As Wyoming’s general legislative session winds down, Wyoming Public Radio sat down with Gov. Mark Gordon to talk about how it’s been going so far, touching on topics like strategies used by the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, the record number bills received for introduction and whether Gordon plans on running for a third term.
Federal firings
With thousands of federal workers terminated in agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gordon said he’s observed “some disruption” in Wyoming. Those firings are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal workforce across a broad swath of agencies.
WPR talked to dozens of federal employees who have been laid off as a result of the tightening of government purse strings.
Some federal jobs in Wyoming have helped provide stability in rural communities where employment opportunities are already limited. Two fired employees in the Bridger-Teton National Forest told WPR that at least 40 people were cut in the first round of firings up until Feb. 18.
“It's important to remember that many of these employees may have mortgages,” said Gordon in an interview in the media room in the Capitol Extension. “They have built lives here. They've got health insurance. I think we should be sensitive to that. Having said that, I think it's also important to recognize that when a new administration comes into office, it has the ability to make some decisions on how it goes forward.”
Although he thinks Pres. Donald Trump deserves leeway to reduce the government’s size, a goal that Gordon said he shares, he added that he believes it’s part of a “concern[ing]” trend in both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations.
“We have gotten recently in the habit of trying to just undo whatever the previous administration has done, and we've oscillated between conservative less conservative,” he said. “So I think what we’ve seen is an amping up of this kind of reactionary sort of approach to things.”
As far as protecting the state’s interests while the mass culling is underway, the governor said he’s spoken with members of Trump’s cabinet, like Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, about making sure enough federal personnel remain in Wyoming to fight wildfires and issue oil and gas leases.
But ultimately, Gordon said that broad federal reorganizations in the state could be a good thing.
“Wyoming [is in] two different forest [regions],” he said. “It may be valuable to go to one, to downsize some of that. I think this is an opportunity for us to really examine the functions of government and make sure they're much more aligned with the needs of our states.”
Mirroring other states’ legislation?
In terms of statehouse politics, Gordon said one of his biggest concerns of late is witnessing bills that look similar to other states’ move through the Wyoming Legislature.
“We’re trying to emulate what Florida does, what Texas does, what Missouri does, you name it,” he said. “I was always pretty damn proud of Wyoming and what we did. We stood alone. Our leadership in so many things has been remarkable, and to surrender that just to what other states are doing, which is what so much of this legislation that's been brought – [legislators are saying,] ‘Well, they've done it here. They've done it there.’ I'm hoping that we are able to come back to a notion of what's good for Wyoming.”
Though aides for the governor later clarified that his comments were addressing bills in general, they mentioned the “Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act,” HB 199, as an example. That’s a bill that would expand the state’s education savings account program, and whose sponsor, Rep. Ocean Andrew (R-Laramie), cited states like Arizona and Utah as models for what he wants in Wyoming. That measure is currently tied up in a Joint Conference Committee that was appointed to work out differences in amendments between the two bodies.
They also mentioned HB 116, a bill that would void driver’s licences from other states that were issued to undocumented immigrants. That legislation is somewhat similar to a law in Florida, they said. HB 116 is currently sitting on the governor’s desk for his signature or veto.
“What does Wyoming stand for?” Gordon said. “What do Wyoming people expect? You know, if you want to live in Florida, God bless you. Go to Florida.”
Wyoming Freedom Caucus patterns
Given that longtime GOP lawmakers like Rep. Steve Harshman (R-Casper) have been airing worries in recent days that certain bills are “blatantly unconstitutional,” Gordon said he’s “absolutely” concerned that he’ll be using his veto pen more this session than in years past.
He said he hopes the Freedom Caucus, which sometimes votes in a bloc in the House to kill amendments or bills, is using strategies because it’s what their constituents expect and not because someone tells them to.
“[They] have a voting record now,” Gordon said, “and if you're not representing your constituents’ concerns, next year will be a test of whether you actually represented your constituents or whether they think you're a bum.”
When asked if he’d consider running for a third term as governor, Gordon demurred.
“I'm never going to rule anything out,” he said. “I’m focused on the job at hand. Too many of these folks are focused on what the next election cycle looks like.”
Wrapping up
Gordon emphasized that he’s retained the optimism for a productive session that was present in his State of the State address in January, when he bolded and italicized his supplemental budget request to lawmakers.
“If there are people that are disappointed with what the Freedom Caucus has done, I think that they probably will show up [to vote],” he said, speaking a day before Senate leadership announced the chamber wouldn’t pass his proposed supplemental budget bill at all. “I'm confident that the people of Wyoming have their [own] best interests at heart and will continue to move forward.”
“I do believe that people in Wyoming still want to make sure we have strong schools, still want to make sure that the services that we have, like good roads and the ability to plow those roads when there's a winter, [that those continue]. So yes, I am very optimistic in terms of how our budget has gone during this session.”
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
