A controversial bill making its way through the Colorado state legislature seeks to shift $4 million in taxpayer funds to Governor Jared Polis’ office to fight the Trump administration. The move has sparked concern and criticism from conservatives, who see the plan as fiscally irresponsible and politically motivated.
Democrats argue the money is necessary to protect Colorado from what they call “federal overreach.” Rep. Shannon Bird defended the move, saying, “The governor is the chief executive of our state. We expect that the governor will be leading any response that this state has to federal overreach and arbitrary decisions to withhold Colorado’s taxpayer dollars.”
The $4 million—originally set aside to match federal dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—would now be used to fund lawsuits and administrative actions against the federal government. Bird claimed the legislature has the authority to reallocate those funds, stating, “So this money is legally available to be used to defend the people of Colorado.”
House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese blasted the plan to fight Trump, pointing out that Democrats are trying to spend millions fighting the federal government “without taking responsibility for the bills that we have passed in this building that are adverse to the federal government.” She added, “This fund has never been established before.”
Pugliese also questioned the choice to route the money to the Governor’s Office rather than the Attorney General’s Office, raising transparency concerns. “It does seem very much like a shell game,” she said.
The Polis administration responded by framing the effort as necessary due to perceived financial imbalance with Washington. “About only 90 cents comes back for every dollar Coloradans pay into the federal government,” a spokesperson said, justifying the need to “properly defend the free state of Colorado.”
The bill still needs one more vote in the House before moving to the Senate, where Republican lawmakers hope to rein in what they see as a misuse of state funds for political posturing.
