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How Republican control will shake things up for Colorado’s U.S. senators

Posted on by Pranco
How Republican control will shake things up for Colorado’s U.S. senators

Legislature confirms judges and cabinet officials

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., speaks in support of U.S. Ambassador to Singapore nominee Jonathan Kaplan during a hearing to investigate Kaplan’s nomination before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 20, 2021 .(Patrick Semansky/Associated Press file)

WASHINGTON – Republicans have taken control of the U.S. Senate, leaving Colorado’s two Democratic senators in the minority.

“Obviously, this is a whole new game,” Sen. John Hickenlooper said in a post-election interview. Attempts to reach Senator Michael Bennet for this story were unsuccessful.

Hickenlooper has been a member of the Senate since 2021, marking the first time he has served in the minority. New Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans will do everything they can to advance President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.

Hickenlooper said he remains focused on prioritizing Colorado, although his “options are limited.”

“What I hear is that they want to break and disrupt everything,” Hickenlooper said. “But not so much that people get too angry.”

Hickenlooper said it’s “unclear what their (Republican) position will be” on bills like the Gold Kings Mine Compensation Act which was introduced in September. The bill would provide compensation to those affected by the 2015 Gold King Mine spill.

Under the last Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency had taken no action to compensate those directly affected by the spill. If the bill passes, the EPA would be required to review compensation claims and resolve them within 180 days.

“People have identified funding,” Hickenlooper said. “I don’t think they’ll go back on that.”

The change in majority also jeopardizes senators’ chairmanship of subcommittees. The majority party member with the greatest seniority on a committee traditionally serves as chairman.

Bennet served as chairman of the Conservation, Climate, Forestry and Natural Resources Subcommittee and as chairman of Taxation and IRS Oversight. Hickenlooper served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security and as chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Employment and Workplace Safety.

The Senate also confirms judges and appointees to Trump’s Cabinet.

Trump went to X and said he wants the power to appoint while the Senate is in recess. Historically appointment on recess is unusual because when Congress is in recess for more than ten days, the Senate holds an informal pro forma session to avoid appointments during the recess. If the appointment of the judges occurs during recess, the appointment of the judges will end at the beginning of the next session unless approved by Congress.

Although Trump’s idea for a recess appointment was something Hickenlooper had never heard of, newly elected Senate Majority Leader John Thune said recess appointments would be an option he would consider.

“We expect a level of cooperation from Democrats to work with us to get these people installed,” Thune said. “We will of course explore all options to ensure they are moved quickly.”

For a vote to pass through the Senate there must be a majority of 60 votes. Therefore, Democrats have some leverage when it comes to blocking Republican legislation. The 60-vote majority does not apply to budget laws or appointments. Hickenlooper said there would be more protections under legislation such as the Clean Water Act.

“If you want to take away people’s right to clean water, jeopardize that, they’ll never get 60 votes,” Hickenlooper said. “I don’t believe that will happen, but we’ll have to see.”

Maria Tedesco is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and attends American University in Washington, DC. She can be reached at [email protected].