Rep. Hurd refuses pay, passes first bill and earns Trump endorsement in decisive week

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice

President Trump’s “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Congressman Jeff Hurd on Saturday capped a remarkable week for the freshman lawmaker from Colorado’s Third District.

Trump praised Hurd‘s “strong Record of SUCCESS,” for “fighting tirelessly to… Advance American Energy DOMINANCE, Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations…” and “HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN.”

Hurd has characterized his first term as a test of performance over politics. “If you look at all that we’ve accomplished in the first eight months of this Congress, it’s more than a lot of congresses accomplish in their entire two years,” Hurd told Rocky Mountain Voice before returning to session after the summer recess. “We’ve passed 27 pieces of legislation that have actually gotten to the president’s desk and that he signed. That’s why I ran for Congress—to deliver results for my district.”

A week of actions and accountability

Oct. 23 brought Senate passage of Hurd’s first bill—the Wetlands Conservation and Access Improvement Act of 2025—after an earlier House vote. The bipartisan plan stretches Pittman-Robertson funding to 2033 and keeps federal aid headed to habitat restoration and outdoor access.

He called it a win for conservation—and Colorado. “The bill strengthens funding for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, supporting hunters, improving wetland health and expanding access to the outdoors,” he told the Durango Herald.

On Oct. 24, Hurd sent a letter to the House Chief Administrative Officer declining his congressional salary until federal appropriations are renewed. “I don’t get paid until America does,” he shared in his email update.

He also released a Hurd in the House episode with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer that centered on leadership and service. Hurd recalled a message Emmer once sent him after a difficult vote: “Do the right thing for the right reasons, and you will always be able to defend yourself at home.” He called it “a great perspective” and “the right message” for new members learning to lead.

Balancing power and policy

Hurd said his legislative priorities stem from concern over federal land-use policies and their effect on rural economies. “Reliable, low-cost, safe energy is so important to our economy here in western and southern Colorado,” he said, adding that “bad public policy, bad Democratic energy policies, effectively operated as a hidden tax on every single rural Coloradan.”

“Colorado was the fourth largest oil and eighth largest gas producing state in the country,” he said. “When government restricts the productive use of public lands, it threatens jobs, raises energy prices and cuts local tax revenue.”

That view shaped his Productive Public Lands Act, revising nine Bureau of Land Management resource plans adopted under the Biden administration. “It’s not an either-or decision between protecting the environment and promoting energy or agriculture,” he added. “We can do both.”

Hurd noted that Colorado has long set a high standard for responsible energy production. “If you genuinely care about reducing global greenhouse-gas emissions, then you ought to support as much energy production in Colorado as possible,” he said. “We do it better and more environmentally responsible than anyone in the world.”

He said that philosophy guides this legislation, which aims to curb federal overreach—including the sage grouse resource plan. “On the sage grouse plan, we are restricting what I think is an inappropriate expansion of federal overreach.” He continued, “It would’ve halted all development under the guise of species protection—a blueprint for future land grabs across the West.”

The question of government overreach isn’t limited to land management. That same tension resurfaced this month when the Denver Gazette reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Polis administration on Oct. 10, ordering Colorado Parks and Wildlife to halt the import of wolves from Canada or Alaska. 

The directive followed months of advocacy from Colorado’s congressional delegation, including Hurd, who joined Reps. Lauren Boebert, Jeff Crank and Gabe Evans in urging federal oversight of the wolf plan.

Law, fairness and accountability

Trump’s endorsement of Hurd’s fight underscores the power struggle between federal and state regulators over energy production in Colorado. 

Critics argue that Colorado’s 2024 Memorandum of Understanding between the Bureau of Land Management and the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission hands regulatory control over federal lands to the state, constraining oil and gas operations.

“We are aware of this MOU,” Hurd said. “I have concerns about that—the way that that’s being implemented and the impact that it has on oil and gas.” He added that the administration is reviewing the issue to ensure state actions align with federal objectives.

Allegations of state overreach in Colorado’s energy sector are now being tested in federal court. The K.P. Kauffman Company’s federal lawsuit against state officials alleges conflicting mandates and penalties that made lawful operation impossible and violated constitutional rights. 

Without opining on the case specifically—Hurd said questions about fair enforcement speak to principles of constitutional accountability. “The Bill of Rights was incorporated to the states under the 14th Amendment. States have an obligation to ensure that they are abiding by federally and constitutionally protected rights.”

How policies approved in Colorado are carried out on the ground has become a flashpoint in the state’s energy, wildlife and environmental debates.

Hurd said the state’s handling of wolf reintroduction raises concerns about how rules are enforced. Colorado moved wolves onto state-owned land—a decision he described as a way to “get around” federal limits—but added, “as we all know, wolves aren’t going to stay on that state land.” 

The situation, he said, highlights selective enforcement that undermines public trust. “It’s wrong when government uses the law against energy producers but then flexibly or selectively enforces it elsewhere,” he said. “It reminds me of that famous saying: ‘For my friends, everything—for my enemies, the law.’ That is not an appropriate use of governmental authority.”

Wins on the board—and the work continues

Trump’s endorsement transcends party politics—reflecting alignment with what Hurd describes as a “pro-energy, pro-growth, pro-development, pro-family agenda” that the president and his administration have championed. He noted that consistent follow-through by federal counterparts in Colorado is key to advancing that agenda. “That’s important,” Hurd added, “if we are going to grow our economy, help rural Colorado and ensure that agriculture is sustainable for the coming generations.”

This week’s victories mark a milestone after months of hard work by a freshman lawmaker—as the challenge of finding lasting solutions to Colorado’s toughest problems continues.