10 AUGUST 14-20, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | tions with Republicans, particularly while living in Texas. He believes it is not pro- ductive to work with such people, arguing that Democrats have been losing national elections because they’re not pushing pro- gressive agendas enough, not because the majority of voters align with the other party. “I have a lot of friends who are educated and very liberal, but will not vote for Demo- crats because they no longer believe in the party. We need new people to come up and change the image of what the Democratic Party is,” Hanson says. “We live in a time that is alarming and that is extreme. We can’t be shy about saying it.” Diana DeGette DeGette says she understands the frustration of some of her young constituents, though she feels the anger is being misdirected at the Democratic Party. “If you talk to people, what they’re really frustrated and mad about is that Donald Trump and the Republicans are in control of all three levels of our government right now,” DeGette says. “People want to see changes. But when I talk to people about what I care about — affordable health care for everybody, food safety for everybody, being able to get good education and good jobs — that’s what people care about.” Since Republicans control Congress and the presidency, Democrats have little hope of blocking Republican-supported legislation. But DeGette argues that the Democrats’ work to fi ght back is still essential, even if it goes unnoticed by the general public. She is part of a litigation task force that monitors court cases challenging illegal actions by the Trump administration; DeGette says she writes amicus briefs to support such lawsuits, and 107 lawsuits have resulted in federal actions being fully or partially blocked by courts. DeGette has held numer- ous press conferences and led hours-long committee debates discussing the impacts of federal actions like Trump’s One Big Beauti- ful Bill Act kicking people off of Medicaid. She has also sent letters to various federal offi cials demanding reversals of mass layoffs and federal funding cuts. One such letter helped reinstate hundreds of employees terminated from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she claims. “Our job right now is to make noise,” DeGette says. “To let everybody know this is happening, and then to make them back off.” Before she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996, DeGette worked as a civil rights attorney and served in the Colo- rado Legislature for four years. Throughout her lengthy congressional career, DeGette has developed a reputation as a leading advocate for reproductive rights, environmental pro- tections and health care access. Today, DeGette is the ranking Demo- crat on the House Health Subcommittee, in addition to sitting on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee and the Energy Subcommittee. She is co-chair of the Diabe- tes Caucus and the Reproductive Freedom Caucus. DeGette presided over the House debate for Trump’s fi rst impeachment trial in 2019, and served as one of nine impeachment managers during the second trial in 2021. “We need people who are tough fi ghters who can help do that,” DeGette says, defend- ing her decision not to retire. “If someone has been there and they’re not doing anything, that’s a different story than if they’re one of the leaders.” DeGette says her experience is valuable to “groundbreaking younger politicians” as well, noting that she has worked closely with New York Congresswoman Alexan- dria Ocasio-Cortez. DeGette says she helped secure Ocasio-Cortez a spot on the Health Subcommittee and assisted her in offering amendments to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “I do think that having articulate, passion- ate, intelligent members across the board is important,” DeGette says, referring to Ocasio- Cortez. “I think probably a lot of the students can really relate to somebody like that. ...We need both. Experience and fresh blood.” DeGette says she does intend to retire “at some point,” but does not believe now is the time. Republicans currently control the U.S. House by only seven seats, with four seats vacant (three Democrats and one Repub- lican). If Democrats regain the majority in 2026, DeGette says she will be chair of the Health Subcommitee, which all health care- related legislation goes through. And she’ll be able to use her institutional knowledge to help Democrats block Republican legislation and get through the remainder of Trump’s second term, she argues. “If we take the House in 2026, then we have one job and that job is oversight over the Trump administration,” DeGette says. “This is the big- gest threat to our democracy that we’ve had, certainly in my lifetime. And it’s going to take everybody fi ghting together to get this done.” The Democratic Party’s primary election will be held on June 30, 2026. Whoever wins is likely to face CD1’s only current Republi- can candidate, Amanda Capobianco, in the general election on November 3, 2026. Email the author at [email protected]. News continued from page 8 Congresswoman Diana DeGette speaks to reporters during a press roundtable on Thursday, August 7. HANNAH METZGER
