‘God led us here’: Religious, emotional first day of Wyoming legislative session

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 its “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.

Religion cited in attempt to remove Barlow from committee chair post

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.

Although he thanked his fellow senators for their support, Biteman’s choice to lead the Senate Labor, Health and Social Services Committee was immediately challenged on religious grounds. Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, made a motion to remove Sen. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, as chairman of that committee based on the two senators’ “vehement disagreement” on the “question of life of the unborn.”

“My colleague, who I respect but vehemently disagree with on this issue, has a long voting record of supporting abortion, which is … antithetical to the moral laws of our country as defined by our Founding Fathers,” Hicks said. “There is no other declaration or constitution (in the world) that recognizes the fact that there is a higher law than man’s law, and that law comes from God.

“Amongst those laws is the right to life. The government’s first and most important duty is to protect those God-given rights,” Hicks said.

Later in the day, Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, who serves as the minority floor leader in the Senate, called the move by Hicks a “power play” that went against his advice to the Senate.

“We hear a lot today about change,” Gierau said on the Senate floor. “We hear, ‘Things are happening, things are new.’” Gierau, who serves as the minority floor leader in the Senate, said the Legislature is at its best when not hyper-focused on hot-button social issues.

“We come and do the best for the people of Wyoming when we argue ideas. That is when we are at our best, (when) we do the people’s business, the people’s work,” Gierau said. “A word of caution: When we deviate from that, we have another result.”

Hicks noted, however, that it is the committee chairman’s prerogative to block bills from ever making it to the chamber floor, worrying Barlow may do the same to abortion-related measures. “I have served as chairman, and it is not an uncommon practice to end up with some bill in the bottom of the drawer,” Hicks said.

Barlow pointed out that he has previously served as Labor Committee co-chair, and has voted in favor of restrictive abortion bans in the past, but has made many votes in his 10-plus years as a lawmaker.

“I am not going to go back through 12 years of service,” Barlow said. “If someone would like to talk to me about my faith, and my deep abiding faith in the Lord, I would be glad to do that with the members of this body” in private.

Any given bill topic, he continued, would “not affect my ability to discharge my duties” as chairman of the Labor Committee, he said.

Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, spoke against removing Barlow as committee chair, citing his own religion and his pro-abortionrights stance.

“I believe in respecting all the different religions that we have,” Scott said. “Really, they have different interpretations of what God requires of us and what God’s laws are. … I don’t think it is appropriate for us to deny a chairmanship based upon an individual’s beliefs on this particular issue.”

Sen. Jim Anderson, R-Casper, said Barlow is the most qualified person in the Senate to lead the Labor committee.

“He is a qualified and servicing veterinarian in Wyoming that has a lot of experience in the medical field,” Anderson said. “I find this motion to be frivolous and politically motivated. It does not build goodwill, is divisive and does not show civility in this body.”

Only three senators, including Hicks, voted to remove Barlow. The two other votes to remove Barlow came from Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, and Sen. Laura Taliaferro Pearson, R-Kemmerer.

This story was published on January 15, 2025.