EVANSTON — On Friday, March 14, U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman hosted an audience of a couple of hundred attendees during a Town Hall forum at the Portland Rose room at the Evanston Roundhouse.

“This is my 71st town hall in three years,” Hageman said to a reception of applause. “I like doing town halls for a couple of reasons. One, in a constitutional republic, like we have, I’m answerable to you. I work for you, and this is the best way for me to come back and talk to a big group of people, tell you what I’ve been doing on your behalf what I’m doing back in Washington, D.C.”

Hageman began her update with the Laken Riley Act — a January 2025 law that requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal immigrants that have admitted to, have been charged with or convicted of a serious crime.

“I was extremely honored to be in the White House the day that the president signed the Laken Riley Act into law,” she said.

Hageman then segued into her sponsorship of the House budget resolution from late February.

“This instructs Congress to enact at least $1.5 trillion dollars in mandatory savings, provide up to $300 billion dollars for border security, prevent $4.5 trillion dollars in tax hikes and extend the debt limit by $4 trillion dollars.” She then explained “budget reconciliation,” in essence because the Republican party currently holds the presidency, the House and the Senate, that implementing priority spending only requires 50 votes in the Senate rather than the standard 60. 

Hageman also voted in favor of the Continuing Resolutions Act, “which extends funding through the end of the fiscal year,” she said. 

“It is going to the president’s desk so the government will not be shut down, and we will be able to fund the government for the next six months” she said of the resolution. “With the inflationary situation we’re in, it ultimately cuts spending.”

“We have reduced non-defense spending,” she said before explaining that the rearranging of funding will provide junior-enlisted men and women a pay increase.

Hageman briefly touched on “alien detention and removal” with the appropriation of $485 million, funding rescinded from a $30 billion dollar “slush fund,” she said.

The Congressional Review Act, Hageman explained, is “when there are regulations that are adopted by the executive branch it allows the legislative branch to try to undo them...Article One [of the Constitution] governs Congress and it specifically states ‘we are the legislative body, we are the lawmaking body.’”

“Over time, however, by the creation of administrative agencies, and by giving massive amount of power to the executive branch, the legislative branch has really abdicated its responsibility for legislating and allowed the unelected bureaucrats in the agencies to take over and adopt massive regulations,” she said. 

Hageman said that she will chair the Article One task force to “take power back from the legislative branch.”

“I introduced what’s called the First Amendment Accountability Act to hold government officials accountable for violation of all of our first-amendment secured liberties.” Hageman then reminded attendees of the upcoming fifth anniversary of the COVID pandemic lock-down. “Our government was absolutely vociferous in violating our first amendment rights,” she said.

“This would allow you to bring a private cause of action against a federal employee if they violate your first amendment rights, you can seek damages, you can seek an injunction, you can seek attorney’s fees,” she said. “If you can’t speak, it almost erases every other right that you have.”

“I continue to fight hard against the Rock Springs RMP, and the Buffalo RMP ... and the BLM and the Department of Interior will be revamping both of those ... which I think is a huge win not only for the state of Wyoming but for the United States of America,” Hageman said.

“There’s been a real effort to take away Wyoming’s...a lot of our postal services,” she said, appearing to disagree with the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) current plans to significantly reduce the United States Postal Service (USPS) workforce.

“The two states that would be the hardest with this are Wyoming and South Dakota because of our small populations, so I’ve been pushing back against the US postal service ... they are going to preserve our processing and distribution in Casper and Cheyenne ... and investing substantial amounts of money into those facilities.”

Engaging in a quick poll among attendees, Hageman questioned “Does anybody in this room believe that it’s OK for the federal government to spend $2 million dollars on sex-change surgeries in Guatemala? Raise your hands.”

The dialogue was met to the sounds of booing. 

“How about $22 million on tourism in Tunisia and Egypt?” 

“How about $520 million dollars to pay consultants to teach individuals in Africa about climate change?”

“How about $500,000 to advance atheism in Nepal? I’ve got lists of this. These are some of the ways USAID (United States Agency for International Development) was spending our money,” she said.

Hageman used the opportunity to segue into the DOGE.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there about what DOGE is doing, what the power is, and what they’re looking into,” Hageman said. “I was one of 70 people in the House of Representatives that voted to abolish USAID, because I knew what it was doing — it was promoting an ideology that was so toxic.”

She said that citizens from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Austria recently visited her in Washington, D.C. to say, “What your country has done to our country by exporting and by paying for these kinds of grants and programs has been incredibly destructive to our culture... Please, please stop doing what you’re doing.”

“We are cutting what needs to be cut,” citing that 83% of USAID’s funding has been cut with the leftover 17% having been rolled into the “good programs at the state department. That is the kind of work that is being done by DOGE.”

“DOGE was established by the president as an office within the executive office,” she said. “Elon Musk has a top-secret security clearance which was provided to him by the Biden administration and he’s an employee of the White House and is classified as a ‘special government employee,” which is a category which was created by Congress long before Elon Musk came along.”

According to Hageman, Amy Gleason, not Musk, is the head of DOGE.

“DOGE reports that its current savings are $105 billion dollars,” Hageman said. “This is about the closest thing we’re going to get in the federal government to zero-based budgeting.”

After opening the event up for questions, an attendee spoke to Hageman about concerns surrounding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

“ATF goes in on a no-knock at 2 o’clock in the morning over a paperwork issue and they murdered that man,” the attendee said of an incident in Little Rock, Arkansas, in March 2024. Airport director Bryan Malinowski was shot and killed during the incident.

“One of the things we’re looking at is abolishing the ATF and rolling it into the Department of Justice (DOJ),” Hageman said to a reception of applause. “It was a tragedy beyond all tragedies… It was a disgusting display of federal and government overreach and tyranny.”

Catherine DeVries of Evanston offered commentary on the USAID cuts.

“I have spent the last 35 years working overseas in many different countries ... where there are natural disasters. In many places where there was the Ebola outbreak ... these and many other programs keep some of these problems out of the United States. This kind of diplomacy and action — I happen to be a surgeon — we teach and work with our colleagues outside of the United States...”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about in Guatemala,” DeVries continued. “I have worked in Honduras, and what you’re saying doesn’t correspond with anything I’ve seen there. I will say what we have done, as Americans, wonderful good in many, many countries and they are grateful for it ... and we also keep things we don’t want in the United States out.”

“They’ve [DOGE] identified that 17% of those programs they ought to continue and are probably the programs that you’re talking about,” Hageman replied. “They turn into cesspools that I’ve just described,” while contending that those funds are better spent in the U.S. for veterans.

Retired attorney Tim Beppler, who practiced law in Wyoming for nearly 50 years, pointedly asked Hageman about the Rules of Professional Responsibility as attorneys.

“One of those rules says that it is unethical for us to engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice,” Beppler said. “We swore to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law.” 

Beppler voiced concerns about recent comments made by Pres. Donald Trump, Musk and members of Congress about “the impeachment of federal judges who have issued rulings restraining the actions of the current administration and attacked law firms because of the clients they represent... “Can we agree that these statements should be condemned as an attempt to intimidate judges and lawyers which undermines our legal system and the rule of law?”

“I have not made those statements,” Hageman said. “The level of lawfare engaged in in this country has so dramatically undermined our legal system.” She said everyone should adhere to the rule of law and follow the Constitution.

“I’ll take that as an answer of ‘no,’” Beppler replied.

Evanston resident Kathy Cook addressed Hageman next.

“As you have stated that Wyoming is home to over 40,000 veterans and that advocating for them will always be your top priority,” Cook said before asking about Musk and DOGE’s cuts to Veterans Affairs services. Cook also requested support to save the historic Wyoming State Hospital buildings in Evanston in order to be repurposed into veterans housing.

“DOGE is not cutting veterans’ benefits,” Hageman said. “We need to prioritize our spending ... using those limited resources in the most effective way possible and for the benefit of the people of this country first.”

Cris Hopkin of Evanston asked Hageman, “What is going on in Washington to secure our elections so we have a voice?”

“We don’t want to federalize our elections,” Hageman said. “Election issues need to be decided at the state level,” acknowledging four pending election bills currently on Governor Mark Gordon’s desk.

“I am a cosponsor ... on a bill that would require proof of citizenship and proof of ID; those are two of the primary issues that are critical to election integrity,” she said.

“Can Congress do anything to secure our federal lands, because if it’s going to be given to the states, it’s going to be sold. We’re going to lose a lot of access [if it’s given to states],” asked an attendee.

“We need to do a better job managing on the ground,” Hageman replied while blaming overregulation in Washington, D.C. “That includes better forest management, that includes more logging; that includes more resource management.”

Another attendee stated, “I’m tired of the judges legislating laws and telling us it doesn’t matter what the executive branch does, it doesn’t matter what legislative branch does, ‘we’re going to tell you how to live your life.’  Your job was to interpret the Constitution, not make laws.”

“It has fundamentally jarred people’s respect for the judiciary,” Hageman said. “… With this level of lawfare we’re going through to try to stop Donald Trump and him moving forward with his agenda is actually this idea that really the executive branch, the executive agencies really don’t even answer to the president — you want to talk about anarchy? You want to talk about tyranny? That’s insanity ... it has really undermined our judiciary.”

“What’s the future of social security going to be?” an attendee inquired.

“I’m going to tell you three of our biggest entitlement programs are Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security... We’re going to have to go in ... and the amount of waste, fraud and abuse is absolutely off the charts with those particular programs,” Hageman said.

A man stood and voiced concerns about the downsizing workplace safety protocol resources, namely Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA).

Initially, Hageman placed blame on former Pres. Joe Biden’s administration.

“It was with DOGE,” the man countered, clarifying under which administration his local MSHA office shut down. “It was last week. This is a big mining community,” he said.

“We’ll check into it,” Hageman said. “I absolutely believe in safety for our miners.”

Mike Slaughter of Evanston posed the last question of the evening.

“I’m concerned with what Musk indicated that ... they’re going to force everyone to [use] online services,” rather than the phone system, Slaughter said about his growing concerns about Social Security benefits and the ongoing upheaval with the USPS. “We can’t afford to lose those services in this state.”

Hageman replied that the in-office occupancy of workers in Washington D.C. is 11%.

“We gotta get people back to work, but we have to be smart in terms of our government and making sure we’re providing the services our people need,” she aid. “… We need to be bringing power back to the people in the state of Wyoming,” acknowledging notable elected officials in the audience.

“You have people in this room who represent you, who represent your interest, who represent this community they are the ones who should also be making the most important decisions about your lives not somebody back in D.C. who doesn’t care about answering your question,” Hageman said. “I believe that a government that is closest to the people is going to be the most effective, the most responsive, and the most cost-effective that we can possibly have.”