Colorado Congressional Republicans supported President Donald Trump’s calls for bipartisan cooperation immediately after his State of the Union address, while Democrats demanded actions over words.
Congressman Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, and Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., echoed Trump’s calls for compromise and emphasized the success of past bipartisan legislation, such as bills targeting the opioid epidemic and criminal justice reform.
“The opportunity to focus on cooperation, to work beyond party lines and put partisanship aside is an incredibly important message for the American people, and Congress, in this moment in time,” Gardner said in an interview Tuesday evening.
Yet, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and other Democrats remained unsatisfied with Trump’s address.
“It will take more than a speech to paper over President Trump’s consistent view that the only obligation he has is to his political base,” Bennet said in a post-speech statement.
In an interview with The Durango Herald after the president’s address, Tipton highlighted bipartisan legislation of the past year that “the public hasn’t heard much about before.”
“From comprehensive tax reform to the strongest response to a drug epidemic in our nation’s history, the federal government has worked to advance policies that will have positive impacts on communities across the country,” he said.
While Republicans celebrated the party’s successes of the past year, they said there was room for more action.
“There is still work to be done on issues that are critically important to Coloradans and all Americans, like border security, common-sense immigration reform, infrastructure and health care,” Tipton said.
To Bennet and other Democrats, Trump failed to address key issues facing most Americans.
“We heard nothing in tonight’s speech that addressed how the president will raise incomes for middle-class Americans, make quality higher education more affordable or address the urgent problem of climate change,” Bennet said.
The president’s focus on unity came as the country recovers after the longest government shutdown and as the prospect of a second shutdown looms.
“I think another shutdown would be an absolute catastrophe. I thought that about the first one, and I think both sides should put every ounce of effort into avoiding a shutdown,” Gardner said.
While Republicans were quick to support Trump’s calls for unity and cooperation across the aisle, the first challenge comes as the federal government is set to run out of funding Feb. 15.
“Colorado knows what hard, bipartisan work really looks like. We’ll be looking in the days, months and years ahead to see if any of it can be produced in Washington,” Bennet said.
Liz Weber is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.
