The judiciary holds too much power and Congress should curb its authority, Wyoming’s federal delegation argued in response to Equality State lawyers and retired judges who called on them to defend “American Rule of Law” from attacks by President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk.
In an April 11 letter, Rep. Harriet Hageman and Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis said the federal judiciary has drawn scrutiny on itself. “Unelected judges imposing their policy biases on our nation without democratic legitimacy are the root cause of today’s controversy,” they wrote.
The politicians largely sidestepped the central tenet of an open letter signed by more than 100 Wyoming lawyers and retired judges and published late last month. That letter had called on Hageman, Barrasso and Lummis to condemn an increase in personal attacks and calls for impeachment led by the president and his allies on federal judges who issue court decisions they dislike.
The Wyoming jurists who signed that missive focused on Trump’s calls to impeach specific judges who ruled against his policies, and social media posts by Musk calling a judge’s ruling an “attempted coup,” among other criticisms.
Advertisement
The letter also cited threats of violence against judges, a phenomenon U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has said is on the rise. It also noted Trump’s efforts to target law firms he doesn’t like. “These attacks are part of a growing effort to discredit, not just judges, but seemingly the American Rule of Law,” the letter stated.
The delegation’s response does not mention the president, Musk or threats of violence against judges.
Instead, Barrasso, Lummis and Hageman wrote that “the country is witnessing a healthy debate right now about the appropriate role of judges,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by WyoFile. The federal lawmakers also cited legislation they were cosponsoring to eliminate judges’ authority to issue nationwide injunctions on actions by the federal government.
“I think the delegation sort of missed the point,” former Wyoming governor and longtime attorney Mike Sullivan told WyoFile on Monday. “This was not a partisan effort. This is a legitimate, serious and what I think is a constitutional concern about the judiciary and the rule of law.”
Last week, House Republicans including Hageman passed the No Rogue Rulings Act, which would curb judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions. Republican lawmakers did so in response to a series of court rulings against aspects of Trump’s agenda — particularly elements of his mass deportation effort that judges found could violate peoples’ civil rights, and parts of the Musk-driven effort to cut budgets and staffing levels across the federal government. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has introduced a similar measure in the Senate.
Advertisement
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., leans forward to listen to a member of the crowd attending her town hall event on March 19, 2025, in Laramie. (Megan Johnson/WyoFile)
“Both the legislative and the executive branches are rightfully using their constitutional checks and balances to address judicial overreach,” Hageman, Barrasso and Lummis wrote in their letter.
In their letter, the Wyoming jurists told Lummis, Barrasso and Hageman the U.S. Constitution called on them to defend the judiciary from attacks, even if those attacks come from other branches of government.
“As our elected federal representatives—and as required by your own oaths—we thus urge you to publicly condemn these threats, affirm judicial independence, and remind Americans that appeals—not violence, intimidation, or invitations to lawlessness—are the constitutional remedy for undesired court decisions,” the letter read.
Though the delegation in its letter described a bipartisan drive for judicial reform, the No Rogue Rulings Act did not draw any support from Democrats in the House and will likely die in the Senate, where it won’t be able to garner 60 votes, according to a report in Politico.
Lummis, Barrasso and Hageman expressed pique at the letter authors’ choice of an open letter. Among the letter’s more noted signees were former Gov. Mike Sullivan; retired Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justices Marilyn Kite, Michael Golden, Michael Davis and E. James Burke; retired U.S. District Court Chief Judge William Downes and former Wyoming Attorneys General Gay Woodhouse and Patrick Crank.
Advertisement
(WyoFile board member Susan Stubson also signed on. She was not involved in the production of this report, and neither she nor any member of the WyoFile board have authority to direct news coverage or news content.)
Many of those attorneys are retired from public office and working in private practice, if not retired entirely. The jurists appear to have sought a public discussion, concluding their letter with: “We welcome your earliest public response to these very serious concerns.”
But the federal delegates said the more than 100 signees should have reached out as individuals.
“We are disappointed you failed to express your concerns with us directly before rushing to publish your letter,” they wrote. “A robust discussion about addressing the challenges and concerns facing our nation would be more beneficial than attempting to score political points through the press.”
WyoFile reached out to signees of the original letter but did not receive a comment on the delegation’s response by early Monday afternoon. This story will be updated if that changes.
Advertisement
Sullivan noted that the Wyoming attorneys published their letter in the wake of a highly unusual statement by Chief Justice Roberts, who protested Trump’s call for the impeachment of U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg. Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment after the judge issued a ruling momentarily halting one of Trump’s most controversial deportation policies. Judges are not politicians, Sullivan said, “and when they come down in a way that doesn’t agree with your position they shouldn’t be demeaned or defamed or threatened with impeachment.”
Those signing the letter have an obligation to maintain judicial independence, as does the delegation, the former governor said.
“This is a group that believes this ought to be a public discussion,” Sullivan said. “We have our own constitutional obligations as members of the bar, practicing before the judiciary, and we shouldn’t just sit back and let this happen.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A 4-cent drop made Laramie County’s gas price the second cheapest in Wyoming this week.
The nation’s average price of gasoline also fell 1.4 cents over the last week, standing at $2.99 per gallon, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports. The national average is down 14.8 cents from a month ago and 6.6 cents from a year ago.
The national average price of diesel has increased 2.5 cents in the last week to stand at $3.663 per gallon.
AAA reports a national average price of $3.03, down 2 cents from last week. Wyoming’s state average fell 1 cent to $2.92, AAA said.
Advertisement
“The national average once again briefly dipped below the $3 per gallon mark, but the drop will be short-lived,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “Gas prices are likely to rebound soon in the Great Lakes states due to ongoing refinery challenges, while a new snag at a California refinery may slow the pace of declines on the West Coast. To top it off, OPEC+ announced another boost to oil production for December over the weekend, though they also signaled a pause in further increases from January through March.
“For now, expect the national average to hover in the low-$3 range, potentially drifting lower once refinery issues are resolved.”
Laramie County’s average price of $2.68 is Wyoming’s second lowest, up two spots from last week. The cheapest fuel in the county on Monday is $2.61 at Sam’s Club, 1948 Dell Range Blvd., followed by $2.63 at Maverik, 140 Gardenia Drive, and Loaf ‘N Jug, 534 Vandehei Ave., according to GasBuddy reports.
(AAA graphic)
Wyoming’s cheapest fuel for the 11th straight week is in Natrona County, which has an average price of $2.56, down 9 cents from last week. Converse County toppled Campbell and Albany counties to offer the state’s third-cheapest average at $2.70.
Also included in GasBuddy’s report:
Advertisement
OIL MARKET DYNAMICS
Over the last week, oil markets have been a bit more tame, balancing new sanctions on Russian oil exports with OPEC’s weekend decision to again raise oil production for the month of December, keeping oil prices in check. In early trade, WTI crude oil was down 3 cents to $60.95 per barrel, a slight drop from last Monday’s $61.53 per barrel fetch. Brent crude oil was also slightly lower in early trade, down 4 cents to $64.73, down from $65.96 last Monday. “Oil prices have moved nearly sideways in recent days. While there is rising skepticism that the latest sanctions on Russian oil companies remove substantial oil supply from the market, large US oil inventory draws last week kept prices supported,” added Giovanni Staunovo, UBS commodities analyst, in an e-mail. “The OPEC+ decision to pause their supply increases during the seasonal weaker Q1 demand period is also giving moderate support.”
OIL AND REFINED PRODUCT SUPPLIES
The EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ending October 24, 2025, showed U.S. oil inventories fell by 6.9 million barrels, and are about 6% below the seasonal average for this time of year, while the SPR rose 500,000 barrels to 409.1 million. Gasoline inventories fell by 5.9 million barrels and are about 3% below the five-year seasonal average, while distillate inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels and are about 8% below the five-year seasonal average. Refinery utilization fell 2.0 percentage points to 86.6%, while implied gasoline demand, EIA’s proxy for retail demand, rose 470,000 bpd to 8.924 million barrels per day.
GAS PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $2.99 per gallon, up 10 cents from last week, followed by $2.89, $2.79, $2.69, and $2.59, rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $2.89 per gallon, up 2 cents from last week and about 10 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.41 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.37 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.48), Texas ($2.48), and Louisiana ($2.53).
Advertisement
The states with the highest average prices: California ($4.61), Hawaii ($4.43), and Washington ($4.23).
The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.69 per gallon, up 10 cents from last week, followed by $3.49, $3.79, $3.59, and $3.39, rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. diesel price is $3.59 per gallon, up 4 cents from last week and about 7 cents lower than the national average.
Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $4.61 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.04 per gallon.
Advertisement
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Texas ($3.15), Louisiana ($3.23), and Mississippi ($3.24).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.21), California ($5.10), and Washington ($4.94).
Biggest weekly changes: New Jersey (+14.6¢), Florida (+10.4¢), Oklahoma (+7.7¢), Wyoming (+6.9¢), Nebraska (-6.8¢)
Oil City News publishes letters, cartoons and opinions as a public service. The content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Oil City News or its employees. Letters to the editor can be submitted by following the link at our opinion section.
Dear Casper,
Our legislators are failing us all, and they know it.
This year, the Wyoming legislature voted to burden our public schools with a $686 million funding deficit through property tax cuts without a plan to make up for that loss. They also passed legislation to allow public dollars to be pulled from public institutions and instead used for private education.
Advertisement
Additionally, despite the overwhelming evidence that Wyoming’s economy is not adequately diversified, lawmakers continue to fail to support economic development that would sustainably attract young families to the state. Boom and bust cycles hit and the global economy continues to move away from some of the industries we have over-relied on to support our state. As a result, young families go, school enrollment declines, and so does the funding that comes with it.
On top of these local leadership failures, the state faces $50 million in royalty losses annually from increased federal subsidies to the coal industry as part of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
All of these factors converge to dramatically underfund and undermine public education, our children, and our state’s future. Our lawmakers know this, and they are only making it worse. They are intentionally stripping our schools, our families, and our children of the resources that are necessary to ensure individuals can thrive into adulthood and that we have stable, accessible economies across the state.
This week the School Finance Recalibration Committee met in Casper. The committee seems prepared to take the critical step to increase teacher salaries. This is essential and not enough. Despite testimony that strongly reflected the value of school resource officers, school counselors, and food services, the committee is not planning to increase support to any of them. This is despite the judicial finding earlier this year that lawmakers have routinely underfunded our public education system for decades.
Our state Constitution mandates that our public schools are adequately funded to provide a quality and equitable education to all Wyoming students. This is good for children, families, and the state overall. Only the legislature can make the necessary decisions to fulfill this mandate. They aren’t. It’s time to vote them out for those who will.
Advertisement
Writing in solidarity for a better Wyoming future,
Wyoming’s “Pistol Pete” cowboy mascot riles up the crowd. (AP File Photo/Ted S. Warren)AP
The Wyoming Cowboys face off against San Diego State as underdogs on the road in this Week 10 showdown. Kickoff takes place at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET (5 p.m. MDT) on Saturday, November 1 with a live broadcast on CBS Sports Network, and streaming live on demand.
• You can watch San Diego State vs. Wyoming football live for FREE with DirecTV (free trial), or with Fubo (promotional offers). or see more streaming options below.
What TV channel is the Wyoming vs. Colorado State football game on tonight?
When: Kickoff takes place at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET (5 p.m. MDT) on Saturday, November 1.
Where: Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, CA
TV Channel: CBS Sports Network (CBSSN)
Advertisement
How to watch streaming live on demand: You can watch this game live for FREE with DirecTV (free trial) or by signing up for Fubo (cheapest streaming plans, $30 off your first month). If you already have a cable provider, use your login information to watch this game on cbssports.com.
Wyoming vs. Colorado State spread, latest betting odds
Point spread: WYO: -10.5 | SDSU: +10.5
Over/Under: 42.5
Get promo codes, signup deals and free bets from our Oregon Betting News home page.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
