From tariffs to immigration, the Department of Government Efficiency, and an avalanche of executive actions and policies, President Donald Trump's first 100 days have been a whirlwind.
In a special episode of Purplish, recorded before a live audience at the Buell Public Media Center in Denver, two lawmakers 鈥� from different parties, different chambers and different capitols 鈥� share their perspectives and insights on this moment in American politics. CPR鈥檚 Bente Birkeland and Caitlyn Kim interview U.S. Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse from Colorado鈥檚 2nd Congressional District, and Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, whose seat is in Weld and Larimer counties.
Neguse is in his fourth term in Congress. He represents a big chunk of Northern Colorado, including Boulder, Fort Collins, Steamboat and Eagle. He鈥檚 also in House leadership, serving as the assistant minority leader.
Kirkmeyer, meanwhile, is one of the six members of the Colorado General Assembly鈥檚 Joint Budget Committee. Before joining the Senate in 2020, she served two decades as a Weld County commissioner. She also ran for Colorado鈥檚 8th Congressional District in 2022, losing narrowly to Democrat Yadira Caraveo.
Separately and together, they dive into the many ripple effects Trump鈥檚 first 100 days have had on Colorado, covering topics like federal funding cuts, trade policy, state's rights, immigration, and, of course, the country鈥檚 rapidly evolving political climate.
For her part, Kirkmeyer gives the president credit for fulfilling the promises that he ran on.
鈥淭rust in government was waning,鈥� she says.
Kirkmeyer supports the Trump administration鈥檚 efforts to make the federal government more efficient. She says she understands concerns that those cuts could hurt Colorado by withdrawing funding for programs, but that the state hasn鈥檛 seen that happen yet. She also praises the president鈥檚 flexibility.
鈥淗e likes to throw a lot of stuff out there and sometimes it doesn鈥檛, maybe, land quite right,鈥� Kirkmeyer says. 鈥淎nd I think he has that ability to back up and say, 鈥楬ey, wait a minute, maybe that wasn鈥檛 right,鈥� and go a different path. And I think that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�
Kirkmeyer argues that every administration adopts policies that disrupt state funding. She cites welfare reform signed by President Bill Clinton, which shifted to state block grants, and the policy changes that happened in response to the COVID pandemic. She says the latter plays a major part in Colorado鈥檚 current budget problems.
鈥淲e need to get our budget in line and stop overspending,鈥� she says.
When it comes to the Trump administration鈥檚 immigration efforts, she鈥檚 pleased with steps he鈥檚 taken to shut down immigration across the southern border. She says undocumented immigrants have been costly to Colorado, particularly through public education and health care.
She also does not fault the Trump administration for threatening to withhold funding to states that oppose its directives. She says the state 鈥渟houldn鈥檛 poke the bear鈥� and calls on lawmakers to build relationships across the aisle more often.
鈥淎ll of my bills are bipartisan,鈥� Kirkmeyer says. 鈥淎bout 80% of the time, we鈥檙e going to agree. So let鈥檚 work on those things that we can agree on and make them even better for people in this state.鈥�
Neguse agrees, at least in theory.
鈥淭he vast majority of bills ... that make their way through the Congress and to the president鈥檚 desk are bipartisan in nature,鈥� he says.
Neguse says there was a spirit of bipartisanship during his first six years in Congress, even if it wasn鈥檛 always clear to the public. But the first three months of his current term have been different.
鈥淚 think the environment is a pretty toxic one nationally,鈥� he says. 鈥淏y any empirical measure that an American would use to evaluate the first 100 days of the Trump presidency, it has been a disaster.鈥�
Neguse says the president鈥檚 policies 鈥� especially on trade 鈥� are pushing the economy into a recession, and that the constant reversals have created mass uncertainty and are driving price increases that he predicts will be 鈥渄ebilitating for countless Coloradans.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 open to a debate on the merits about what a smart tariff and trade policy looks like, but first we鈥檙e going to have to have our Republican colleagues join us in imploring the administration to pull back from the brink before we go into a Great Recession.鈥�
Neguse, whose parents emigrated from Eritrea in the 1980s, is also critical of the Trump administration鈥檚 approach to immigration enforcement. He says a fix to the country鈥檚 immigration policy is possible, but only if the issue is depoliticized.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a reasonable compromise to be had,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd yet the president has weaponized this issue to such a degree, and demagogued it, because I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 real interest ... of solving this challenge.鈥�
Neguse says he鈥檚 sympathetic to polling that shows 83% of Colorado Democrats and about half of independents want Democrats in Congress to oppose the Trump administration as much as possible. But he says, the country is facing unprecedented times.
To illustrate his point, he cites a recent news story: Neguse of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Institute of Standards and Technology after hearing reports that representatives from the White House鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency were at the facility. It turned out, DOGE hadn鈥檛 been there. In the past, that sort of rumor could have been dispelled with a phone call to the administration, he says. Not so any more.
鈥淲e have all, I think collectively, had to recalibrate how we respond,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat has required, I think, a level of creativity on the part of congressional Democrats that was not asked of prior generations of lawmakers.鈥�
Purplish鈥檚 producer is Stephanie Wolf. This episode was edited by Megan Verlee and sound designed and engineered by Shane Rumsey. Our theme music is by Brad Turner. Rocky Mountain PBS partnered on this episode and hosted the live event.
