Casper Legislator Back On House Floor After Open Heart Surgery

State Rep. J.R. Riggins, R-Casper, was able to slip back into his chair in the Wyoming House on Thursday without almost anyone noticing at first.

Riggins, a freshman lawmaker, was one week into his first session when a doctor’s appointment Jan. 20 revealed a serious heart blockage that required immediate surgery.

On Thursday, Riggins finally returned to the Capitol after recovering from his triple bypass surgery, having missed more than a month of action in the 2025 legislative session. The Wyoming legislative sessions is one of the shortest in the country, only allowed to meet for 40 days during non-budget years, and typically only meeting for 37.

“Mr. Riggins, you are a sight for sore eyes, how did you sneak in here without any of us seeing you?” asked House Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett. 

Neiman then proceeded to put the spotlight on him.

Riggins gave a shout out to the medical team that helped him through his operation, and Neiman told him how thankful he is to have Riggins back, telling the lawmaker he “left a hole when you were not here.”

The House officially recognized Riggins shortly after, giving him a standing ovation.

Riggins told Cowboy State Daily he found all the attention “embarrassing.”

Missing In Action

Riggins was thrown into an unusual position on Thursday, having to vote on bills on their final reading that he had barely seen or heard of before.

After an attempt at angioplasty about one week into the legislative session, Riggins was told while awake on the table by his cardiologist that the blockage required open heart surgery. 

Riggins said the triple bypass went “really well” for all intents and purposes. 

He was hospitalized for four days before being sent home. 

“You still feel that cut and you don’t know how much you’re exerting,” he said

Riggins said the week before his surgery he attended committee meetings by Zoom and continued to watch committee meetings as much as he could.

Although he tried to stay up to date with what was going on in the Legislature during his recovery, Riggins said it was no easy task to spend hours on end staring at his computer.

“You watch what you can of the session,” he said.

During his recovery, Riggins wasn’t even allowed to lift a gallon of milk for three weeks. Sleeping through the night was nearly impossible at first, often waking up to a painful cough.

“When you’re sleeping and you have a hard one (cough), that’s what gets you because you’re not ready for it,” Riggins said. “Man, it hurts like hell.”

He said it will take nearly a year to make a 100% recovery. 

But after engaging in physical therapy about a week ago and advised to walk as much as possible, Riggins decided to come back to the Capitol. 

He’s truly jumping into the thick of the action, with only a week left and some of the most important bills of the session reaching a critical juncture before they’re sent to the governor’s desk or rejected.

On Thursday, he was fired up about Senate File 132, legislation prohibiting the use and operation of unmanned aircraft systems over critical infrastructure and critical systems. The bill passed 50-9, but Riggins voted with most of the Democrats against it.

“We didn’t define what proximity is, we’re just leaving all that up to anybody who complains,” he said. “I just think it’s poorly thought out.”

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.