Cheyenne residents crowd LCLS to hear from Congresswoman Hageman in a town hall meeting

Jan. 23—CHEYENNE — Reducing federal spending, tightening border security and continuing support for Israel were some of the many priorities U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., touched on as she held a town hall meeting here Monday night.

Hageman followed up on her 2023 promise by hosting her first town hall of the new year at the Laramie County Library, which was attended by a crowd of about 200 people. Among those in the audience were several local and state leaders, including Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray and members of the Wyoming Legislature.

Hageman held town halls in all 23 Wyoming counties by June of last year, her first year as congresswoman, and said she planned to continue that practice during her re-election year.

"I need to hear what (Wyomingites) have to say, what their frustrations are, and I think it's important for them to hear what I've been doing," the former Cheyenne attorney told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle after the meeting. "In a republic, that's the only way you can represent the people that are your constituency."

A recap of her first year

In-house fighting and a historical vote that ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., made 2023 one of Congress's least-productive years since the Great Depression, resulting in only 27 bills passed. Government shutdowns were narrowly avoided as lawmakers scrambled to pass stopgap measures, including another continuing resolution that was passed last week.

Hageman was among the 106 House Republicans who voted against the resolution.

"At some point, we are going to have to face reality. We are the largest debtor nation in the history of the world," Hageman said. "Looking at how our money is spent, I can assure you, we can cut more than $100 billion."

One place the federal government should cut spending, she said, is sending money to Pakistan to fund gender studies. Hageman said blocking the "radical ideas" of the Democratic Party "is just as important as anything else."

"And I would say Joe Biden and his administration is the most radical administration and the most destructive administration in the history of the United States," Hageman told the WTE. "We've been able to largely block his agenda."

Border control, aid to Israel

Wyoming's sole congresswoman said she's visited the U.S.-Mexico border twice, with her most recent visit being to the Eagle Pass sector just a couple of weeks ago.

Eagle Pass, Texas, is a town of about 27,000 residents located just a few miles north of Mexico and has become the "epicenter" of border crossings. A public park in the town caught national media attention when it was suddenly closed off by state troopers, according to the Associated Press.

Hageman recently voted on a House resolution that denounces the Biden administration's open-border policies and urges the president to end such policies.

"Nobody thinks what are we doing is wrong?" Hageman said. "It is absolutely a catastrophe."

The border crisis is a problem created by Biden, who she said "has destroyed our southern and northern borders."

"The destabilization around the world is evident everywhere from Israel to what happened in the pullout with Afghanistan, (and) with Ukraine," Hageman told the WTE. "He's been an incredibly destructive president."

A long-term spending package, which includes aid for Ukraine and Israel, is currently being negotiated. At the town hall, Hageman said she supports sending aid to Israel and wants to reduce aid sent to Ukraine.

"I have supported every resolution in favor of Israel," Hageman said. "We have to recognize that Israel is going to have to have the leeway to do what it needs to do."

Voter restrictions

Secretary of State Gray recently proposed a new voter restriction that would require all Wyoming voters to show proof of residency that matches voter records in order to vote in elections. If that's not a driver's license or state-issued ID card, another form of identification would be required. Wyomingites have the chance to submit their opinion on the proposed change during the public comment period by email to Joe.Rubino1@wyo.gov.

The last day of the public comment period is Friday, and the Secretary of State's office is holding a public hearing at the Capitol Extension Conference Center in Cheyenne that day at 1 p.m. Members of the public can also attend virtually by registering via Zoom.

Voter fraud has never been a significant issue in Wyoming, and the proposed amendment has county clerks worried over the problems such a change would cause.

"(Gray's) biggest issue has been voter and election integrity," Hageman said. "Wyoming is going to come out of this probably as the number one state in the nation in terms of addressing election integrity issues."

Election integrity is a state issue, Hageman said, that has needed to be addressed since the 2016 presidential election.

"We have to have secretaries of state who are willing to go in (and make the necessary changes)," Hageman said. "We don't want to federalize our elections."

Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.