The Freedom Caucus takes control of the Wyoming House, marking its first chance to lead

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — As President-elect Donald Trump plans bold moves for his first days in office, so too are conservative lawmakers in Wyoming, the first state where Trump-friendly Freedom Caucus members have won control of a statehouse chamber.

It marks a big test for the Freedom Caucus movement, which has spread from Washington to a dozen state capitols during the past decade, including to Missouri and Oklahoma last year. The conservative network is adding a 13th chapter Tuesday in Democratic-led Maryland.

With the start of Wyoming's legislative session Tuesday, the Freedom Caucus majority in the House starts the clock on an aggressive agenda to pass five priority bills in 10 days targeting immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, dismantling diversity initiatives, prohibiting state investments that prioritize green energy over fossil fuels, and cutting property taxes.

''What we are here to do is get the job done. The people have clearly given us a mandate,'' incoming House Speaker Chip Neiman said.

So far, the Freedom Caucus has existed largely as an opposition faction to more moderate or mainstream Republicans in charge of legislative chambers. But now its members will get a chance to lead.

''Wyoming is, I think, a Poli Sci 101 case study," said Andrew Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network, who's hopeful that success in the Cowboy State can be replicated elsewhere. "If conservatives enact policies that they said they would on the campaign trail, it's infectious with voters, and the voters will continue to reward them.''

Though not a majority, the Freedom Caucus significantly expanded its ranks last year in Louisiana and joined with new GOP Gov. Jeff Landry to enact a sweeping conservative agenda that included stronger gun rights, the display of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms, and the authority for police to arrest migrants who enter the U.S. illegally. Neither of the latter two laws are currently being carried out as legal challenges continue.

Gordon, who vetoed a Freedom Caucus-backed bill to cut property taxes last year, said he remains open to cooperation.

''There are a lot of issues we see eye to eye on," Gordon said. ''It will be interesting to see the bills that they bring forward.''

A Washington movement into the states

The Freedom Caucus has been active in the U.S. House since 2015, gaining widespread attention when some of its members helped topple former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during the last session of Congress.

An outgrowth of the group, the State Freedom Caucus Network, launched in 2021 in Georgia and has been spreading to other states since then. It has about 175 members this year — up more than a quarter since the 2024 elections, Roth said.

In Wyoming, the list of incumbents ousted by Freedom Caucus-endorsed candidates included House Speaker Albert Sommers, who was attempting to move up to the Senate, and House Speaker Pro Tem Clark Stith.

Though they suffered some losses, candidates aligned with Freedom Caucus also toppled prominent Republicans elsewhere, including South Carolina's assistant House majority leader.

Caucus members often portray themselves as the Republican Party's true conservatives, sometimes pressing colleagues into uncomfortable votes on amendments and blocking or slowing debate to make a point. As a result, they tend to clash with Republican legislative leaders.

Freedom Caucus members in Missouri and South Carolina recently made longshot bids to win House speaker elections. But both were soundly defeated.

Five and Dime Plan

At the top of its list are two immigration-related measures. One would require voters to prove their Wyoming and U.S. citizenship; the other would invalidate driver's licenses issued by other states to Wyoming residents living in the country illegally.

Other prongs of the plan would target diversity requirements at colleges and universities, prohibit environmental and social factors from being taken into consideration in state investments and slash residential property taxes by 25%.

The Freedom Caucus says its polling shows strong support for its plan.

The agenda is "probably the most responsive we've seen government in decades in Wyoming,'' said Freedom Caucus member Rep. John Bear.

Gordon is skeptical the Freedom Caucus has as much support as it claims, pointing to low turnout in last year's Republican primary that chose many of the Legislature's new Freedom Caucus members.

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