” when they want to flex their power. Do recall Obama directed many national parks closed during the government shutdown. Further, Democrats would rather just steal your land to sell to their developer friends. Look at what is happening across the country with eminent domain abuse, taking peoples family farms and ranches so they can sell it off to their elite donation class to build new apartments and high density housing that will make millions.
Overall, lets just admit they are all corrupt and care little for the people in this country, Democrat or Republican.
ridiculous
try to be honest about the new aged gop. they are not looking out for the people who vote for them. they never have….
Those closures happened because the Republicans shut down the government over a dispute for the affordable care act.
No. Democrats just steal taxpayers dollars. Billions of them. And lie!!! Man can they tell some whoppers!!! However, I do agree that Wyoming land should be Wyoming land and not sold.
Oh really. Let’s see, 8 Trillion dollars added to the debt in Trumps first term. Add at least 5 T more under his current BIG Bill. Who’s going to pay that back? You and I.
By the way, nobody lies more than Trump- except maybe Hageman, Lummis and Barrasso.
I think by now, unless you’ve been living in a nuclear fallout bunker, Harriet Hageman is not for Wyoming and definitely bad for Wyoming. Any further dealings with this woman is akin to rolling in the mud with a rabid skunk – in the least you’re going to come out of it dirty and smelly and at the other end of the spectrum, a morbid experience that might be not be curable. Next election cycle, GET RID OF THIS ONE
Add Lummis and Barrasso to that list. In fact, it would be best to unload the Republican party.
My family has a grazing permit on BLM land, its been in the family for 4 generations. Not only that but we use roads across BLM lands maintained by the county for travel to the closest city, we also hunt on this land. Utah started this shit because they want multi-millionaires to pay them for their public lands
Fort Collins, CO here: Democrats and Republicans should unite against this land grab.
Once it’s gone you will never get it back!
Randy — I totally agree. I live in fort Collins and have you seen the map around our city that the GOP plans to sell, it all on front range. It makes me sick because rich people and foreign investors will buy this land and it will be gone forever — the most beautiful land in the world.
Amen brother. Her recent town hall meeting in Cody was a joke. She had police officers there to discourage anyone from saying things she didn’t want to hear; she cherry-picked from questions written on cards instead of letting anyone from the audience have the mic; she told bald-faced lies about the cost of the beautiful bill she voted for, and she used the example of Los Vegas inholdings to justify selling public land in Wyoming. I was literally sick to my stomach from sitting through her lies, spin, misdirection, and bull crap. Wyoming needs to get her out of politics.
It was quite the fascist spectacle with the cops roaming the auditorium, staring down people, hovering over them, showcasing their authority, etc. Quite frankly, intimidation ala gestapo Nazi Germany. The Cody Police chief Jason “Sleepy” Stafford should be held accountable and fired for the behavior of his officers and allowing them to be used as pawns by the thug Hageman. The mayor and council should be made aware of the thuggery displayed by the cops. And once again nothing but a scripted town hall where cowardly Hageman cherry picked soft questions. Her town hall events are absolutely meaningless and getting more and more draconian with a goon squad of cops
I 100% agree with this article. And let’s not stop with her. Our two senators are in total support of selling off Wyoming as well. You won’t get a straight answer from any of the three when confronted through their field offices. Just more alking heads that lie to get into office. I won’t be voting for any of the three when elections are happening. I just hope my fellow constituents feel this issue is large enough to join me. Aren’t we sick of the empty promises and their “open and transparent” schtick that’s turned on just long enough to buy your vote? When this land gets locked down, you can be sure these three will be granted access for working side deals. I’m so tired of being represented by politicians that don’t feel they are responsible for those that elected them in. It’s time WY wakes up and shakes off the spells these three are casting. Let’s get them out.
I live in Montana. We are supposedly exempt from any public lands sales. Which I think is totally a false narrative. If it can happen in Wyoming they will definitely come for Montana too. I spoke to one of Daines,es people and he said he will not vote on bill with this in it. We will see I think he is blowing smoke. Hope I am wrong. Thank you Wyoming for fighting back too .
Broomhilda has been making the rounds at these staged town hall “listening sessions” denying her past commitment to sell off public lands. This woman is a smirking in-your-face chronic liar and a sociopath. Why do you think there’s a permanent smirk attached to her face and her mouth can only produce falsehoods, insults and threats? And the voters put this creature in to replace someone who stood up to the orange ape in the white house? Hageman’s disdain for the citizens of Wyoming along with the possibility to be enrichened by facilitating the sale of public lands is prominent. Wyoming, what kind of a backstabbing fiend have we sent to Wash DC?!?! And to the individuals who would voluntarily work for this woman, you’re sellouts, too
One again she is proving how much she hates Wyoming.
When voting time rolls around for Hagerman and Lummis, simply write in a name you like. Thousands of write in votes can upset the apple cart.
Thousands of write-in votes will assure that the incumbent wins.
I’ll have to agree with Michael on this one.
The best solution is to find a good Republican candidate that’s willing to oppose MAGA (with the high moral standards and integrity that a guy like Al Simpson had) to oppose Harriet and it should be a slam dunk considering her record of “achievements” in D.C. (kissing Trump’s butt withstanding).
Better yet, find a good Wyoming Democrat.
The GOP cult members are doing the same thing to our democracy and its institutions that they are doing to public lands. This started at least 45 years ago with James Watt under Reagan. The current crop of “leaders” wants to ultimately tear down our democratic experiment and replace it with a totalitarian, billionaire Broligarchy that has no allegiance to the U.S.Constitution. We must stop them. Wake up folks.
A rare issue we can all agree on. I don’t know one person who supports this, and cannot imagine ANYTHING positive about selling off public lands to rich developers. This is a short-sighted and asinine proposal from Senator Mike Lee, who has apparently lost what was left of his mind, and I guess I am not surprised, but deeply disappointed our Congressional delegation are all in support of this.
I agree. Recently, I have seen this current issue having uniting effects from both sides of the aisle. It is really a great thing. Unfortunately, I do not know if it is enough to stop the sell off. Hageman can always go back to her large private ranch and continue to grow wealthy from the donations and kickbacks from the developers and special interests back East that she really answers too. So sad….
Her and Lummis and Barrasso are all rich. They’ll probably buy some choice land if this passes. While us common Wyomingites won’t be able to afford any.
Judging by their responses to our Public Lands concerns, both Senators have lost the plot. We elect them to carry our voice to D.C., not to echo D.C.’s agenda back to us.
I remember when Rep. Cubin tried to sell off Martins Cove to the Mormon Church. Wyomingites got pissed and she backtracked, so at least she listened. From the responses I have been getting from our delegation, they don’t care, at all, what we think.
Help us take action! We are showing up to our senator’s doorstep at the capitol to tell them to not sell our public lands. https://tinyurl.com/stopthepubliclandsgrab
It truly makes you wonder what oligarch(s) that Hageman and the rest of the Wyoming sellouts have a dirty backroom deal with regards to the sale of public lands? Musk? Some seedy Russian? What is the finders fee $ amount? A % of the sale price? A similar scenario occurred before when Hageman teamed up with Colorado entrepreneur Aaron Billion to clandestinely divert Wyoming water from the Green River drainage to the thirsty Denver Front Range, got outted and did the typical Harriet denial (aka LIE) and attacked anyone who rightfully exposed the scheme. If anyone ever thought Hageman was a Wyoming first kind of lady and had the backs of the citizens of our state, you were hoodwinked at the polls
Exactly, how are the Wyoming senators and rep on board with this land sale?! Disgusting.
I agree 100%! I knew congress woman Hageman and her brother in college at U.W. Always liked her. What happened? What would make a person turn their back on all the people who elected them? Why would someone turn their back on their family? All the ranchers in Wyoming that lease BLM and forest service land for grazing, for their livelihood? That is “useless land”?
In Wyoming, as in other western states that would adversely affected by the sale of OUR public lands, one of the underlying factors is greed.
Greedy politicians, corporations, and the ultra-wealthy have been eyeing this land grab for the past few decades.
We receive a great deal of revenue from our public lands. Extractive industries, grazing, tourism, as well as all forms of recreation.
Tourism alone in 2024 came in at $4.9 billion. If these lands are sold, virtually everything we love about the West will see adversely economic impacts.
People choose to live here, in part, BECAUSE of our public lands. This threat gives us all an opportunity to come together, to look at our common ground instead of the acrimony that passes for political discourse these days. We are stronger together.
I will say that Congresswoman Hageman is on the fence. She has sponsored some good things for Wyoming and then bowed to the forces in Washington on many others. I give her a D rating overall. We need a change for our only Congressional representative.
This is not okay. I never speak up or speak out. But if this starts to happen, then Wyoming will, not be the same. This looks like it’s all about greed and money.
Majority of the Wyoming people would disagree with this. Keep Wyoming wyoming, and please don’t be influenced by money. The land is beautiful. And needs to remain
Well said! Get ready to rumble…
Amen! We the people of Wyoming have been abandoned and sold out by all three of our representatives in Washington. When Hageman held her “town halls” and heard things from Wyomingites that didn’t fit Washington’s agenda, she tried to discredit the very people she was elected to serve. We in Wyoming talk about “back bone”, but we threw out our only representative that showed she had one, to be replaced by this?! We better start using our brains and our votes to throw these bums out! Turn off the faux news, don’t fall into lockstep, make up your own mind, and take your Wyoming values to the polls.
Yup, Liz was conservative when trump was still giving donations to Hillary Clinton.
Remember when Hageman was chiding and taunting participants at one of those phony town hall events, telling them that they were obsessed with the federal government? YOU are the federal government, Harriet, who’s the one obsessed? Since then you’ve carried on with these scripted and heavily vetted meetings designed to only allow those who agree with your deep state ideology to participate. Free speech? Truly listening to your constituents? What a joke. Hageman, proven now to truly be a DC insider and can be trusted to represent the citizens of Wyoming only as far as she can be thrown, figuratively and literally.
No sale of wyoming public land. Montana is a no sale. Wyoming 100 percent is a no sale of public land. No rewriting laws that constitute saling land. Sale of wyoming lands off limits.
If I wanted to create an issue that would cause a lot of universal hate, discontent and condemnation by pretty much all the people I know in Wyoming I would I would start talking about selling all public lands.
Extremely disappointed with her stance to cowtow to the power brokers in DC just to keep trying to get elected!
Where the hell are Boeasso and Lummis
They’re of the same mind. All of our representatives in Washington have fallen into lockstep with the rich and powerful, to hoodwink the “little people” out of their most valuable possession. It doesn’t do any good to contact them with your opinion, they poo-poo away your concerns, but they’ll monitor the situation, and keep you in mind when they cast their vote. Ha! Wake up! Vote em out!
Ha! Barrasso and Lummis are 300% behind selling our public lands!
I hope Representative Hageman will choose to support her numerous constituents who value access to public lands. Turning lands over to wealthy landowners, foreign interests, or just the states will man the far more numerous citizens will be deprived of one of the most wonderful aspects living Wyoming.
The hideous outfits and horrid demeanor, disdain for truly free and open “town hall” meetings and taunting attendees along with her past scheme to siphon (steal) Wyoming water (the Aaron Billion saga) to the Colorado front range, vehemently denying it while the proof is in black and white, Hageman is as faux Wyoming as it gets. Of course Hageman is 100% for selling off public land, she’s not in D.C. to represent you and I, she’s there to crony up with other traitors for some future dark room benefit and to kiss the ring of the unhinged orangutan. Wyomingites really need to reconsider this fraud we’ve sent to Capitol Hill and this opinion piece by Trevor Neilson nails it
Could not agree more with this. Hageman lines up every time with large well financed interests who wish to exploit Wyoming’s natural resources for selfish interests or profit. She’s a representative for the oil and gas industries and the Jackson Hole/California/Texas billionaires who want to turn all National Forests and desirable public lands into private resorts.
This article is 100% accurate from my perspective as a public lands advocate and my experience providing my very recent comments with Rep. Hageman staff on the public lands issues and many other concerns. In summary, I keep telling her staff that she still has a leadership opportunity to squelch the proposal to sell millions of acres of OUR public lands before the final bill gets submitted to the White House. So let’s see what actually happens. If the end result is the decision to sell off a majority of our public lands – to benefit the ultra rich at the expense of everyone else – it will be a national disgrace.
Well said. Watch what they do, not what they say.
You couldn’t have said it better. We need new leadership.
Montana’s Congressional delegation is successfully moving to exempt that state from and sale of public lands. Wyoming delegation not so much. Barrasso, Lummis and Hageman need to follow the lead of our northern neighbors and oppose any sale of public lands.
Delusional thinking. They are among the architects of this policy. This needs to be fought on every level. There is no justification for having an iota of faith in our Congressional delegation. Support Democrats.
We just went through 4 years of hell with democrats in charge at the top! Everyone needs to make sure they don’t over-react and put woke policymakers in the legislature! We just need to replace with more credible/honest republicans to lead our state – as hard as it is to determine.
And what did Wyoming get– a ranch to hunt, fish and recreate on.
I know. All three forget that they represent all of the citizens of Wyoming and the vast majority of us do not want public lands in private hands.
Yes, we must fight back. There is power in numbers. Join WOC, TRCP and/or BackCountry Hunters and Anglers. These organizations are fighting for us and need our help. Hageman (and Barrasso and Lummis) cannot be trusted to represent Wyoming. They’re a very dishonest bunch that blindly follows Trump. Hagemans entire political career hinged on Lies. Are you (us) going to let these carnival characters destroy our way of life and steal the heritage of your children?
Going back to Dick Cheney and earlier.
Not being honestly represented is status quo in Wyoming, and most of the USA for that matter.
Kind of goes with the Banks/Corporations having a Bipartisan ownership of DC politicians.