How do you know we have an election in six months? Senate Democrats are pretending to care about the border. 

After nearly ten million illegal immigrants and enough fentanyl to kill every American several times over have come across the border, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) desperately tried to save face this week by pushing a ‘border bill’ that falls well short of actually securing the southwest border.

It is political theater at its absolute worst. This bill already failed to pass the Senate earlier this year and instead of looking for a real solution, Leader Schumer decided to play games and bring it up on the floor a second time.  

In President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office, he implemented 94 executive actions to undo the successful Trump-era immigration policies, including halting construction of the border wall, to make his open border campaign promises a reality. If weakening the security of the border was not bad enough, President Biden and his fellow Democrats have spent billions in taxpayer dollars creating special programs incentivizing illegal immigration by offering health care, cell phones, prepaid debit cards and housing exclusively for illegal immigrants.

So, it should not come as any surprise that nearly 20 times the population of Wyoming has flooded across the southwest border in President Biden’s three and a half years in office. 

My Republican Senate colleagues and I held a press conference this week calling out Democrats’ hypocrisy on the border and advocating for real solutions to end the invasion.

I know a simple solution that would make a big difference - finish building the border wall.

I joined fellow Wyoming Senator, John Barrasso, in introducing the Build the Wall Act to take leftover COVID-19 funds and reallocate them to finish the border wall.

Utilizing unused pandemic funds to secure the southwest border is a no brainer. 

If President Biden and his fellow Democrats were serious about border security, and not just election year gimmicks, they would pass this commonsense legislation.

Happy Trails,

I celebrated a patriotic weekend in Cheyenne with the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicating a Patriots Marker in honor of the upcoming 250th Anniversary of the United States.

Daughters of the American Revolution keeps the spirit of 1776 alive and well in Wyoming!

Sad to say this week was our last Wyoming Wednesday of the year. I look forward to continuing our weekly coffee and donuts with the delegation next year! 

On February 5, 1944, the Star Valley, named in honor of an Army Air Corp servicemember from Afton who died in a training accident, crashed near the French village of Saint-Leonard-en Beauce. Nine service members died and one was held as a prisoner of war until liberation in 1945. Each May, Saint-Leonard-en Beauce hosts a ceremony honoring the victims of World War II including the crew of the Star Valley.   

I introduced a resolution alongside U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) honoring the crew of the Star Valley who represented our state triumphantly and served our nation with great honor and distinction.   

These men and their families made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our great country and our resolution ensures their memory and unwavering dedication to defending the freedoms we hold so dear lives on.

Access to water is life in Wyoming, and as a rancher I know firsthand how important it is to always be improving our understanding of how we can be good stewards of our natural resources.

I secured language in the Water Resources and Development Act of 2024 (WRDA) to extend authorization for a University of Wyoming (UW) project to expand the network of stations to monitor snowpack and soil moisture throughout the plains areas of the Upper Missouri River Basin. The project will produce critical data to help Wyoming and surrounding states mitigate flooding and better understand how we can manage valuable resources and maximize access to water that ranchers and landowners rely on.

I am proud the University of Wyoming is spearheading the effort to expand upon our base of knowledge and lead us into the future. Seeing Wyoming tax dollars sent to Washington come back and be spent to better our state is truly the best use and a rare departure from the usual wasteful spending in Washington.

This week, Green River Police Department’s (GRPD) own Monique Mead was pinned as Sergeant during a city council meeting by her husband, Brandon, and GRPD Juvenile Detective and Therapy Dog Handler Martha Holzgrafe. 

Sergeant Mead has been with the Green River Police Department for seven and a half years and worn many hats. She currently serves as the field training officer coordinator and commander of the Sweetwater County Bomb Squad.

Congratulations, Sergeant Mead on the promotion and thank you for keeping the Cowboy State safe!