Hard-Right Freedom Caucus Takes Power in Wyoming

As state legislatures around the country prepare to convene next month, Wyoming is wading into uncharted political waters: For the first time anywhere in the country, the hard-right Freedom Caucus has won control of a State House.After ousting a slew of Republican incumbents they viewed as too liberal in a caustic primary, and then galloping to victory in November, members of the ultraconservative caucus hope to cement their meteoric climb to power by passing five priority bills in the first 10 days.Their agenda, known as the Five and Dime Plan, aims to immediately tighten election rules, invalidate drivers’ licenses issued to undocumented immigrants by other states, prohibit college diversity initiatives, prohibit the state from considering environmental concerns when making investment decisions and reduce property taxes.“We’re going to unwoke the state,” Representative Jeremy Haroldson, the next speaker pro tem, said.Members chose Representative Chip Neiman, also of the Freedom Caucus, as House speaker.These are heady days for ultraconservatives in Wyoming and beyond who have zealously challenged establishment Republicans and embraced the Freedom Caucus label.What started in Washington in 2015 as a Congressional bloc, led by provocateurs like Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, has radiated into the states, inspiring similar movements in a dozen legislatures, including in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Idaho and Arizona.

In Texas, the House speaker, Dade Phelan, a more traditional conservative, recently announced that he would forgo another term in leadership, underscoring the movement’s surging statehouse might as President-elect Donald J.Trump prepares to return to power.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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