Sen. Cynthia Lummis spent Thursday night in Cody, attending Ann Simpson’s funeral before driving to Casper for her own retirement roast. Simpson, wife of the late Sen. Al Simpson, died July 31 at 94 after seven decades of marriage.

Lummis’s Time in Office

Lummis’s week wasn’t over, with the State Fair parade and a Centennial Ranch celebration on Saturday, followed by a trip to Cheyenne and then Jackson on Monday for a digital asset conference. She has been in the closing stretch of a nearly two-decade run in Washington that Lummis is choosing to end.

In an interview with Oil City News ahead of the roast, Lummis talked about her Senate arrival amid the chaos of the January 6 protests, her unfinished fight over the Endangered Species Act, and a presidential pardon she helped secure for a Wyoming diesel mechanic.

Lummis served as Wyoming’s state treasurer before being elected to the U.S. House in 2008. She won her Senate seat in 2020. In December, she announced she would not seek a second term, despite a Trump endorsement in March.

Reflections and Priorities

Lummis is proud of her work on the permanent mineral trust fund, which became the largest source of income for the state’s general fund during her time as treasurer. She also worked on the CLARITY Act, a digital asset market structure bill that is set for a floor vote in September.

Lummis expressed her intention to vote against a proposed cut in property taxes, citing the importance of property taxes as a source of income for schools and counties. She also discussed her efforts to rename the Endangered Species Act the Endangered Species Recovery Act, focusing on recovering species rather than just listing them.

Lummis’s decision not to run for re-election was influenced by her desire to prioritize the passage of the digital asset bill, which has undergone over 100 changes at the request of Democrats. She hopes to leave the Senate with a reputation for bipartisanship, despite the challenges posed by partisan divisions.

Original reporting: Oil City News (Casper WY) — read the source article.