Amid mounting concerns about White House disregard of court orders, Wyoming’s congressional delegates made clear last week that they continue to support President Donald Trump’s defiance of the federal judiciary.
And they are willing to insult their own constituents in defense of that position.
Rep. Harriet Hageman and Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso publicly derided a distinguished swath of the Wyoming Bar while dismissing concerns those constituents raised in a March 26 letter warning that Trump and his allies’ threats could erode the country’s rule of law.
Wyoming’s federal delegation lashed out at the letter’s signees the same week federal judges warned that the Trump administration was striking at the core of the constitutional system that protects Americans from an unruly or oppressive government.
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The more than 100 Wyoming jurists who put their name on the letter asking the delegation to protect the rule of law included three former state Supreme Court justices, an ex-governor, two former state attorneys general appointed by governors from both political parties, veteran attorneys and young Wyoming lawyers making their start in the profession.
Among the names were those of Republican and Democrat politicians and the former law partner of Rep. Harriet Hageman’s husband. Though their leanings covered the political spectrum, they shared one thing in common: Mounting concern that the rule of law is under extreme duress.
In response, Lummis, Hageman and Barrasso described the signatories as “biased, misguided” and “liberal,” in a press release issued last week.
The delegation’s response came in two phases — the first was an April 11 letter rebuffing the Wyoming jurists’ concerns. Overreaching judges, not President Donald Trump’s threats, have placed the federal judiciary in the crosshairs, the delegation wrote.
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., addresses an often-hostile crowd on March 19, 2025, in Laramie. (Megan Johnson/WyoFile)
That letter ended with an olive branch. “We look forward to working with each of you to secure a prosperous future for Wyoming and to ensure a return to the non-partisan rule of law,” the delegates wrote.
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On April 15, however, after WyoFile reporting made their letter public, the delegation dropped any niceties and issued a press release headlined: “Wyoming Delegation Responds to Biased, Misguided WY Judges and Lawyers.”
The delegate’s letter itself was “extremely dispiriting,” Jackson attorney Bill Schwartz, one of the letter’s signees, told WyoFile on April 17. But he had not yet seen the press release.
“Well, that’s just preposterous,” he said, when a reporter described it to him. “These are very accomplished lawyers, from every part of the state, that went to the same law school as [Lummis and Hageman] did… Many of us know at least one of the delegates. And we know they know better.”
The delegation’s answer has dismayed the letter signers, who saw in it deeply worrying signs for the country’s democratic rule.
“We are, in my judgment, in very dangerous times,” Jackson attorney Bob Schuster wrote in an email to his fellow signees. “My concerns are only heightened by the cynical and unprincipled response from our Congressional delegation,” he added in the email obtained by WyoFile.
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The three politicians, for their part, say they’re responding to “liberal former judges and lawyers attempting to publicly pressure the delegation into falsely condemning President Trump and allowing judges to continue blocking the agenda more than 70% of Wyoming residents support,” according to the press release.
In today’s Wyoming politics, “if you have an independent thought sometimes that makes you a liberal,” Gillette attorney Tom Lubnau said. As a Republican politician, Lubnau served in the Wyoming House from 2004 to 2014, rising to become Speaker of the House in his final term.
“I’m going to take every opportunity I have to defend our court system and our constitutional system,” Lubnau told WyoFile. “Do I think the system is perfect? No. Do I think it’s the best system man has devised? Yes.”
Lummis, Hageman and Barrasso did not respond to interview requests from WyoFile.
President Donald J. Trump, seated next to U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-WY, right, meets with members of Congress during his first presidential administration. (White House photo)
Lawyers and former judges who signed the letter say that even in the more restrained portion of the delegate’s response, the politicians misstated fundamental tenets of American law. Though disheartening, the delegation’s response has galvanized the letter’s signees to continue speaking up, and has led other Wyoming jurists to reach out and offer support, Schwartz said.
The delegation issued its response during a week of ongoing clashes between the president and federal judges over the rights of migrants detained by the Trump administration and shipped to a prison in El Salvador.
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On Wednesday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. issued an order suggesting he could soon begin proceedings to hold the Trump administration in contempt of court. Trump had called for that judge, James Boasberg, to be impeached after Boasberg issued an injunction temporarily halting the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to detain people.
Trump invoked the act to justify his administration’s imprisonment of Venezuelans and other Latin Americans in El Salvador, without court hearings. The act was last used during World War II, when it led to the infamous internment of Japanese-Americans, including at Heart Mountain in Wyoming.
The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation has also called on the delegation to check Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act. “The misuse of the Alien Enemies Act at that time makes us particularly sensitive to any future abuse of the law,” the foundation wrote in an April 1 statement.
The delegates did not respond to that message, though it was delivered to each of them, officials from Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation told WyoFile Monday.
Concern over Trump’s suggestion that Boasberg should be impeached was central to the Wyoming jurists’ letter to the delegation. The signees called on Hageman, Barrasso and Lummis to speak against the idea that a judge could be personally targeted for a ruling the president didn’t like. Trump’s threat also drew a rare rebuke from U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.
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The George W. Bush appointed chief justice said Trump was challenging two centuries of precedent, and that “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”
What’s at stake is far broader than the rights of those now imprisoned in El Salvador under Trump’s invocation of wartime powers, according to the signees of the letter to Wyoming’s delegation.
Schwartz, the Jackson attorney, and others pointed to a Thursday ruling and admonition penned by conservative, Ronald Reagan appointed judge Harvie Wilkinson, as an example of their concerns.
“The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order,” Wilkinson wrote. “This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear.”
“If today the Executive claims the right to deport without due process and in disregard of court orders, what assurance will there be tomorrow that it will not deport American citizens and then disclaim responsibility to bring them home?” he continued.
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Lummis on Thursday labeled Boasberg’s injunction pausing the deportations to, and imprisonments in, El Salvador as “one of the most shocking examples” of judicial overreach during the Trump administration.
“Boasberg ordered planes full of dangerous illegal aliens and alleged Tren de Aragua gang members to turn around mid-flight and return to the United States,” Lummis wrote in an opinion column published by Cowboy State Daily.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis speaks at a town hall at the Gillette College Technical Education Center in Gillette, Wyoming in 2024. (Satterly, WikiCommons)
In the first three months of Trump’s presidency, judges have issued 15 nationwide injunctions on federal policies, Lummis wrote, one more than they did throughout the entirety of President Joe Biden’s term. “We must remember that judges are not policymakers – and they have not been elected by the American people to legislate. The people of Wyoming deserve a government where their elected representatives make the laws,” she wrote.
Her fellow Wyoming Bar members say she’s being disingenuous at best.
“You would think that any reasoned response to our letter might have paused to consider one of the first cases any of us read in our Constitutional Law course — Marbury v. Madison,” Schuster, the Jackson attorney, wrote in his email to colleagues.
That 1803 case established that the courts can find that laws passed by Congress and executive actions are unconstitutional. The delegation, Schuster continued, is arguing that “the Court really did not mean what they said and that its 222 years of lasting precedent … is vaporous.”
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LARAMIE, Wyo. — An inmate at the Albany County Detention Center died Wednesday following a suicide attempt, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Deputies found Matthew Robinson unresponsive with a ligature around his neck at 11:56 a.m. Wednesday, according to a news release from Sheriff Aaron Appelhans. Robinson was identified by officials as experiencing homelessness.
Jail staff removed the ligature and performed CPR before emergency medical personnel took Robinson to Ivinson Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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The Albany County Sheriff’s Office asked the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation to investigate the incident. Appelhans reported that independent investigations are standard practice for such incidents within the detention center.
The sheriff’s office delayed the public release of the information to make sure Robinson’s family was properly notified.
The sheriff’s office did not state the reason for Robinson’s detention.
A proposed pumped-water electricity storage facility at Seminoe Reservoir could decimate the prized Miracle Mile trout fishery on the North Platte River and jeopardize a bighorn sheep herd that wildlife officials rely on to support the species’ populations in other areas, critics of the $4 billion project say.
Anglers, business owners and wildlife biologists joined state and federal regulatory officials Thursday to testify before the Legislature’s Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee. They cautioned that a primary federal permitting review — by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — is too lax on “acceptable” impacts and riddled with inaccurate assumptions fed to it by project developer rPlus Hydro.
“These concerns are not theoretical for us,” Casper Mayor Ray Pacheco told the legislative panel. “Casper relies directly on the North Platte River for drinking water, wastewater treatment, recreation, tourism and the quality of life.”
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s concerns regarding impacts to the Ferris-Seminoe bighorn sheep herd, mostly due to blasting and industrial traffic during the project’s five-year construction period, “may be unresolvable,” one department official said, adding that the agency still has an opportunity to object to the project.
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The company’s touted enhancement to the electrical grid is actually a net energy loss, others claimed. Several commenters were concerned about the effect of warmer water temperatures on trout. They cautioned that rPlus Hydro’s assurance that its project will only minimally raise temperatures is based on an analysis of five years of data from the 2010s that is outdated and doesn’t account for climate change-driven drought that has resulted in higher stream water temperatures and has helped sap Seminoe Reservoir to just 32% of its storage capacity today.
“I think we’re all acutely aware of what’s going on on the Colorado River system and with Flaming Gorge,” Baggs Republican Sen. Larry Hicks said, referring to the drought and water crisis wreaking havoc in the West. “The way I understand the analysis is that there’s going to be many more low water years.”
Seminoe pumped water storage project
“Pumped water storage” involves pumping water uphill during daytime “off-peak demand” hours for electricity when wind and solar power are plentiful and wholesale electricity is cheapest, according to rPlus Hydro. The pumped water would be temporarily stored in a to-be-constructed reservoir above the current reservoir and released to generate hydroelectricity during higher-demand evening hours.
The company proposes building a 13,400-acre-foot reservoir in the Bennett Mountains overlooking Seminoe Reservoir near the dam — one of several reservoirs on the North Platte River. The facility provides “energy‑storage.” “Think of it as a ‘water battery’ that stores energy generated when demand is low,” the company told WyoFile. “When demand increases, water is released from the upper reservoir back into Seminoe, driving hydroelectric turbines to produce electricity.”
“It’s an enormously large project to meet Wyoming’s future energy needs,” rPlus Hydro Deputy General Counsel Kevin Baker told the legislative committee, adding that it would help lower the cost of electricity. “Pumped (water) storage is actually one of the longest duration, most effective and most cost-efficient types of energy storage that’s on the market today.”
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Baker said that FERC’s analysis of the project suggests the Seminoe project represents a $200 million annual savings to ratepayers. Further, according to Baker, FERC has suggested, the “absence of this project carries with it its own set of impacts: reduced resource adequacy, higher cost to ratepayers, and the likely need to pursue other projects that may impose greater environmental impacts or plans to the state.”
Hicks objected to the notion that the project will enhance electrical availability or affordability in Wyoming, noting that the state is a net-electrical exporting state, and that rPlus Hydro is relying on federal tax credits to help finance the project.
Despite those facts, Baker responded, the energy storage function does improve reliability and affordability throughout the western grid, including Wyoming. The project, he said, “does not consume serious amounts of water.
“The water,” he added, “will be protected. The fish habitat will be protected. Casper will still have the opportunity to use it as drinking water. Irrigation will still occur. The project will not affect Wyoming’s waters.”
Several people, including local elected officials, Trout Unlimited and local businesses, took issue with Baker’s claims, citing what they say is a flawed federal review process that hasn’t dutifully tested the company’s claims or considered locals’ concerns.
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“I think what concerns me the most about this project is the precedent that it sets,” said CiCi Oliver of the Ugly Bug Fly Shop in Casper, which employs 45 people and is dependent on the North Platte River fishery. “This proposal requires exemptions from existing land use and wildlife protections in order to move forward. It is my belief that if a project only works by loosening protections that were specifically created to safeguard habitat and sensitive resources, then perhaps it is not suited for the location in the first place.”
What now?
The FERC is the primary permitting agency for the project because of its reliance on federally managed water storage reservoirs and hydroelectric systems on the North Platte River. That’s a source of heartburn for many stakeholders, including state regulatory agencies, according to Thursday’s testimony.
Members of the Travel Committee lamented that the Legislature doesn’t have a direct role in setting terms for the project. But it concluded that rPlus Hydro and FERC did not meet expectations to engage with locals during the permitting review process, which was initiated some five years ago.
So what can state lawmakers do?
There are still permitting steps where the Legislature can exert its influence, committee leadership noted.
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The federal Bureau of Land Management is a cooperating agency for the project, and agency officials noted that when the FERC issues its final environmental impact statement — expected in June — they may request an amendment process if the BLM is not satisfied with natural resource protections. Wyoming Game and Fish also has an influential say in whether it is satisfied with the FERC’s final review.
Plus, others noted, the project still must go before Wyoming’s Industrial Siting Council for approval.
The committee’s cochairs suggested drafting a letter to Wyoming’s congressional delegation, as well as FERC and other permitting agencies, imploring them to address concerns expressed by Wyoming stakeholders. The committee approved that idea in a unanimous vote.
A proposed pumped-water electricity storage facility at Seminoe Reservoir could decimate the prized Miracle Mile trout fishery on the North Platte River and jeopardize a bighorn sheep herd that wildlife officials rely on to support the species’ populations in other areas, critics of the $4 billion project say.
Anglers, business owners and wildlife biologists joined state and federal regulatory officials Thursday to testify before the Legislature’s Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee. They cautioned that a primary federal permitting review — by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — is too lax on “acceptable” impacts and riddled with inaccurate assumptions fed to it by project developer rPlus Hydro.
“These concerns are not theoretical for us,” Casper Mayor Ray Pacheco told the legislative panel. “Casper relies directly on the North Platte River for drinking water, wastewater treatment, recreation, tourism and the quality of life.”
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s concerns regarding impacts to the Ferris-Seminoe bighorn sheep herd, mostly due to blasting and industrial traffic during the project’s five-year construction period, “may be unresolvable,” one department official said, adding that the agency still has an opportunity to object to the project.
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The Legislature’s Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee hears public testimony in Casper. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile) Credit: Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile
The company’s touted enhancement to the electrical grid is actually a net energy loss, others claimed. Several commenters were concerned about the effect of warmer water temperatures on trout. They cautioned that rPlus Hydro’s assurance that its project will only minimally raise temperatures is based on an analysis of five years of data from the 2010s that is outdated and doesn’t account for climate change-driven drought that has resulted in higher stream water temperatures and has helped sap Seminoe Reservoir to just 32% of its storage capacity today.
“I think we’re all acutely aware of what’s going on on the Colorado River system and with Flaming Gorge,” Baggs Republican Sen. Larry Hicks said, referring to the drought and water crisis wreaking havoc in the West. “The way I understand the analysis is that there’s going to be many more low water years.”
Seminoe pumped water storage project
“Pumped water storage” involves pumping water uphill during daytime “off-peak demand” hours for electricity when wind and solar power are plentiful and wholesale electricity is cheapest, according to rPlus Hydro. The pumped water would be temporarily stored in a to-be-constructed reservoir above the current reservoir and released to generate hydroelectricity during higher-demand evening hours.
This graphic depicts a pumped water storage system. (rPlus Hydro)
The company proposes building a 13,400-acre-foot reservoir in the Bennett Mountains overlooking Seminoe Reservoir near the dam — one of several reservoirs on the North Platte River. The facility provides “energy‑storage.” “Think of it as a ‘water battery’ that stores energy generated when demand is low,” the company told WyoFile. “When demand increases, water is released from the upper reservoir back into Seminoe, driving hydroelectric turbines to produce electricity.”
“It’s an enormously large project to meet Wyoming’s future energy needs,” rPlus Hydro Deputy General Counsel Kevin Baker told the legislative committee, adding that it would help lower the cost of electricity. “Pumped [water] storage is actually one of the longest duration, most effective and most cost-efficient types of energy storage that’s on the market today.”
Baker said that FERC’s analysis of the project suggests the Seminoe project represents a $200 million annual savings to ratepayers. Further, according to Baker, FERC has suggested, the “absence of this project carries with it its own set of impacts: reduced resource adequacy, higher cost to ratepayers, and the likely need to pursue other projects that may impose greater environmental impacts or plans to the state.”
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Hicks objected to the notion that the project will enhance electrical availability or affordability in Wyoming, noting that the state is a net-electrical exporting state, and that rPlus Hydro is relying on federal tax credits to help finance the project.
Anglers attempt to land a trout at Miracle Mile on the North Platte River. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile)
Despite those facts, Baker responded, the energy storage function does improve reliability and affordability throughout the western grid, including Wyoming. The project, he said, “does not consume serious amounts of water.
“The water,” he added, “will be protected. The fish habitat will be protected. Casper will still have the opportunity to use it as drinking water. Irrigation will still occur. The project will not affect Wyoming’s waters.”
Several people, including local elected officials, Trout Unlimited and local businesses, took issue with Baker’s claims, citing what they say is a flawed federal review process that hasn’t dutifully tested the company’s claims or considered locals’ concerns.
“I think what concerns me the most about this project is the precedent that it sets,” said CiCi Oliver of the Ugly Bug Fly Shop in Casper, which employs 45 people and is dependent on the North Platte River fishery. “This proposal requires exemptions from existing land use and wildlife protections in order to move forward. It is my belief that if a project only works by loosening protections that were specifically created to safeguard habitat and sensitive resources, then perhaps it is not suited for the location in the first place.”
What now?
The FERC is the primary permitting agency for the project because of its reliance on federally managed water storage reservoirs and hydroelectric systems on the North Platte River. That’s a source of heartburn for many stakeholders, including state regulatory agencies, according to Thursday’s testimony.
Advertisement
Members of the Travel Committee lamented that the Legislature doesn’t have a direct role in setting terms for the project. But it concluded that rPlus Hydro and FERC did not meet expectations to engage with locals during the permitting review process, which was initiated some five years ago.
So what can state lawmakers do?
There are still permitting steps where the Legislature can exert its influence, committee leadership noted.
The federal Bureau of Land Management is a cooperating agency for the project, and agency officials noted that when the FERC issues its final environmental impact statement — expected in June — they may request an amendment process if the BLM is not satisfied with natural resource protections. Wyoming Game and Fish also has an influential say in whether it is satisfied with the FERC’s final review.
Plus, others noted, the project still must go before Wyoming’s Industrial Siting Council for approval.
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The committee’s cochairs suggested drafting a letter to Wyoming’s congressional delegation, as well as FERC and other permitting agencies, imploring them to address concerns expressed by Wyoming stakeholders. The committee approved that idea in a unanimous vote.
