After the U.S. Senate narrowly passed President Donald Trump‘s domestic policy bill and it was sent to the House of Representatives, U.S. Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) made a video at the Capitol to document her return to Washington, D.C. (President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) wanted — and got — the bill passed before July 4.)
As seen and heard below, Pettersen, who said she lost her voice, said she and her colleagues were “forced back here to vote on this disastrous budget proposal that is going to decimate our rural hospitals, health care that families, millions of families across the United States rely on, and increase cost for all of us for the private insurance market when we have this much uncompensated care.”
Just got back to DC after flying over night because Donald Trump is forcing a vote on his devastating budget proposal.
It’s hard to hold back the tears when trying to articulate how bad this bill truly is and what it will do to families and communities across this country.… pic.twitter.com/ofrRHtEMxD
— U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen (@RepPettersen) July 2, 2025
Pettersen, who became visibly upset, added, “It’s hard to hold back the tears with how bad this bill really is. The impact it will make in Colorado especially in rural Colorado.”
According to KFF, there are more than 1.1 million people enrolled in Colorado Medicaid as of May 2025: 36 percent are children; 15 percent live in a rural area; and 11 percent have three or more chronic conditions. Based on KFF data, 75 percent of Medicaid adults in Colorado work (46 percent full-time, 29 percent part-time).
Since Pettersen released her video, the House of Representatives passed the bill 218-214, with only two Republicans (Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania) voting against it, as they did the first version of the bill in May.