Waving homemade signs that read “THIS BILL WILL KILL” and “JUST VOTE NO!” a dozen mostly retired locals gathered in the shade Wednesday morning outside of U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd’s Grand Junction office. They’re hoping to convince him to vote against a bill they say will harm his constituents.
Organizer Kate Hawthorne said President Trump’s tax-and-spend legislation would devastate rural Colorado, much of which Hurd represents. Hawthorne is especially worried about massive reductions in Medicaid coverage and food-assistance benefits.
“People will die if they don't have their Medicaid coverage,” Hawthorne said. “Nursing homes will be affected. Rural healthcare clinics will be deeply and dramatically affected to the point of having to close.”
Republican Rep. Hurd, however, insisted that the bill will actually help Medicaid stay solvent. His staff confirmed that he voted for the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” when it was narrowly passed by the House of Representatives in May.
In a statement to CPR News, Hurd said the bill would strengthen the program “by rooting out the waste, fraud and abuse.”
“Women, children, and expectant mothers are counting on us to safeguard this vital support system,” the statement read. “The OBBB does just that, reinforcing Medicaid for those who need it most.”
Organizers with the civic action organization Indivisible Grand Junction plan to continue sitting outside Hurd’s office through Friday, pressing him to vote against the bill in the House this week.
While the House works out the specifics of Trump’s bill, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates it could lead to 12 million people losing health insurance in less than a decade.
This spring, when a birthing center and psychiatric hospital closed in Grand Junction, each cited the uncertainty around the future of Medicare as one of the reasons. And several other medical centers in Hurd’s district are vulnerable to closure if deep cuts in healthcare funding are approved..
With so much online, protester Keith Piel felt it was important to show up and take a stand in a county that voted overwhelmingly for Trump — three times.
“People thinking like we do are here,” he said. “We just need to get together and reinforce our presence.”
This comes on the heels of last month’s nationwide No Kings protest, which inspired the biggest demonstration Grand Junction had seen since the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020.
Once a Republican, now a Democrat, protester Deb Bailey said she doesn’t care about political parties, “as long as we treat people with dignity and humanity. And that is not what is happening in this country right now.”
“I’m 71, and I will fight to my last breath to make sure that my children, grandchildren, and everyone's children and grandchildren have a fair chance in this country,” Bailey said.
While the sit-in has been peaceful so far, demonstrators recorded an altercation with a local security company Wednesday morning when a guard asked them to move down the street. Video reviewed by CPR News shows a guard reaching for a demonstrator's phone before it cuts to black. Invisible Grand Junction says the guard knocked the phone out of the demonstrator's hand. Grand Junction police are investigating.
| This story is part of a collection tracking the impacts of President Donald Trump’s second administration on the lives of everyday Coloradans. Since taking office, Trump has overhauled nearly every aspect of the federal government; journalists from CPR News, KRCC and Denverite are staying on top of what that means for you. Read more here. |
