AG Phil Weiser holds two press conferences in as many days to brief the press on actions taken in court for the purpose of stopping what he calls Trump's "rampage campaign" against Colorado.
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ALAMOSA — Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser held a press conference on Thursday to announce his move to update an existing lawsuit the state of Colorado has filed against the Trump administration for “harmful and illegal actions.”
Colorado’s case against the administration began when the president announced last fall the decision to move U.S. Space Command Headquarters from Colorado Springs to Alabama to punish Colorado for the state allowing voters to vote by mail.
Weiser filed a suit against the administration on October 29 seeking a court order declaring the decision is unconstitutional and unlawful and an injunction prohibiting Trump from taking further action to move the facility based on the illegal decision.
Since then, the Trump administration has taken additional and even more expansive actions to punish Colorado for exercising its sovereign powers.
On December 11, the president issued a full pardon for former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was convicted and imprisoned under state law for her attempts to undermine the integrity of the 2020 election. But the president’s pardon power doesn’t apply to state convictions. When Colorado refused to release Peters, Weiser said Trump’s “campaign went into overdrive.”
“The U.S. Constitution does not permit the president to single out states for punishment based on their exercise of core sovereign powers. And yet, that is exactly what President Trump has done,” Weiser said.
He then laid out the timeline of actions by the administration that followed.
On Dec. 16, the Trump administration announced it was terminating $109 million in transportation funding for Colorado and planned to end another $615 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding earmarked for the state.
The same day, the administration announced it planned to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, or NCAR, in Boulder.
Two days later, on Dec. 18, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered Colorado to participate in a pilot program calling for recertification of eligibility and in-person interviews for 100,000 households receiving SNAP food assistance. The order required the state to complete the program within 30 days.
If Colorado failed to complete this clearly impossible and unlawful task, USDA threatened sanctions, including possibly removing Colorado from the SNAP program that 600,000 Coloradans rely upon.
Two days after that, on Dec. 20, the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied two disaster relief assistance requests from Colorado related to devastating wildfires and flooding.
In his comments on Thursday, AG Weiser warned that “more [retributions from the administration] may be coming”, and it wasn’t long before Weiser’s warning was proven true.
On Friday, Weiser announced a second press conference, this one held in conjunction with AGs from California, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, all states with, as Trump noted, “Democratic governors”.
The press conference was being held in response to letters sent to the states from the Trump administration announcing that funding was frozen – again, only for those “Democratic” states - for three truly critical services: childcare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families - commonly known TANF or welfare - and the Social Services Block Grant.
The letters claimed that the freeze is necessary to prevent “potential” fraud, but the administration has failed to provide any evidence whatsoever that fraud exists, proving – Weiser says - no legitimate justification for freezing the funds..
Friday’s press conference was held to announce that Attorney General Weiser and the coalition of other states were going to court that same day to file an injunction against the administration, arguing that freezing these funds will immediately jeopardize some of the most important anti-poverty programs in the states, putting vulnerable families at risk.
“Without these programs, there will be immediate and devastating impacts for Coloradans who depend on this support,” Weiser said. Families would lose access to reliable childcare, forcing parents and caregivers into an impossible choice of either missing work or leaving children in a potentially unsafe environment. Childcare providers would lose essential funding, and even children who do not receive ACF-funded care could lose access if facilities are forced to reduce staff or shut down. Employers would lose valuable workers, hurting states’ economies, and families would lose critical cash assistance to help them afford essentials like gas, groceries, and rent. “All because,” Weiser said, “Trump has a problem with blue states.”
On Thursday, in speaking with local press, Weiser said that he doesn’t enjoy taking the administration to court. In fact, he says, it “hurts” to have to do this but, at the same time, he feels no other option is effective as the administration is “hurting the least among us.”
The court action announced on Friday makes the 50th lawsuit Weiser has brought against the administration, most of which have been won.
“I recognize that when you face a bully, some say, ‘Back down. Accommodate,’” Weiser said. “I disagree. The only response is to fight back, and to defend your principles because if you try to give in or make nice with a bully, that only makes you vulnerable to more bullying.
“You will find additional unreasonable demands. You will never make peace, and you will lose your moral compass and your dignity. That's why we're standing up today for our Colorado values. We're fighting back against this administration's unlawful and harmful actions, and I will continue to do so whenever necessary.”
The Child Care and Development Fund program provides $2.4 billion in federal funding annually to support the five named states’ programs that provide low-income families with funding for childcare, so that those family members can work or go to school.
In 2025, Colorado received $140 million in federal funds from this program. TANF is a block grant program that provides more than $7 billion in federal funds annually to the plaintiff states, which in turn provide cash assistance and non-cash benefits to low-income families with children. In 2023, Colorado received $135 million in TANF funds.
