March 27, 2025 11:40 AM UTC

Jeff Hurd Rug Pulls Gabe Evans On "Signalgate"

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the scandal over the use of an unauthorized commercial app by top Trump administration officials to discuss war plans regarding military action against Yemen last week continues to escalate in Washington, Colorado Public Radio’s Caitlyn Kim has gotten all of Colorado’s congressional delegation on the record with two freshman Republican exceptions: Reps. Jeff Crank of Colorado Springs and the state’s most vulnerable congressional incumbent, Gabe Evans.

CPR News…reached out to Republican Reps. Gabe Evans and Jeff Crank for comment, but has received no response.

With Rep. Crank, the silence is perhaps easier to understand, since the consequences of getting cross with embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for Crank in his military-heavy district could outweigh for Crank the moral need to speak up. That’s not a complication that Gabe Evans faces in a district with relatively little military presence–and as of today’s story, Colorado’s third freshman GOP Rep. Jeff Hurd of Grand Junction just made Evans’ silence roar all the more:

Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd said in a statement that he was “concerned that high ranking officials failed to follow proper protocols in handling sensitive national security operations.”

“Lapses in judgment like this put American lives and assets at risk. We must hold our leaders to the highest standards,” he said. [Pols emphasis]

Hurd stopped short of outright calling for the resignation of Hegseth, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, or others who were on this call and either should have known better or may have actually perjured themselves by denying in congressional hearings what subsequent release of the message thread made obvious: classified war plans were indeed discussed on this insecure app while a reporter mistakenly added to the chat watched incredulously. But Hurd’s statement still allows for accountability down the road by holding “leaders to the highest standards,” which were clearly not met in this case.

By once again stepping out of his comfort zone to criticize the Trump administration’s excesses in a district where a Republican primary is potentially the decisive election, Hurd has put his freshman colleague Gabe Evans on the spot. Evans represents one of the most closely divided congressional districts in the country, and would have more to gain politically from putting daylight between himself and Trump and Hurd would. But Gabe Evans has consistently branded himself as a 100% MAGA Trump loyalist since his own primary last year, and since taking office with Trump has defended the administration’s every controversial action.

With his silence on “Signalgate,” Gabe Evans is assuming ownership of the Trump administration’s incompetence too.