Some politicians seem to have an innate gift for making absolute fools of themselves. Congressman Jeff “Bread Sandwich” Hurd (R-Grand Junction) appears to be just that kind of politician.
Hurd has somehow found a new way to make a complete ass of himself when it comes to the widely-despised “big, beautiful, bullshit bill” currently being discussed in the U.S. Senate.
Again.
When Hurd was running for Congress in the third congressional district in 2024, he campaigned in part on a pledge to be a champion for rural health care in Colorado. That promise did not age well.
In mid-April, Hurd was one of a dozen Republicans in the House of Representatives who signed on to a letter claiming that they would never vote in favor of legislation that proposed deep cuts to Medicaid. One month later — and presumably after a pressure campaign from other Republicans — Hurd started openly talking about how he was now totally cool with making big cuts to Medicaid. Two weeks after that, Hurd indeed voted ‘YES’ on a Republican bill that would decimate Medicaid funding — which is basically the exact opposite of the thing he had promised when he was campaigning for the open seat in CO-03 last year.
Hurd now represents a congressional district that includes the single largest percentage (31%) of Medicaid recipients in Colorado. While a full third of the residents of CO-03 are at risk of losing health care access, that’s only the beginning of the hurt coming to Western and Southern Colorado. Medicaid cuts in the Trump/GOP bill will almost certainly result in the closure of rural hospitals throughout Hurd’s district; even if you still have health insurance, you might not have anywhere to go in which to use it.
So how is Hurd reconciling his vote to destroy the very thing he promised to protect for rural Coloradans? He signed his name to another letter opposing significant Medicaid cuts in the Senate version of the same bill he already supported:
DCCC spokesman Justin Chermol responds: “Spare us the performative bullshit. These so-called moderates already voted for the largest cut to Medicaid in American history – and when the time comes, they’ll cave to their DC party bosses once again to give their billionaire donors a massive tax break.”
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur.bsky.social) June 24, 2025 at 10:52 AM
The letter signed by Hurd is beyond ridiculous. Look at this language:
As Members of Congress who helped secure a Republican majority, we believe it is essential that the final reconciliation bill reflects the priority of our constituents — most importantly, the critical need to protect Medicaid and the hospitals that serve our communities…
Whaaaaaa??? You literally voted to gut Medicaid less than one month ago.
The letter concludes with the same ridiculous threat that Hurd made in mid-April:
Protecting Medicaid is essential for the vulnerable communities we were elected to represent. Therefore, we cannot support a final bill that threatens access to coverage or jeopardizes the stability of our hospitals and providers.
Yeah, right. Here’s the first paragraph of the letter that Hurd also signed back on April 14:
As Members of Congress who helped to deliver a Republican Majority, many of us representing districts with high rates of constituents who depend on Medicaid, we would like to reiterate ourstrong support for this program that ensures our constituents have reliable healthcare. Balancing the federal budget must not come at the expense of those who depend on these benefits for their health and economic security.
Does Hurd think that media outlets and voters will just forget that he already said this once before? Is the goal to pretend to blame the Senate for the very thing he already supported himself?
Hurd isn’t the only Colorado Republicans asking the Senate for a do-over on this legislation — Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Ft. Lupton) made a public plea for the Senate to strip a provision that he also voted for that would make significant cuts to clean energy programs that are popular in the eighth congressional district.
The lesson here, once again, is that Colorado Republicans are not serious people interested in serving the people of their district. Hurd can sign all the letters in the world threatening to withhold his support for one thing or another, but his actions betray his words.
At the end of the day, politicians like Hurd and Evans are always going to be a rubber stamp for President Trump and Republican leadership, constituents be damned.
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Of course, it's one thing if Pols participants know about this stuff, but quite another if CD3 residents are aware. So, my curiosity led me to quickly look through a few news sites in Grand Junction, Vail, Aspen, and Pueblo, and I do think this issue is getting coverage even if I'd like a bit more push-back and follow-through on Hurd's canned statements.
From GJ Daily Sentinel May 8:
From Pueblo Chieftain, April 23:
So, my push-back question #1 is – "work requirements might sound good to some folks, but aren't unemployed people often the ones who need help with health care the most?" My question #2 – "sure, it's maybe logical to go after waste, fraud, and abuse, but the bill that you voted for would've cut miles beyond any possible waste, fraud and abuse out there – so aren't you talking about the tip of the iceberg but obscuring the rest of the iceberg?"
Beyond news coverage, I did also see a number of headlines in the local rags for guest opinions and letters to the editor talking about Medicaid cuts and probable devastating impacts to local humans and hospitals, so there seems to be at least decent awareness of this issue in CD3 news outlets. Good for them, but get meaner!!!