The Speaker of Colorado’s House, Julie McCluskie, has sent a formal letter of reprimand admonishing a fellow Democrat, Rep. Elisabeth Epps of Denver, for, among other things, joining a pro-Palestinian protest in the House gallery and disrupting proceedings during a special legislative session late last year.
The letter lists six House rules McCluskie said Epps violated, and warns her that any repeat of her behavior could lead to “further disciplinary action” by the House.
The reprimand comes just days before state lawmakers are set to return to the capitol for the annual legislative session, which begins Wednesday.
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“It is my expectation that you will uphold the honor and dignity of elected office and this institution, and engage with members in civil and respectful ways,” wrote McCluskie.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsIncoming Democratic House Speaker Julie McCluskie speaks with Colorado Matters host Chandra Thomas Whitfield on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in a House Leadership conference room. McCluskie represents the 61st district, including Lake, Pitkin, Delta, Summit, and Gunnison counties.
The incident during the special session started when Epps attempted to add an amendment to a bill about federal food benefits that would have prevented them from being used to purchase products made in the Palestinian territories.
According to reports of the situation, Epps concluded her remarks on the amendment with the words “Free Palestine!” She then joined pro-Palestinian protesters who had been watching the day’s debate from the balcony around the House chamber.
When GOP Rep. Ron Weinberg, who is Jewish, took the lecturn to respond, Epps and others shouted down at him, interrupting his remarks. Democratic leaders called on state patrol to clear the galleries, and Epps eventually left after other members of her caucus went up to speak with her.
In her letter to Epps, McCluskie wrote that the representative engaged in numerous actions during the special session that were significantly disruptive to House business and caused delays, and engaged in disrespectful behaviors which “failed to uphold the honor and dignity of our democratic institution.”
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McCluskie released the letter to all of the House members on Monday afternoon, including Epps. CPR News has reached out to Epps for a response and will update with any comment.
In the weeks since the special session, Epps has defended her actions on social media and criticized leadership for “punishing victims and protecting abusers”, saying that she has been called vile things by some of her Republican colleagues.
“Decorum is just one of your racist dog whistles for complacency + complicity” she posted on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to a tweet from a fellow Democratic representative.
McCluskie has disputed the claim that decorum rules are applied unevenly. She told CPR News she plans to release a set of decorum guidelines in the coming weeks to help lawmakers navigate when they may be saying something that crosses the line.
A history of disagreements
Epps, who took office last January, has been at odds with House leadership and the Speaker for a while on a variety of issues.
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On the final day of the 2023 session, tensions flared in a Democratic caucus meeting. Several members, including Epps, criticized the Speaker directly, saying she failed to take action against racist and inappropriate comments on the chamber floor and didn’t do enough to support brown and Black lawmakers, especially the Black women in the caucus. During the meeting, Epps noted that she hadn’t talked to the Speaker in three months and said she didn’t think McCluskie calls out the “nonsense” from the other side of the aisle.
“It is predictable at this point. And it’s not just what happens on the floor, (it’s) what’s happening off,” she said.
Over the summer, Epps and another Democratic representative, Rep. Bob Marshall of Highlands Ranch, filed a lawsuit against their leadership over alleged violations of open meetings laws. Their suit was eventually withdrawn after leaders, including McCluskie, agreed to changes.
The letter of reprimand was not McCluskie’s first move against Epps. Late last year she removed both Epps and Marshall from the powerful Judiciary Committee.
“Serving on a member’s top choice of committee is a privilege — not a right,” McCluskie said in a statement about her decision, which she said was made to decrease acrimony on the committee.
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“My decisions on where to appoint members depend on their respect of their colleagues, ability to collaborate and adherence to decorum, which was clearly violated during our special session last month,” McCluskie continued.
More recently, Epps was reassigned offices, from a plum space in the state capitol to an office building across the street, a move she also took as retaliation.
“it hurts what Dems + speaker of the house are doing to me bc I won’t be silent or complicit—expelled me from judiciary cmte, now from my physical (not elected) office,” Epps tweeted on Jan. 2. “Yet it’s right in line with what bipartisan establishment is doing to other Black women. I’m not quitting, tho.”
Interstate 70 closed near Vail and Silverthorne on Sunday for “safety concerns” as snow battered the Colorado mountains, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The eastbound interstate was closed between Exit 180 for East Vail and Exit 190 for Vail Pass Summit, about 1 mile west of Copper Mountain, as of 6 p.m. Sunday, CDOT officials said.
CDOT cameras in the area of the closure showed snow-covered roads and white-out conditions.
Westbound I-70 was also closed at 6 p.m. Sunday between Exit 216 for U.S. 6 near Loveland Pass and Exit 205 for Colorado 9 near Silverthorne, according to CDOT.
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Multiple Waze users reported “weather hazards” in both closed sections of I-70.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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There was certainly a scenario Saturday night where Colorado would’ve needed to navigate the final 20 minutes of its upset loss to Kansas without star quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Sanders, the son of Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders and a projected top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, shoved referee Kevin Mar after taking a sack on third down with Colorado trailing by nine in the third quarter, and he was “lucky” that didn’t result in an ejection, Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira said on the broadcast.
Shedeur Sanders shoved a referee during Colorado’s loss to Kansas on Nov. 23. Screengrab via X/@CFBONFOX
“There’s no question that he does,” Pereira said when asked about Sanders shoving Mar. “Look, I get why he’s upset because people are almost climbing over him after he was down, but, you know, the officials can use their hands all they want to try to keep order. But you cannot come back as a player and push an official.
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“In the chaos, the officials don’t see it, but he’s lucky that he wasn’t ejected from the game.”
After the sack, Sanders approached Mar from behind — who was surrounded by a cluster of players — and shoved the longtime official with his right arm.
Shedeur Sanders reacts during Colorado’s loss to Kansas on Nov. 23. Screengrab via X/@CFBONFOX
By that point, three other referees had moved closer to the scuffle and attempted to separate the players and Sanders while protecting Mar.
Sanders, who finished 23 of 29 for 266 yards and three touchdowns during No. 16 Colorado’s 37-21 loss, wasn’t penalized on the play, but his frustrations had started to boil over.
The game featured plenty of physical hits, with Colorado’s College Football Playoff hopes at stake and Kansas attempting to claw its way toward becoming bowl eligible.
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At one point in the first half, defensive end Dean Miller lowered his head and flung himself toward Sanders’ knees while he attempted a pass.
“I mean, I just don’t know how that’s legal overall,” Sanders told reporters after the game when asked about Miller’s hit. “I ain’t understand that, but, you know, it is what it is. There was a couple plays like that.”
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders looks to pass against Kansas on Nov. 23, 2024. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
The Buffaloes trailed 17-0 at one point but managed to trim its deficit to two points early in the third quarter, when Travis Hunter — also projected as a top pick in the upcoming NFL draft — and Sanders connected on a touchdown pass.
But Devin Neal accounted for the final two touchdowns, providing the Jayhawks with some cushion and ensuring Colorado was on its way to ending the night in a four-way tie atop the Big 12 standings.
Deion said after the game that Colorado had become “intoxicated with the success.”
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“We started smelling ourselves a little bit,” Deion said, according to ESPN. “… We got intoxicated with the multitude of articles and the assumption that we’re this and the assumption that we’re that. And we did not play CU football. Therefore, we got our butts kicked. It is what it is.”
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Mikey Keene threw two touchdown passes, Bryson Donelson had a career-high 150 yards rushing and a TD on 13 carries Saturday night and Fresno State beat Colorado State 28-22.
Colorado State (7-4, 5-1 Mountain West) fell into a tie for second with No. 24 UNLV in the conference standings behind No. 12 Boise State — which will host the Mountain West championship game on Dec. 6.
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Donelson, a freshman, went into the game with 199 yards rushing this season, including his previous season high of 58 yards in the season opener. Keene was 20-of-28 passing for 181 yards with no interceptions. Mac Dalena finished with seven receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown for Fresno State (6-5, 4-3 Mountain West Conference).
Justin Marshall capped a 12-play, 77-yard opening drive that took nearly 6 1/2 minutes off the clock with a 10-yard TD for the Rams and finished with 94 yards rushing.
Donelson ran for a 21 yards and Keene hit Raylen Sharpe for a 38-yard gain to set up a 16-yard TD run by Donelson to make it 7-7. Joshua Wood followed with a 4-yard scoring run before Dalena caught a 28-yard touchdown pass with 3:18 left in the second quarter and Keene hit Jalen Moss for a 15-yard TD less than 3 minutes later that gave the Bulldogs a 28-7 lead at halftime.
Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi ran for a 9-yard TD late in the third quarter, threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Person and then hit Vince Brown II for the 2-point conversion to trim Colorado State’s deficit to 28-22 with 17 seconds left.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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