MAY 2, 2025 |
Photo – Wyoming Freedom Caucus logo – Courtesy wyfreedomcaucus.com
In Cheyenne at the legislature, the conservative members of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus say the state budget is loaded with wasteful spending.
Inspired by the federal cost-cutting moves at work in Washington by the Trump Administration to cut overhead and save money, the conservative members of the legislature are aiming to cut costs in Wyoming.
“DOGE-ing Wyoming’s budget” is the battle cry, as lawmakers set out to emulate the cost-cutting goals of the Trump Administration.
Under the microscope are grants to non-profits which appear to be spent on pre-approved purposes.
Democrats, like Karlee Provenza of Albany County, are opposed to the new push.
Conservatives point to the $3,000 grant that the Wyoming Department of Health, which advocated for masks during the COVID freak out five years ago, used for a drag-queen bingo party. The Freedom Caucus described the event as “perverted and scandalous,” denying a grant to this year’s event.
The Department of Health also eliminated a quarter-million dollar grant—$250,000– through the Centers for Disease Control for rural LGBTQ health equity measures, such as testing for sexually transmitted infections (STI) and providing transgender treatment resources. The grant had been administered previously through Wyoming Equality, an organization that bills itself as striving for a more equitable healthcare system in Wyoming by addressing the concerns of what the organization characterizes as LGBTQ+ Wyomingites.
In a story about the budget cuts in the Cowboy State Daily this week, the executive director of Wyoming Equality said the focus of the Freedom Caucus on the organization’s drag show played a role in the Department of Health’s decision to eliminate the grant to the group.
Wyoming State Representative John Bear of Gillette is the chairman of the Freedom Caucus. Under Bear’s leadership, the caucus is watching all state spending closely.
Representative Bear points to the Wyoming State Constitution, specifically, Article 3, Section 36, which states, “No appropriation shall be made for charitable, industrial, educational or benevolent purposes to any person, corporation or community not under the absolute control of the state, nor to any denominational or sectarian institution or association.”
A state agency expending government dollars for a sexually explicit event, such as the Department of Health underwriting a drag show, is arguably a direct violation of state law. Representative Bear argues that the state legislature has a duty to protect and promote the health and morality of people.
“Giving money to these drinking parties violates the Constitution,” Bear said.
Representative Bear is also the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for spending state money.
