June 11, 2025 12:11 PM UTC

Gabe Evans Becomes a Clown

• 9 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Republican Rep. Gabe Evans of Ft. Lupton has gone from State Representative to Member of Congress to a walking punchline over the course of the last 12 months. For all of the career changes Evans has undergone in the last year, he’s going to have a hard time shaking his new clownish reputation.

Here’s how bad things have become for the freshman Congressman: Republican colleagues are now openly crapping on him…

CO Rep Gabe Evans, #CO08, is at House leadership presser today. Majority Leader Steve Scalise had Evans stand next to Speaker Mike Johnson & quipped it’s Take Your Gabe to Work Day. #copolitics

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— Caitlyn Kim (@caitlynkim.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 8:12 AM

Gabe Evans finds himself in such a disreputable position today because of a series of bad choices followed by terrible decisions. After winning election in 2024 by a narrow margin of about 2,500 votes, Evans entered the new session of Congress as perhaps the most endangered Republican incumbent in the country. Rather than making an effort to actually represent the people of the eighth congressional district, Evans went full MAGA by fully owning a Republican budget proposal that would gut Medicaid and SNAP (food stamp) benefits — nevermind that nearly one-quarter of the people in his district rely on these programs just to survive. Evans has also already become notorious for taking unusual steps to ignore his constituents.

But it was his decision late last week to introduce a resolution related to the antisemitic attacks in Boulder that moved him into Lauren Boebert-level territory among his peers. Rather than sign on to a bipartisan resolution condemning the violence in Boulder, Evans introduced a separate resolution that all but ignored the victims and first responders from that attack in favor of grandstanding on calling Colorado a “sanctuary state” and praising President Trump’s aggressive talk on immigration enforcement. Evans used this resolution to continue to spread falsehoods — widely debunked at this point — that Colorado authorities did not contact federal immigration officials about the attacker when he tried in 2024 to purchase a gun and to apply for a concealed carry permit.

The “Evans Resolution” was eventually watered down under pressure from House Republicans, but the text was still littered with errors; it misreported the number of injured and noted that one victim was “reportedly” a Holocaust survivor — something that is not actually in dispute. It is also atypical for a Member of Congress to sponsor a resolution regarding an attack that did not take place in his or her home district. Democratic Congressman Joe Neguse, who represents the Boulder community in Congress, was appropriately apoplectic about Evans’s bloviation during a floor debate on Monday:

NEGUSE: The resolution [Evans] has introduced is riddled with inaccuracies. That’s not a surprise. It’s why it’s important for Members who represent communities that are besieged by tragedies like this one to have the opportunity to introduce that resolution and have it considered on the floor.

Neguse also noted that the “Evans Resolution” makes literally no mention of the Jewish group (Run for Their Lives) targeted in the attack. Nor did the “Evans Resolution” mention the Boulder Police Department, which is curious coming from a guy in Evans who starts most of his public statements with the same opening: As a former police officer…

NEGUSE: The only law enforcement agency that Mr. Evans mentions is ICE — the one agency that was not in Boulder that day. We should have the decency to recognize the Boulder Police Department and the officers that I represent that put their lives on the line seven days ago. It’s the least we can do.

The fact that Evans would try to grab the spotlight about an attack that he seemingly paid little attention was called out by other Members of Congress. This exchange between Evans and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) was particularly cringey:

Goldman noted that there was a rally the day before (Sunday) in which elected officials from across Colorado joined the “Run for Their Lives” group to commemorate the victims. Neguse was in attendance, as were folks such as Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and Attorney General Phil Weiser. Goldman wanted to know if Evans had taken the time to participate, given his enthusiasm for sponsoring a resolution about the attack. Here’s how Evans responded:

EVANS: I unfortunately had other engagements that had been scheduled.

And where was Evans on Sunday? Why, at the swank Four Seasons hotel in Washington D.C., of course. From Punchbowl News:

[House Speaker Mike] Johnson kicked off his summer donor retreat Sunday at the Four Seasons in Georgetown. Today’s schedule includes a fireside chat with Susie Wiles; a panel with James Blair, Stephen Miller and Karoline Leavitt; a discussion about American strength on the world stage with Steve Witkoff; and Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) talking about reconciliation.

On Sunday, Johnson hosted a conversation about defending and growing the majority with GOP Reps. Tom Barrett (Mich.), Nick Begich (Alaska), Rob Bresnahan (Pa.) and Gabe Evans (Colo.) – all of whom flipped blue seats to red. [Pols emphasis]

Oof.

All of this jackassery from Evans caught the attention of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who took the unusual step of lighting into Evans and his resolution during a press availability on Monday. The comments from Jeffries were unique in their ferocity, befitting a man who has lost any respect he might have had — on both sides of the political aisle.

JEFFRIES: Who is this guy? He’s not seriously concerned with combating antisemitism in America. This is not a serious effort. This guy is going to be a one-term Member of Congress. He’s a complete and total embarrassment. [Pols emphasis] He’s not even pretending to be moderate at this point. He’s all in on ripping away healthcare from the American people, and this is a desperate effort to distract.

Why do we know that’s the case? Because every major Jewish organization, including AJC, has come out in opposition to the so-called ‘Evans Resolution.’ Every. Major. Jewish organization. As far as I can tell. These are organizations that are at the forefront of combatting antisemitism in America.

That resolution is an embarrassment. It’s not serious. It’s a joke. And Gabe Evans is a joke. He’s on his way out. He’s done in November of 2026. [Pols emphasis]

Meanwhile, the news back in Colorado keeps getting worse for Evans. New polling data shows widepsread opposition to efforts by Evans to cut Medicaid; 63% of voters in his district say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who cut Medicaid funding. Via Axios Denver:

Republicans like Evans are framing the federal spending proposal as a measure to curb fraud and waste in the federal safety net program — but most voters aren’t buying that, Healthier Colorado CEO Jake Williams said during a Tuesday press call.

That same poll also shows that Evans’ favorability numbers in his district (40%) trail those of President Trump (45%), which should be pretty frightening news for someone hoping to win re-election in 18 months.

If it’s any consolation to Evans, perhaps he can be proud of the sheer speed in which he derailed his own political future. It’s not easy to become a bipartisan punchline after less than six months on the job, but Evans found a way.