August 22, 2025 11:38 AM UTC

GOP House Minority Leader Points Fingers After Armagost Resignation

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• by: Colorado Pols

Following yesterday’s momentary drama that culminated in the sudden resignation of the already-outgoing GOP Rep. Ryan Armagost, who was facing a censure resolution after circulating what he considered to be an unflattering photo of a female Democratic lawmaker, GOP House Minority Rose Pugliese is on the defensive and prolonging the already-embarrassing story by disputing the contention of Democratic leadership that she ran cover for Armagost by not disclosing his propriety over the photo in question. Colorado Public Radio’s Bente Birkeland, who has been tasked with sorting out the schoolyard acrimony under the Dome for years, updates the story:

When CPR News originally reported on the Signal chat, Pugliese did not respond to questions about [House Majority Leader Monica] Duran’s claim that she was misled. However, in a statement Thursday night, Pugliese rejected Duran’s description of events.

“Back in April, I informed the Majority Leader about who took the photo and told her I would address the matter with my caucus, which I did, making it clear that the behavior was unacceptable.”

The statement continues: “Unfortunately, it was House Democrat leadership that failed to inform Representative Zokaie. While I had hoped to preserve a bipartisan relationship with the Majority Leader, I cannot remain silent while my integrity is called into question. I have been a steadfast advocate for protecting women throughout my career, and I will not allow my character to be impugned for the sake of political games. My focus remains on working for Colorado women and families.”

In response, House Majority Leader Monica Duran calls Pugliese’s claim bullshit, though obviously in less profane terms:

“Had the Minority Leader told us it was Rep. Armagost in April, we would not have needed to pursue video footage to find out who took the photo, and if she had taken action to address this incident, then we would not have felt the need to pursue a censure. They are more focused on evading responsibility and accountability than taking action to address this clearly inappropriate and unacceptable behavior.”

There’s no reason for Democrats to lie about this relatively small detail, and the timeline of Pugliese’s “unrelated” reminder to the caucus that their chats could be subject to open records requests strongly suggests Pugliese was mindful of Armagost’s behavior as a potential scandal during the legislative session earlier this year. But more importantly, Pugliese gains nothing by disputing this minor point, only ensuring more negative press coverage without making the story materially any better for the House GOP minority.

The reason? Rep. Armagost took the photo, but it took a whole Signal chat of Republicans getting their own cracks in to make this a scandal. At the end of the day, Republican House leadership has much more to answer for here than Ryan Armagost. Pugliese’s hands-off approach to managing her unruly caucus has led to a spate of internal personality conflicts and public-facing embarrassments of which this is just the latest example.

The longer Minority Leader Pugliese keeps talking, the worse it looks for them.