Rep. Jeff Hurd’s in-person meeting with constituents in Grand Junction 9/8/26

A look at Jeff Hurd’s public meeting on Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at the Old Mesa County Courthouse.

Rep. Jeff Hurd held a rare in-person public meeting on Tuesday morning, 9/8/26, at the Old Mesa County Courthouse on Rood Ave. in Grand Junction.

The format of the meeting was unusual.

It wasn’t a traditional town hall meeting where the representative stands at a podium in front of an audience. Instead, Hurd held the meeting in a conference room full of meeting tables and billed it as “Coffee with Your Congressman.” There were cardboard boxes of coffee and cups available to participants once they were admitted to the conference room, and a staffer limited the number of people allowed into the room at one time, so coffee wasn’t provided to people waiting in line to speak to Rep. Hurd. As people were admitted to the conference room, they were told to sit four or five to a table. Hurd then moved from table to table, allocating 8 minutes per table and asking people what issues were top of mind for them. Hurd took notes on small pieces of paper. The meeting was supposed to run from 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. but so many people were waiting that it ran until past noon.

The line to meet with the Congressman went down the hall and down the marble stairs to the annex, the newer building added onto the Old County Courthouse building on Rood. I joined the line to see the Congressman at 9:35 a.m. and finally got seated at a table in the conference room at 10:47 a.m. I then had to wait further while Rep. Hurd spoke with the people already seated at other tables in the room.  Ours was the last table he spoke to.

The unusual format eliminated the ability for people to hear what other people were saying to Rep. Hurd, so people had no way to know if their issues had already been addressed, and they were unable to hear Rep. Hurd’s responses. The format also limited people’s ability to hear other constituents’ point of view. People who were waiting to talk to the Congressman spoke to each other while they were waiting to pass the time, which made it hard to hear what was being said at other tables.

From what I was able to hear once I finally got in the conference room, about 95% of people talking to Rep. Hurd expressed anger and frustration at what was happening in Washington, and about inaction by the current, Republican-led congress. The few people who were favorable towards Rep. Hurd said they agreed with him and thanked him for doing his job. As more people concluded their visits and left the room, the noise level decreased to where it became possible to overhear some of the ongoing conversations.

Here are my notes on some of the conversations I was finally able to overhear while waiting to speak to Congressman Hurd:

Q: These are bad times due to the “Big Beautiful Bill” that passed by one vote. I don’t know how you can go home and look yourself in the mirror. It’s for the billionaires and millionaires. We’re losing health care. 

Hurd: The only thing I could hear Rep. Hurd say in response was about passage of a geothermal bill.

Q. When are you and Congress as a whole going to stand up for the law? It’s all troubling — the Epstein files, removal of women’s rights. We see all this political “yessing,” “yes, Mr. Trump.” 

Hurd: The answer is bigger than any one Congressman. Congress has abdicated its responsibility for oversight.

Q. This is about YOU, Rep. Hurd.

Q. Donald Trump called affordability a Democrat hoax. Do you agree?

Hurd: I couldn’t hear Rep. Hurd’s answer.

Q. Randy Spydell, who was wearing a large name tag, told Hurd he gets his newsletter and noted the Hurd refused to work on the health care issue during the shutdown. He said this was wrong and added that Congress and their staff “shouldn’t be paid if you can’t or refuse to do your job during a shutdown. You should get no pay or benefits.

Hurd: I didn’t take pay during the shutdown.

Q. A guy wearing a T-shirt that said “Sleeping bags are burritos for bears” told Rep. Hurd he was tired of Congress doing nothing. “When will they impeach the president and his cabinet and stop this corruption, stock trades, Epstein files, cutting up the environment, pushing coal and fossil fuels, shutting down subsidies for solar and electric vehicles. When are you and the rest of Congress going to stand up and do your f-ing job?”

Hurd: About the Epstein files, Hurd said “we should follow the [Epstein Transparency Act].” He said we should harness solar and geothermal and nuclear energy, and we need to preserve Medicaid for the people who need it the most. 

Q: This format sucks, people are rushed. You have a really bad environmental record. We’re having extreme weather, animals are dying. Three times as many bears are dying due to the drought. We need you to stand up! Do you think climate change is real?

Hurd: It’s an anthropogenic threat for sure. We need responsible management of our public lands.

Q: You’ve been beat up today. Thanks for being a supporter of the OBBB. It has allowed us to pay more for health insurance, and has put China in the technological lead. At normal town halls you can address one or two thousand people, but here, only about 100. It’s disrespectful to the community that you haven’t had prior town halls in your own community.

Hurd: We’ve had telephone town halls…

Q: You’re here to hear us, we’re not here to hear YOU. You say good things about solar but you voted for the BBB.

Q: How do you justify staying silent while Donald Trump starts wars costing $100 billion, and is a narcissistic president? The U.S. Forest Service is cutting 23 research facilities. Excavation is about to begin on Trump’s arch. The amount of money being spent on these pet projects isn’t helping us. I went grocery shopping and prices are incredibly high.

Hurd: I opposed the tariffs. The president’s policies are hurting steel manufacturers in Pueblo. It’s my first time being elected to anything and I have to learn where to spend my political capital. I need to keep a good relationship with the president. I rarely criticize my Democratic colleagues so I can continue to work across the aisle.

Q: In normal times, what you said works and you’re right. But these are NOT normal times. Our country is under threat, we aren’t fooled anymore.  You stand up for the Constitution when the issue is 2nd Amendment rights, but what about the First Amendment, and the 4th Amendment? Where is your voice on what is going on with Canada right now? Our democracy is failing and we’re scared because Congress is not paying attention. Look at Trump’s social media account. I’m so embarrassed. I don’t need a response…

Q: My paramount concern is this administration’s consolidation of power. We need to restore checks and balances. 

Hurd: Congress has not exercised its responsibility. We can do better. Business owners in my district are not good at handling wild policy swings.

Q: So what your proposals?

Hurd:  A lot of bipartisan work goes to the Senate and dies. I’m opposed to gerrymandering and mid-decade redistricting. I’m working with a Rep from Hawaii on that to make more natural representation.

Q: These aren’t normal times. What will it take to get you to stand up to authoritarian rule? We’re constantly bombarded by disinformation about elections, attempts to end mail in ballots. Trump has exceeded the bounds of his power, there’s no balance. I need to know what it would take for YOU personally to stand up to Trump?

Hurd: The question is…I’m supposed to stand up for the Constitution. It may not be in my political interest to stand up to Trump. I voted against defunding an unpopular judge because I believe in the judiciary.

Q: Do you agree the president represents an authoritarian threat? 

Hurd: What do you mean? At the end of the day …(Hurd then brought up something about the Federalist papers and a specific comment at the end of Federalist #1 — I couldn’t hear what it was). 

Q: The deficit is through the roof. We’re alienating our friends, China was our biggest customer for soybeans but no more due to asinine tariffs. The OBBB is not working. We’ve created a trillionaire and yet people here are homeless. Why are we fixated on subsidizing nuclear energy and petroleum? When was the last time we went to war over solar energy vs. oil?

Hurd: I disagree on nuclear power.

Q: I’m a down-winder from southern Utah!

Q: A woman asked a question about cuts to caregivers providing care to disabled family members. She has a disabled child and said her paid hours were cut in July. 

Hurd: Blamed the cuts on the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment.

Q: It’s cheaper to fund parental care for a disabled child than to put them in an institution. My kid is on Medicaid.

Hurd: What does success look like [in this circumstance]? I haven’t heard that conversation. I agree it’s good to keep people at home and avoid long term care.

Q: My number one concern is that our democracy is endangered with the upcoming election. It needs to take place without interference. What are you and your colleagues doing to ensure we have fair elections? Preserve civil and human rights? Protect people affected by ICE? We can’t afford to fund public education but we have unlimited money to throw at wars. This election is the only way to save our democracy and institutions from gangsters. Laws aren’t being enforced. What are you and Republicans going to do to enforce laws, the Epstein files, mail ballots? You guys are being PAID to enforce this. I’m not a lawyer. Trump is using the U.S. Postal Service to derail the election and put things in disarray.

Hurd: Article I gives handling of elections to the states.

Q: We need a mouth to tell Donald Trump “You are wrong on this.”

Q: My issue is separation of church and state.

Hurd: What are you most worried about?

A: Religion in public schools.

Hurd: I haven’t supported any requirements in public schools. 

Meeting rules: