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Demanding Investigations Into Trump’s Weaponization Against Colorado
What’s happening: Last week, new evidence revealed an email sent by a White House special assistant inviting federal employees from five agencies and offices to a “brainstorm call” to “discuss immediate actions that [their agency] can take with respect to Colorado.” The email was sent just hours before Trump attacked Colorado leadership for not releasing former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters, who was found guilty by a jury of her peers of four state felonies and three misdemeanors related to election interference, from state prison.
What I believe: In the days following the December email, the Trump administration took a series of actions targeting Colorado. It cut grant funding; denied two requests for disaster relief related to the Lee and Elk fires and flooding in Southwest Colorado; threatened SNAP benefits for more than 100,000 Colorado families; sought to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder; and Trump himself vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have completed the long-promised Arkansas Valley Conduit and delivered clean drinking water to 50,000 Coloradans. These politically motivated attacks not only put real lives at risk, but strike at the core of democracy and our Constitution’s federal architecture.
What I’m doing: On Thursday, I called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to launch immediate Senate investigations into the Trump administration’s use of federal agencies, grants, and personnel to carry out the president’s political vendetta against Colorado. I’ll continue to demand answers, transparency, and accountability for how the federal government was used to target Coloradans.
2. Continuing to Fight Trump’s Unscientific Childhood Vaccine Executive Order
What’s happening: Last week, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal health agencies to overhaul longstanding childhood vaccine recommendations and encourage states to reconsider school immunization requirements. This comes at a moment when the United States is experiencing the highest surge in measles cases in thirty-five years and an increasing number of states are forced to declare public health emergencies.
What I believe: The health and safety of America’s children must not be sacrificed for political theater and ideology. American children and their families deserve robust evidence-based immunization recommendations that are rooted in science. The administration’s politicization of vaccines makes American families less safe, threatens to return the U.S. to an era before routine vaccination prevented millions of infections, and is already resulting in unnecessary suffering and preventable deaths, particularly among children.
What I’m doing: On Monday, together with Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Representative Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), I led 88 colleagues to demand that Trump rescind this harmful executive order. Our country's focus should be keeping our children safe and our schools open, not creating chaos and confusion.
3. Calling on GEO to Comply with Public Health Orders
What’s happening: This week, the GEO Group failed to comply with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) August 17 deadline asking them to hand over information related to a confirmed tuberculosis case at the Aurora Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility. GEO also failed to comply with the Adams County Health Department’s (ACHD) order that was issued on June 25, raising concerns that state and local public health officials have been unable to investigate potential exposures and ensure the health and well-being of Coloradans.
What I believe: GEO is refusing to give Colorado public health officials the information they need to determine whether people at this facility have been properly tested and treated for tuberculosis. That is unacceptable. Colorado has issued public health orders, and GEO has not complied. There is no room for secrecy or stonewalling when it comes to tuberculosis. GEO needs to provide the transparency necessary to protect public health.
What I’m doing: On Wednesday, Representative Crow and I led Colorado Congressional Delegation Democrats to call on the GEO Group to comply with public health orders issued by the ACHD and CDPHE related to an active tuberculosis case at the ICE detention facility in Aurora. My team and I have been incessantly requesting information, conducting oversight visits, and working in coordination with local public health officials on this concerning issue. I will not stop until I am sure that detainees, facility staff, and the greater community are protected.
4. Fighting Against Rescission of Key Energy Leasing and Public Lands Protections
What’s happening: Recently, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed rolling back two key oil and gas rules. These rules protect local communities from abandoned wells and dangerous pollution. The rescission of these rules would reduce domestic energy supply, expose nearby communities to avoidable health risks, harm public lands and private landowners, reduce community and Tribal input, and waste publicly owned natural gas, costing Americans tens of millions in foregone revenue and well cleanup costs.
What I believe: The BLM’s newly proposed rules threaten to dismantle common-sense progress for oil and gas drilling that is overwhelmingly supported by Westerners. I am deeply concerned these proposed rescissions shift cleanup liabilities back to the public, restrict community and private landowner participation, and distort the balance required to manage America’s public lands responsibly across multiple uses. BLM oil and gas resources belong to the American public, and they deserve to benefit from the full value of responsible resource stewardship. I urge the BLM to reject these proposed rescissions.
What I’m doing: On Wednesday, Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and I led 41 colleagues to oppose the recent rescissions of these two key BLM oil and gas rules on leasing and waste prevention. I have been a constant advocate for making oil and gas development safer, more fiscally responsible, and responsive to the American people. I will continue to champion these reforms.
5. IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK
- I was glad to see Teamsters Local 455 and Cargill reach an agreement that will allow 1,700 Colorado workers to return to work with better pay and benefits. This has been a difficult period for workers, their families, and the entire Fort Morgan community. I’m proud to stand with the employees as they finalize this agreement and work to restore stability for the community without further delay.
- This August marks six years since the Cameron Peak Fire, the largest wildfire in our state's history. As Colorado faces another relentless fire season, I will continue pressing the Trump administration to strengthen wildfire preparedness efforts and equip firefighters to respond to the unprecedented risks facing our communities.
- I recently co-sponsored the Women Add Resourcefulness and Resilience to Improve Operational Readiness (WARRIOR) Act, legislation that will ensure those who answer the call to service are judged on performance and ability, not regressive gender biases that question the critical role of women in the Armed Forces. Our military’s strength is rooted in the selfless sacrifice and bravery of all troops in all roles. To ensure that our Armed Forces maintain readiness and effectiveness, decisions on qualification must be based on gender-neutral and scientifically-based standards, not sexist partisanship.
- This week, I led a letter with Representatives Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth urging him to reconsider reported Department of Defense (DoD) plans to reduce contributions to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations in Europe. NATO is the most successful defensive military alliance in history, and the DoD’s planned reduction risks undermining allied security and emboldening Russia at a particularly dangerous moment for trans-Atlantic security. Now is the time to recommit to this alliance – not to pull back and create vulnerabilities that risk implicating the United States.
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