It did not take long for Rep. Jeff Hurd to make me feel good about calling him an “all-around good guy” and someone “dedicated to the Western Slope” and its constituents. The freshman congressman summoned courage absent in almost every more senior GOP member of the House: he objected to a prime focus of President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Last week, Hurd signed onto a bill that would ensure congressional approval of tariffs.
Unless you live under a rock — and also do not have a 401k — Trump’s tariffs have headlined news cycles for nearly two weeks. Sweeping tariffs applied across the board combined with additional amounts on targeted countries, primarily America’s three largest trade partners (China, Canada, and Mexico), sent markets into chaos.
For example, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had been on a weeklong nosedive until Trump suddenly reversed course on some retaliatory tariffs last Wednesday. That sent the market skyrocketing as irrationally exuberant investors clung to any almost-positive news. The floor dropped out again on Thursday as the limited extent of the rollback became apparent. The week ended with a modest rally on Friday.
Investors rode similar rollercoasters in indices from the tech-heavy NASDAQ to the broad-based S&P 500 and the bond market.
It was apparent to even Fox News analysts that Trump did not anticipate the dramatic market drops in reaction to the trade war he set in motion. After a week of sustained losses, embarrassing Trump in front of the wealthy investors whose respect he desperately craves, he “capitulated.”
Amid this chaos, and as Trump and his cronies worried about their public image, Hurd quietly went about attempting to reconcile Trump’s order to implement the tariffs with the U.S. Constitution. In the end, he could not.
That is the Hurd I know. While we do not agree on all policy matters, I like and respect him. He is intelligent and thoughtful. He engages in a thorough analysis before making a decision. He is a deeply moral and ethical man. Sometimes, he seems to be an example of real life imitating art, a living, breathing Jefferson Smith. And he believes in the Constitution our founders drafted.
That makes him an extreme outlier in the Republican congressional caucus.
Most of his GOP colleagues cannot get through a cup of coffee without proclaiming themselves a “constitutional conservative.” That has been a catchphrase for decades in Republican circles. But very few have actually read the whole document, much less stand by it when politically inconvenient.
They believe the volume of their words conceal their absence of action.
Burdened by his strength of character, Hurd is not willing to adopt that common approach. An attorney who garnered bipartisan praise for the public service he performed prior to campaigning for Congress, he approaches questions like tariffs with a consistent, methodical manner. In this case, the outcome made it “very clear that the tariff responsibility lies with Congress.”
That puts him in conflict with Speaker Mike Johnson, who continues to carry Trump’s water. Johnson forced through a procedural move to protect Trump’s tariffs last week. Time and again Johnson has demonstrated that he will contort himself in whatever pretzel Trump requires — at least when he is not too busy repressing mothers of newborn children.
Most freshman members of Congress do not cross their party leaders like that. Particularly members from relatively safe districts where a primary is a greater threat to an incumbent than the general election. Hurd beat the well-funded Adam Frisch — who nearly upset Rep. Lauren Boebert in 2022, causing her to carpetbag across the state — by about five points. The seat he serves in has been categorized as “Likely Republican” by The Center for Politics. It would take a generational wave, akin to the 2010 election that saw a 63-vote swing, to jeopardize Hurd in a general election.
To stay in office, to stay in power, all Hurd would need to do is keep his head down, follow the party line, and attend a few rubber chicken events across the district every month. That is exactly what most elected officials would do.
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But Hurd really believes in the rule of law (he also criticized Trump for pardoning J6 insurrectionists) and the framework that sustained our country for 250 years. He does not put himself or his ambition above either. That is rare and precious.
It is also likely to earn Hurd a primary opponent, if not now, then sometime in the next six months. The far-right, who have already labeled him a RINO (Republican in Name Only), surely detest his choice to show allegiance to the Constitution over Trump. They will surely trot out a loudmouth moron to nip at Hurd’s heels.
Hopefully the people of the 3rd Congressional District will not be swayed. They have shown independence and a respect for integrity in the past. If they continue to value that, they could have no better representative than Hurd.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on BlueSky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
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