Colorado Dems are 'poking the bear' by defying Trump's orders, GOP lawmaker warns
A Republican lawmaker has warned that Democrats in Colorado’s state legislature could face the ire of the Trump administration if a series of controversial bills passed Sunday — including one labeling parental misgendering during custody battles as "coercive control" — are signed into law.
"It really does feel like we're poking the bear," state Rep. Jarvis Caldwell told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Colorado enacted legislation to expand health care access to illegal immigrants this year, "as well as housing and food and education for illegal immigrants, which is in direct violation of some of the orders that have come from President Trump," according to Caldwell.
"And then the transgender issue, we're pushing this further than we ever have before on children in the state of Colorado, and that directly goes in violation of what President Trump is looking at."
As such, Caldwell said "it's a very real possibility" that some of the state's programs could be at risk of losing federal funding, adding the Centennial State will "pay the consequences for it, and Democrats will be responsible."
"Health is a big one with Medicaid, a big portion of that is federal funds, and then education as well," Caldwell said. "And so we are passing bills, especially on the illegal immigrant issue, that directly involve these issues. And so I think that's going to be something that's on President Trump's radar."
The Colorado Democratic House majority barreled through four controversial gender and abortion bills on Sunday — which one Republican lawmaker described as a day for "family and prayer," curtailing floor debate in an "unprecedented" floor procedural tactic.
The bills that were passed include SB25-183, which requires taxpayers to fund abortion services; HB25-1309, mandating insurers cover transgender procedures regardless of age; HB25-1312, which imposes state-mandated gender policies on schools and considers it "coercive control" in child custody cases when a parent does not affirm a child's gender identity or "deadnames" them; and SB25-129, which prohibits cooperation with out-of-state investigations on transgender procedures and abortion services.
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State House Majority Democratic Leader Monica Duran told Fox News Digital previously that the four bills were debated on the floor for more than 12 hours last week. Duran also invoked a procedural rule that limited debate to two hours last Friday.
But Caldwell said under 24 hours is nothing compared to the Democrat majority's 12 months they spent on several of the bills.
"They had an entire year to coordinate testimony, and we had less than 24 hours," Caldwell said. "And then when it went to the final vote, we're each supposed to get 10 minutes for debate, and they completely cut off any and all debate."
The Republican minority also failed to get any of their amendments passed. For HB 1309, which would mandate insurers cover the cost of transgender procedures regardless of age, Republicans introduced an amendment to exclude minors from it.
"Because some of the coverage is genital surgical procedures, it's hormone therapy, it's facial reconstruction, and then breast reductions and chest augmentation," Caldwell said. "And so now your health care plan, even if you disagree with this, you're going to be paying a higher premium most likely to cover the cost, in my opinion, to genitally mutilate children."
SB25-183 and SB25-129 are headed to the governor's desk for signature, while the other House bills now go to the Senate for consideration.
It's not unlikely that Trump could target Colorado Democrats.
Earlier this year, Trump signed several executive orders aimed at eliminating "radical gender ideology," and he’s already moved to slash some federal funds in Maine after Gov. Janet Mills refused to enforce Trump's ban on biological males competing in women's sports. Mills lobbed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday over the frozen funds.
In January, Trump signed the "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" executive order, which defines two sexes: male and female. The order prohibits "chemical and surgical mutilation" of minors to include puberty blockers, hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, and sex-change surgeries. It also bars institutions receiving federal grants from providing such services and allows healthcare providers to refuse services based on gender identity.
Trump also signed an executive order requiring military personnel to serve according to their biological sex.