Since President Donald Trump took office in January, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has sued to block the president’s policies 33 times, according to his office.
And he’s mostly won.
A review of Weiser’s cases shows courts have partially or fully blocked the Trump administration policies from taking effect in 14 cases, left the policies in place in four cases, and are still considering 15 cases.
The decisions face appeals and are largely preliminary.
Fifteen of Weiser’s cases have aimed to stop the Trump administration’s funding cuts for things like research at universities and medical schools, K-12 teacher training and transportation projects. Four are trying to stop firings of federal workers. Three attempt to keep antipollution and climate change mitigation rules and funding in place. Others relate to tariffs, data privacy, health care, immigration, gun control and elections.
Weiser, a Democrat, is running for governor in 2026.
He counts his so-far-successful effort to block Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship among his biggest wins. He filed that case along with other state AGs just one day after Trump’s inauguration in January.
Weiser became Colorado attorney general during Trump’s first term in 2019 and filed a total of 11 cases against the administration then, he said. His standard for bringing cases hasn’t changed, he said. Instead, the second Trump term is “an era without parallel.”
“For me, there’s not much of a choice here,” he said. “If you’re dealing with a lawless bully whose actions are harmful, there’s only one response. You stand your ground and fight, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Former Colorado attorney general John Suthers knows what it’s like to be on the opposite side of the political aisle from the president. Suthers, a Republican, was Colorado’s attorney general during most of Democratic President Barack Obama’s tenure. Attorney general activism, where state AGs coordinate on lawsuits to resist federal policy changes, really began to pick up during that era.
Suthers declined to talk about Weiser’s record, but said he “understands completely” why attorneys general have brought cases against Trump’s policies to end birthright citizenship and impose tariffs without congressional approval.
During his time as Colorado AG, Suthers joined around a dozen Republican AGs in suing to block the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate that allows the government to fine people who don’t have health insurance. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against them, keeping the mandate in place.
“My attitude was that if I was under a belief that something the administration was doing was a violation of the Constitution, I would not hesitate to join others in pursuing that,” Suthers said in an interview.
Suthers said he felt free from political pressure when deciding what cases to bring. Nowadays, such pressure flourishes, he said.
“If a Republican refuses to join a case that they don’t think is appropriate, the chances of them being punished by other Republicans is very high,” he said. “That’s just flat wrong.”
That backlash can hit AGs hard. After the longest serving attorney general of Idaho, Lawrence Wasden, declined to join 17 of his fellow Republican AGs in seeking to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election, he lost his primary in 2022.
Suthers served as mayor of Colorado Springs from 2015 to 2023 after leaving the AG’s office. He now works at the law and lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where he advises companies that are in the crosshairs of state attorneys general.
He cautioned that Weiser’s win-loss record may shift as rulings in U.S. District Courts get appealed to Circuit Courts and the Supreme Court.
Weiser said he will keep bringing lawsuits.
“The level of lawlessness and the lack of concern of following the law are the reasons for the results we have,” he said. “It’s a sad situation I find myself in.”
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WEISER V. TRUMP TRACKER
To keep tabs on Weiser’s record in resisting Trump’s agenda in the courts, we’re going to track his lawsuits at coloradosun.com — starting Monday.
We’ll update as cases make their way through the courts.
WHAT TO WATCH IN THE WEEK AHEAD
Former state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont, is scheduled to be in court Thursday morning in Denver as she faces a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant.THE NARRATIVE
Yadira Caraveo says if GOP states redraw their congressional districts, Colorado should, too. It’s not that simple.
U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Democrat, speaks at a gun violence prevention town hall in Thornton as part of her 2022 campaign for Congress. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)Former U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo this week called on Colorado Democrats to redraw the state’s congressional maps in their favor in the middle of the 10-year redistricting cycle in response to Republican states trying to gerrymander their districts to improve the GOP’s chances of keeping their U.S. House majority in 2026.
“For the sake of the country, Democrats need to fight back. I applaud Democrats around the country who are moving to redraw their own maps to counter this MAGA power grab and urge Colorado to repeal our independent commission and do the same, “ Caraveo said in a written statement.
That’s much easier said than done.
Colorado voters in 2018 overwhelmingly passed Amendment Y, which was referred to the ballot by the legislature. Seventy-one percent of the electorate backed the constitutional change handing redistricting power to a 12-person commission.
The measure also declared that “the practice of political gerrymandering, whereby legislative districts are purposefully drawn to favor one political party or incumbent politician over another, must end.”
Caraveo, in a written statement, called on Gov. Jared Polis “to recognize the significance and urgency of this moment.” But the governor cannot change the state’s constitution. Only voters can do that.
Getting a constitutional measure on the ballot is a feat in itself. It requires either the support of two-thirds of the members in each the House and Senate, legislative supermajorities that Colorado Democrats don’t have, or for supporters to collect about 125,000 voter signatures, including ones from at least 2% of the voters in each of Colorado’s 35 state Senate districts. The signature gathering can cost millions of dollars.
Finally, and possibly most importantly, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that the state constitution prohibits the new congressional districts from being drawn in the middle of a decade. (Congressional maps are redrawn every 10 years following the census.) That decision came after the legislature, controlled at the time by Republicans, sought to redistrict in their favor.
“We find that the framers of the Colorado Constitution intended to balance stability and fairness by both requiring and limiting redistricting to once per decade,” the Colorado Supreme Court wrote in its ruling. “Had they wished to have more frequent redistricting, the framers would have said so. They did not.”
Assuming the 2003 decision holds, the earliest Colorado could draw new congressional districts, commission or not, would be 2031 for the 2032 election.
Caraveo’s campaign suggested a signature-gathering campaign to put a question on the 2026 ballot would be a way to simultaneously change Colorado’s redistricting process and overcome the 2003 Colorado Supreme Court ruling. Keep in mind, however, that adding to the state constitution requires the support of 55% of the electorate. Repealing a constitutional provision takes just a simple majority.
The campaign conceded that Caraveo voted for Amendment Y in 2018 when it was on the ballot, but said that was a different era.
Analysis: Caraveo’s campaign has been subdued since she announced in April that she would run to reclaim her 8th Congressional District seat. This is the first time she’s really weighed in on such a big subject.
She is one of seven Democrats running in a primary for a chance to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans next year. (Caraveo lost to Evans by about 2,500 votes in 2024.)
Ironically enough, the 8th District, the state’s most competitive U.S. House district, was drawn by the state’s congressional redistricting commission in 2021, during its first cycle of work, to be a battleground. Caraveo entered the race before the district’s boundaries, and competitiveness, were set. At the time she announced her campaign, the 8th District appeared much more favorable to Democrats.
Democrats in other parts of the country first started floating the idea of redistricting their states to combat the Republican gerrymandering efforts. Caraveo’s campaign could see joining those calls as a way to set herself apart in a big primary field, even if the idea is a political and legal long shot in Colorado.
When Colorado Pols, the liberal political blog, called Caraveo’s idea “wishful thinking,” she doubled down on social media.
“CA, NY and NJ are all considering having voters overturn their own processes and there is no reason CO couldn’t do the same,” she posted.
Caraveo may have a sympathetic ear in former DaVita CEO Kent Thiry, who financed Amendment Y.
“I’m proud to have led the fight against gerrymandering in California and Colorado,” he said on social media. “But I am acutely aware of the potential for harm and unfairness when bad actors seek to capitalize on those reforms. … Lots to consider here. I am opposed to the cancer of gerrymandering, but I respect those who don’t want to bring a knife to a gunfight.”
NOT A SURPRISE, BUT…
The National Journal ranked Colorado’s 8th District as the second-most competitive U.S. House race in the nation next year.
The news outlet’s take: “Winning reelection as a freshman is one of the most difficult feats in politics. Evans, one of the GOP’s strongest recruits last year, faces a challenge in a two-cycle-old district that has had two representatives. No candidate — former Rep. Yadira Caraveo or Evans — has cleared 50% in an election, and it’s likely to be another knife fight in a dark alley. Evans has a few things going for him right now: the six-way Democratic primary that includes Caraveo and other elected officials, as well as a fundraising advantage.”
The National Journal added: “Despite her name recognition, Caraveo may not be the strongest candidate to take on Evans, as she’s reportedly struggled with her mental health and faces claims of staff mistreatment by former aides.”
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DO THE MATH
$78,741.35
The amount of money raised by the Colorado GOP in its first three months under chair Brita Horn.
After spending $68,565.31 from April through June, the party began July with just $84,500 in the bank.
That’s an average of $26,247 raised per month.
THE POLITICAL TICKER
ENDORSEMENTS
Democrat Trisha Calvarese this week rolled out a list of endorsements in her second long-shot bid to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in the 4th Congressional District.
Calvarese, who lost to Boebert by 12 percentage points in 2024, is backed by former U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey; state Sens. Robert Rodriguez, Cathy Kipp, Jessie Danielson and Janice Marchman; and state Reps. Javier Mabrey and Sheila Lieder.
Meanwhile, the organization VoteVets endorsed Democrat Eileen Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral, in her primary bid against Calvarese in the 4th District.
VoteVets is also supporting Democrat Jessica Killin in the 5th Congressional District. Killin, the former chief of staff to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, is running to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank of Colorado Springs in a district that has never elected a Democrat.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
Rocky Mountain Values PAC, the liberal federal spending committee funded by a nonprofit of the same name, reported having just $561.67 in its coffers at the end of June.
The groups battled in 2024 to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and to keep Republican Jeff Hurd from winning in the 3rd Congressional District. They failed at both.
As a political nonprofit, Rocky Mountain Values doesn’t have to disclose its donors. It’s what The Colorado Sun refers to as a dark money group.
READ MORE
Colorado’s new State Land Board director, once a supporter of eco-terrorism, now focused on preservation Colorado EV sales continue to slump as subsidies wane and tariffs spike Colorado lawmakers must cut $1 billion from state’s current budget because of GOP federal tax and spending bill Colorado jumps onto lawsuit against USDA over demand for personal information of SNAP recipients Colorado towns are in the dark about whether ICE will reopen private prisons in their communities Colorado schools could reap millions of federal grant dollars previously withheld by Trump Colorado lawmaker faces “bullying” claims from past Larimer County post, complaint from fellow legislator — The Denver Post ? Denver’s safety chief has a new job as the head of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation— Denverite DOJ files amended complaint against Colorado and Denver over sanctuary policies, citing attorney general’s new lawsuit— Colorado Politics ? As Gabe Evans seeks reelection, he must contend with his voters’ complex views on immigration— CPR News via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance? = source has article meter or paywall
TABOR
Poll tests ballot measure implementing graduated income tax, increasing Colorado’s capital gains rate
A new poll is testing how voters feel about the possibility of amending Colorado’s constitution to make the state income tax code graduated and increase the capital gains tax.
The proposal would raise $500 million annually for child care.
Here’s the text of the 2026 ballot measure tested by the survey: “Shall state taxes be increased $500,000,000 annually by an amendment to the Colorado constitution and a change to the Colorado revised statutes creating a child care funding program, and in connection therewith, providing income-based financial support to assist parents with children ages 5 and under with the cost of child care; removing the constitutional requirement that all income be taxed at the same rate, increasing the state income tax on capital gains from 4.4% to 6.15%, exempting the first $100,000 in capital gains income; and allowing the state to keep and spend all of this new tax revenue as a voter-approved revenue change?”
The poll included a chart showing that the proposal would increase the taxes only on people and families earning at least $100,000 annually. That increase would only exceed $1,000 for those earning $1 million or more.
The survey also asked participants to share how statements about the proposal would affect their vote for it.
It’s unclear who is behind the poll, which comes as Democrats are starting to think more seriously about how they want to take on the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. A graduated income tax formula is at the top of progressives’ list.
No ballot measure akin to the one in the poll has been filed — yet.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
NRSC says new Apple iOS will kneecap fundraising— Punchbowl ? How dark money flooded the race for Pittsburgh mayor — The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ? New details about police activity after lawmaker shootings raise questions about response— The Star Tribune ? What the GOP’s megabill promotional plan doesn’t mention— Politico Study may undercut idea that cash payments to poor families help child development— The New York Times ?? = source has article meter or paywall
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