Current Role:
**Senate Majority Whip (Republican), United States Senate, 2025–present; Senior United States Senator from Wyoming, 2007–present**
Previous roles:
**Chair, Senate Republican Conference, 2018–2025**
**Wyoming State Senate, District 27, 2003–2007 (Chair, Transportation and Highways Committee)**
**Private orthopedic surgeon, Casper, Wyoming, 1983–2007**
Education:
**B.S. Biology, Georgetown University, 1974**
**M.D., Georgetown University School of Medicine, 1978**
**Orthopedic residency, Yale University, completed 1983**
Background:
**Born July 21, 1952, Reading, Pennsylvania**
**Third-generation Italian-American; raised in Reading, PA; son of Louise M. (née DeCisco) and John Anthony Barrasso Jr.**
**Attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute before transferring to Georgetown**
Career:
**Board-certified orthopedic surgeon in Casper, Wyoming (1983–2007)**
**President, Wyoming Medical Society**
**Chief of Staff, Wyoming Medical Center**
**Rodeo physician and volunteer team physician for local schools and colleges**
Political positions:
**Republican Party**
**Supports limited government, lower taxes, reduced spending, traditional family values, local control, and strong national defense**
**Pro-life, opposes federal funding for abortion, supports gun rights, and advocates for deregulation of energy and environmental policy**
**Initially questioned climate change consensus; later acknowledged human contribution**
Legislative achievements:
**Co-sponsored energy infrastructure and permitting reforms**
**Introduced legislation to limit EPA regulatory powers and require federal agencies to follow state water law**
**Sponsored bills affecting energy, public lands, and natural resource management**
**Instrumental in blocking the Affordable Care Act and participated in drafting its repeal attempts**
Controversies:
**Shifted from pro-choice to pro-life after 1996 Senate primary loss**
**Received significant campaign contributions from oil and gas industries**
**Criticized for opposition to climate policies and for statements about the Green New Deal and livestock**
**Opposed the FIRST STEP Act and expanded gun background checks**
Biography (100 words):
John Barrasso, born July 21, 1952, in Reading, Pennsylvania, has served as the senior U.S. Senator from Wyoming since 2007 and became Senate majority whip in 2025. A board-certified orthopedic surgeon, Barrasso practiced medicine for 24 years in Casper before entering politics. He served in the Wyoming State Senate from 2003 to 2007 and has chaired key Senate Republican leadership posts, including the Senate Republican Conference. Known for his conservative positions on energy, health care, and social issues, Barrasso has shaped significant national legislation and remains a prominent Republican voice on energy, environment, and Western policy issues.