Cheers drown jeers at Hageman town hall
SHERIDAN — Wyoming’s lone U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman resumed her in-person town halls last week.
Hageman canceled in-person town halls in Cheyenne and Torrington last month, announcing March 25 she would host virtual events. The move came three weeks after U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, urged Republican lawmakers to stop hosting in-person town hall events, as many were faced with significant criticism.
Hageman cited incidents at town halls in Laramie and Wheatland in her March 25 news release, as well as “credible threats to Hageman, and the related national outburst of politically motivated violence and attempts at intimidation.”
In-person town halls quietly resumed last week.
Events in Buffalo and Dayton were announced in her April 20 newsletter. The events were not posted to the events calendar through Tuesday afternoon; it’s unclear when the events were posted to the calendar.
Wyomingites who wished to attend the events were required to register to be allowed to enter. In Dayton, Sheridan County residents filled seats on the Tongue River Valley Community Center’s gym floor and the gym’s bleachers to hear Hageman speak.
Questions for Hageman in Dayton were submitted on index cards. Hageman pulled them from a clear box on stage, reading the card aloud before responding.
Though many of Hageman’s responses drew some boos and jeers, they were quickly drowned out by applause from a largely supportive audience.
Opening statements
Hageman opened the town hall Friday by touting some of her legislative accomplishments to begin the 119th Congress, which is in session from 2025 to 2026.
Perhaps to the loudest applause of the night, Hageman praised the Laken Riley Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law Jan. 29. Laken Riley was a college nursing student killed by an undocumented immigrant.
“I’m glad that this was the first law that we passed and that the President signed,” Hageman said.
The law mandates detention for undocumented immigrants who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, assault of a police officer or any other crime resulting in death or serious harm.
Hageman was also critical of the Buffalo and Rock Springs resource management plans. The Buffalo plan update would shut down all coal mining operations in the Powder River Basin by 2041, Hageman said.
She shared several other goals, including a push to have Congress review any rules enacted by federal agencies to help protect Americans from potentially expensive requirements.
‘You guys get trolled so badly’
Since returning to the Oval Office, Trump has raised the potential of running for a third term. The Trump Store website is selling “Trump 2028” hats, further calling into question his intentions. The official White House X, formerly Twitter, account also posted a parodied image of a Time Magazine cover with Trump’s name at the top and an illustration of the president adorned in a crown; the bottom of the image reads “long live the king.”
The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits any president from serving more than two four-year terms in the Oval Office.
At least one attendee Friday raised the question of whether Hageman would stand up to Trump’s embrace of the word “king” and his suggestion the 22nd Amendment has a loophole.
“You guys get trolled so badly. You gotta learn to get a bit of a sense of humor. I’m sorry… but you’ve got to stop taking those things seriously,” Hageman said.
Hageman’s statement drew perhaps the loudest response of the night from the audience, though their statements were inaudible.
The majority of the audience, however, quickly laughed, applauded, cheered and whistled in support.
Public education
Congress created the U.S. Department of Education in 1979 at the encouragement of then-President Jimmy Carter. The department was created to help ensure equal educational access for all Americans, among other purposes.
Trump and other Republicans have criticized the department in recent years, stating its budget has inflated and its programs do not help American students. Trump signed an Executive Order March 20 directing Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to facilitate the closure of the U.S. Department of Education.
One attendee asked why Hageman is critical of public education.
“Public is an important part of the word Republican. Why then can’t we support public education…?” the question read.
“I’m not opposed to public education, but I am opposed to the (U.S.) Department of Education,” Hageman said. “But they’re not the same thing.”
Her statement was again met with applause from the audience, and at least one attendee asked why they’re different.
Hageman said she and family members received a quality public education in Wyoming. She added, though, that she believes the federal department mismanages its funding and more money should go toward students’ education.
A block grant system, which would be similar to how Wyoming funds its public schools, would help local decision makers best decide how to spend public education funding.
“I believe that our administrators and our superintendent of public instruction and our public leaders and our governor and our educators in this community are going to be better at using and managing that money and educating our students than the federal government,” Hageman said.
It’s unclear when the department could close, though the Returning Education to Our State Act — a U.S. Senate bill — would require the department to close within one year of its enacting date. The bill was referred to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. It would transfer the department’s responsibilities to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
This story was published on April 28, 2025.