Ask U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, and he’ll tell you that one of the best parts of his job is coming home to Wyoming every weekend from Washington, D.C. and meeting with constituents all over the state.
So he was ready for the many comments he received from his constituents during a Memorial Day visit to Cody.
“Folks talk about defunding the police, and opening the border for more and more illegal immigrants to come in,” he said. “People want to make sure that I’m protecting the nation against assaults that are coming from all around.”
The Senator was in Cody on Monday to be the keynote speaker at the Wyoming State Veteran’s Park for the community’s Memorial Day ceremony.
Barrasso said his main focus now is to advocate for the energy industry here in Wyoming.
“You know, the concerns that I have are that right now, today, the United States is using more oil from Russia than we are from Alaska,” he said. “And that’s because of the war going on with this administration over energy…. (President Joe Biden has) attacked our energy jobs, which is the lifeblood of Wyoming, it is our bread and butter.”
The senator said he is also concerned about how foreign powers like Russia and China are flexing their muscles — which is why he said he is advocating for a strong military.
“The ongoing fights with China and their efforts to undermine us and their goal to become the military and the economic and the technological superpower of the world” are of high concern right now, according to Barrasso. “The ongoing threats from (Russian President) Vladimir Putin, who is cunning and opportunistic, and aggressive.”
But mostly, he said, the people of Wyoming are asking him to fight.
“Patriotic Americans, people that love this great nation, and want me to just keep fighting for the people of Wyoming fighting for our country fighting for our freedoms,” Barrasso said. “The values that we in Wyoming were raised with, believe in, and care about, which we hold dear.”
