Few people in Wyoming would likely think of U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis as a book editor, but she can now add that title to her resume.
On Wednesday, Lummis and nine other U.S. senators released a book making a case for why former President Donald Trump should be elected to the Oval Office and why it’s important that Republicans take over the Senate.
“We Do Not Consent” was edited by Lummis, who also wrote the forward for each chapter of the 124-page book, which costs $60. Lummis said the title was taken from the section of the Declaration of Independence that states “government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed.”
“Government is not currently exercising its powers justly and we do not consent to be governed like this,” Lummis said.
The purpose of the book is to show how the Democratic Party has “sown the seeds of failure” in America and how Republicans can take America back. Since the 2020 election, Democrats have held a majority in the U.S. Senate and the presidency. Republicans gained back the U.S. House in 2022.
Joining in on the book are U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Rick Scott, R-Florida; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Steve Daines, R-Montana; Mike Lee, R-Utah; Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin; Roger Marshall, R-Kansas; and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who each wrote one of the book’s nine chapters.
“For the most part, they chose their topics and they’re passionate about their topics,” Lummis said. “You got a sense of the senator.”
Lummis said Republican vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance, a senator from Ohio, was supposed to write a chapter of the book, but had to give up that responsibility when he was chosen by Trump to be his VP pick this summer.
‘Trumped-Up Charges’
She said the original inspiration for the book came after Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes after a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records in connection to hush money payments he made during the 2016 presidential election.
She and other Republican senators were so upset by what they saw as “trumped-up charges” they wanted to turn their anger into something tangible. Writing a book exposing President Joe Biden’s “lawlessness” and “lack of respect” for the U.S. Constitution was the main focus, Lummis said.
Lummis said the book allows each senator to focus on domestic issues they’re experts on like the southern border and the illegal trafficking of fentanyl that occurs there, culture wars, the Department of Justice and its prosecutions of Trump, overspending, Biden’s energy policies, the federal response to COVID-19 and vaccine-related injuries.
“What these chapters have in common … is they’re focused on how the Biden-Harris administration has skewed and contorted the roles of the executive branch to produce results that should fall within the confines of the legislative branch of government,” Lummis said. “We have to hold this kind of lawless executive branch behavior in check.”
Shining A Light On Kamala
Lummis said just before they handed the book off to the publisher this summer, Biden stepped down from his presidential campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. This caused them to put a new spotlight on Harris’ policies and handling of immigration in America.
“She completely abrogated her responsibility there,” Lummis. “In fact, everything that she did validated, assented to and promoted the open southern border policy.”
Americans and Wyomingites have consistently said in polls this year that immigration is a top problem facing their country.
In early 2021, Biden gave Harris the task of dealing with the “root causes” of Central American immigration. She helped bring some business investment to the area and warned Hondurans not to come to America, but millions ignored those warnings.
In recent months, the overall number of undocumented migrants has plummeted at the border partly because of an executive order issued by Biden allowing migrants in the U.S. illegally to be deported without processing their asylum requests.
A bipartisan immigration proposal brought earlier this year died after Trump opposed it.
Working on the book was a process that took about five weeks over the course of the summer, Lummis said.
What’s It For?
Lummis said the purpose of the book is to help Trump get reelected and for Republicans to take over a majority in the Senate.
The Democrats hold 48 of the 100-member chamber’s seats, plus have the support of three independent senators who sit with the party’s caucus and align with it on important votes.
Republicans have 49 seats, meaning they only need to gain two in November to regain control. They already have one likely seat gain for departing West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, as a Republican is expected to win the next election there.
An expensive and high-profile race in Montana could be the one to swing the Senate to the Republicans. Incumbent Democrat Sen. Jon Tester is behind in the latest polls there to Republican challenger Tim Sheehy.
Even if Trump loses the election, Lummis said gaining a majority in the Senate would be critical under a Harris presidency.
She also mentioned how members of the Senate also play an important role in confirming federal judges and cabinet positions, which she believes determines the long-term health of the federal judiciary. Being able to turn away some of these candidates and more carefully vet cabinet appointees, Lummis said, would be a big win.
Biden’s Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas is one example Lummis gives for a candidate that should have been rejected.
“We can take a much more aggressive approach to confirming judges that are not adequately prepared to be judges,” she said. “Right now, we’re voting on candidates for the judiciary … who are scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of their preparedness to serve on the judiciary. It’s the worst of the worst.”
All proceeds for the book will go to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which supports Republican Senate candidates.
Lummis plans to release her own book titled “Think For Yourself” in the late fall on transgender issues, groupthink and her passion for cryptocurrency. She’s been working on this project for more than a year.
“It’s been difficult to explain as a senator why bitcoin is so important and why we need to have a statutory framework to regulate digital assets,” she said. “I just tried to use a life story, basically my life story, to explain why bitcoin is so important and digital assets so important in our future, and do it in a way that’s relatable.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
