Colorado House Speaker leads effort to build up $4 million legal war chest to defend state against Trump administration

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the source of the state’s funding. 

Top statehouse Democrats are seeking to redirect $4 million in state funding to Gov. Jared Polis’ office for legal defenses against President Donald Trump’s administration. 

House Bill 1321 would siphon the money from a cash fund used by the state to match federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a 2021 federal law passed under then-President Joe Biden. The funds would instead be used to bolster legal defenses against federal funding freezes and cuts and shield state officials from potential Trump administration attacks. 

The bill is sponsored by Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, and Rep. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster, vice chair of the powerful Joint Budget Committee. 

Colorado has already joined more than a dozen state lawsuits against the federal government since Trump took office in January. That includes suing to undo a freeze earlier this year on most federal grants and loans that threatened funding for Medicaid, child care assistance and a host of other programs the state relies on. 

While the Trump administration largely walked back the freeze, some states reported continuing to be unable to access certain federal funds despite multiple court orders lifting the pause. Other federal money, including $250 million for Colorado health care services, was recently cut as a result of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk. 

“We are in uncharted territory,” said McCluskie on Tuesday, April 15, during debate on the House floor. “It is very concerning and should be to all of us. Nearly a third of our entire budget is federal funding. In the moment when another freeze comes forward, in the moment when numerous grant programs — that are still frozen — or additional ones become frozen, we need the ability to respond in the moment to address and protect the state’s interests.” 

If there is unspent money in the governor’s legal defense fund next year, the bill allows for that to roll over to the following year. Additionally, it allows the governor’s office to accept grants, gifts and donations from the public to support the fund. 

Republicans lambasted the measure, which they said would divert critical infrastructure dollars that were intended to be spent on roads, bridges and other capital projects in the state. Some also questioned why the money would go to the governor’s office rather than the attorney general, something they framed as a power grab. 

Bill sponsors said they are trying to give the governor’s office flexibility to respond to a variety of scenarios. Bird said the funds won’t just pay for legal needs but also grant management services, for example.

House Bill 1321 passed the House on Tuesday on a preliminary vote.