Hageman to host town hall tonight

Attendees can expect a packed venue, protesters both inside and out, and a large police presence. As other Republicans hide from the spotlight, Wyoming’s lone representative has faced the crowds.

U.S. Congresswoman-elect Harriet Hageman speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona. Hageman is scheduled to appear at a town hall in Laramie this evening. // Photo: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia

Laramigos across the political spectrum plan to attend Representative Harriet Hageman’s town hall tonight in Laramie, gathering to witness, support or protest Wyoming’s only representative in the U.S. House.

The town hall comes amid a tense time.

The Trump Administration Hageman supports has been gutting federal agencies, including those that employ Wyomingites, and targeting both research funding and diversity programs at colleges across the country. These efforts are already impacting the University of Wyoming’s Laramie campus.

The town hall runs from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Laramie Plains Civic Center’s Phoenix Ballroom. The venue is reporting there will be a significant law enforcement presence with officers from multiple agencies, and that building tenants and visitors should expect traffic alterations and sizable crowds.

Hageman is scheduled to recap what she’s been working on in Washington, D.C., before opening up a Q-and-A session with the public. She’s likely to field questions about the federal cuts and layoffs and a host of other policies being enacted by national Republicans.

Albany County Democrats Chair Klaus Halbsgut is hoping to get Hageman “on the record” about everything from the Trump Administration’s recent, and legally murky, deportations to the tariffs Trump has placed on traditional U.S. allies like Canada.

“Health care, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, all of these things — there’s so much to choose from,” Halbsgut said. “We’re only given an hour, and so we need to have our questions concise, presentable, and we need to have an answer.”

Hageman has already hosted other town halls across Wyoming, including in Afton, Rock Springs and Evanston. Following her appearance in Baggs last night and her scheduled appearance in Laramie tonight, Hageman is set to visit Wheatland, Cheyenne and Torrington by the end of the week.

In her tour of the Equality State, the congresswoman is defying the advice of her party’s leaders, who have urged House Republicans to eschew such town halls and avoid the (potentially viral) anger of constituents.

In Rock Springs, facing jeers alongside the cheers, Hageman called Wyoming Democratic Party Chairman Joe Barbuto to the podium, hoping he would quell his party’s more disruptive audience members.

“I came here to talk to people about what is going on; I came here to give a summary of what I’m doing,” she said. “All I’m asking is that I have the same respect that I would give you.”

In a video captured by Sweetwater NOW that’s been making the rounds on social media, Barbuto responds: “The miscalculation I think you’re making is the people upset with you here are only Democrats. That’s not true.”

The party Barbuto helms has been encouraging Wyoming residents to attend these town halls and demand answers regarding Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the funding and staffing cuts both Trump and Musk are attempting, whether social safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP are in danger, and more.

“Wyoming deserves straight answers,” the party’s official Facebook account states in a Monday post. “Bring your questions. Bring your voice.”

During a town hall in Afton Thursday, Hageman defended DOGE.

In Laramie, Democrats are gathering at the Albany County Courthouse around 4 p.m., with plans to march to the civic center 30-45 minutes later. Halbsgut said there will be peaceful demonstrations and speeches from local leaders.

“This is open to Democrats, Republicans, independents, non-registered people,” he said. “This is a community event. Just because the Dems are putting it on doesn’t mean it’s exclusionary. Everybody’s welcome.”

At the civic center, Halbsgut said he’s hoping members of the public maintain a level of decorum.

“I want this to be a peaceful, respectful gathering, because I want us to ask as many questions as we can and get Representative Hageman on the record,” Halbsgut said. “She needs to know what her constituents are thinking, and we need to know what she’s thinking.”

Halbsgut said he disagrees with Hageman about nearly every issue of importance. But given that Hageman is actually showing up, the local party chair said he’d give her some kudos.

“She is unusual with our elected representation here in this state; she is actually willing to come to communities and put herself out there,” Halbsgut said. “If Albany County does well, maybe this will be an inspiration to get Senator [John] Barrasso and Senator [Cynthia] Lummis to maybe do the same thing. I may be a fool for wishing that, and I probably am, but I would love for it to be something that gets noticed and puts Albany County on the map as a respectful community.”

The Albany County Republicans are planning to show up as well, looking to demonstrate their support for Hageman and for the actions of the Trump Administration.

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