Wyoming's congressional delegation cheered President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday in a sometimes-raucous chamber where Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was kicked out for jeering and pointing at the president with a cane.
House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the sergeant-at-arms to escort Green out just a few minutes into Trump’s 100-minute speech that ended at 11 p.m. sharp in Washington.
Before Trump took the podium, U.S. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, and a handful of other powerful lawmakers escorted the president into the U.S. House chamber to a standing ovation from Republicans.
Applause and chants of “USA!” rung out from the GOP side of the room, while Democrats, some holding protest signs, sat silently, frowning and cringing.
Trump emphasized secure borders, streamlined government operations, a rebirth of American dominance in heavy industries like automaking and shipbuilding, an oil-centric energy policy, an end to so-called woke policies and more.
He pledged to take back the Panama Canal, possibly annex Greenland and plant the American flag on Mars.
Trump cautioned that his plan for tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China — with more to come for other countries in April — might cause a “little disturbance” to Americans. But he said the tariffs are about “protecting the soul of our country” and correcting decades of unjust trade treatment for the U.S.
“We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on Earth,” the president said.Â
Barrasso said Trump hit the mark, including when the president touched on Republicans’ plan extending $4 trillion worth of tax cuts that date to Trump’s first administration.
Handcuffs Off
“What we heard tonight from President Trump is a commitment to American greatness. We heard about promises made and promises kept,” Barrasso said. “President Trump is keeping his promise to bring back American energy dominance.
“He’s already taken the handcuffs off of affordable, reliable, American energy. He pulled the plug on the Biden electric vehicle mandate. President Trump is keeping his promise to deport criminal illegal aliens and to secure the border. Already the number of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border has plummeted. Our communities are safer.”
Barrasso also voiced support for Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.Â
“President Trump is keeping his promise to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government,” he said. “This is saving American taxpayers billions of dollars. As the Majority Whip and a member of the Senate Finance Committee, I’m working closely with the Trump administration to stop the Democrats’ $4 trillion tax increase. It would be the biggest tax increase ever.”
He said there’s an upswell of optimism in Wyoming for another Trump administration, and that Tuesday’s speech was what the Cowboy State wanted to hear.
“We need to make sure Wyoming families, workers, and job creators are strong,” he said. “I share President Trump’s excitement and optimism about America’s future. America’s Golden Age is just beginning.”
"Lightning Speed"
U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R- Wyoming, said the president outlined the progress he’s already made in the few weeks he’s been in office.Â
“In a little over a month, President Trump has worked at lightning speed to fulfill his promises to the American people of building a safer, stronger, and more prosperous nation,” she said. “Tonight, the people of Wyoming received a message of hope and heard how President Trump is working to restore law, order, accountability and transparency.”
The excitement for Republicans comes from relief after four years of a Biden administration that welcomed illegal immigrants and waged war on Wyoming’s legacy energy industries, Lummis said.
“After four long years of Biden’s record-breaking inflation, wide-open southern border, war on American energy and runaway regulations, President Trump has already eased burdens for Wyoming families, made our communities safer, created a pathway toward American energy independence, and made the federal government accountable to the American people it serves,” she said.
“Under President Trump, the American dream is attainable again, and I will continue working with his administration to create a better life for the people of Wyoming.”
Replicate
Rep. Harriet Hageman, in a Wednesday statement, called on her colleagues to follow the president's lead.
"President Trump laid out his plan to Make America Great Again. He is moving at a breakneck pace to unleash domestic energy, halt the unfettered flow of illegal immigrants and deadly fentanyl coming across our borders, and revive American manufacturing," Hageman said. "Congress must do the same."
