Two big congressional news stories broke from Colorado last week — both involving prominent Republicans making dubious bets.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert abandoned President Donald Trump on Iran, and Trump re-embraced U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd after wrongly un-endorsing his bid for reelection in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District weeks before.

“I’ve already told leadership, ‘I am a no on any war supplementals,’” Boebert told CNN. “I am so tired of spending money elsewhere. I am tired of the industrial war complex getting all of our hard-earned tax dollars. I have folks in Colorado who can’t afford to live.”

The primary role of government is to protect the nation and secure individual rights, not to subsidize people who “can’t afford to live.” Boebert appears to invert those priorities, which is its own problem. But she’s compounded it by categorically breaking with Trump.

Boebert claims it wouldn’t be “America First” to provide $200 billion additional Pentagon funding for Iran. Yet the purpose of Operation Epic Fury is to advance America’s interests.

Iran has been a destabilizing force for decades — as the world’s #1 sponsor of terrorism, by killing Americans directly and through proxies, and by advancing the Islamic republic’s nuclear and ballistic-missile capabilities in defiance of the world.

This cocktail of dangers had gotten to the point where, as combat veteran and Congressman Gabe Evans said at the outset, it presented “an absolutely unacceptable risk.”

That is “America First.” Trump is merely the first president to fully back his statements with a historic show of force.

The Trump administration’s objective is clear: remove the destabilizing elements — top leadership, nuclear infrastructure, missile systems and naval capabilities.

Boebert may frame her position as fiscal responsibility, but outright rejecting funds for the military campaign is tantamount to calling for withdrawal. If the mission isn’t funded, at some point it must be abandoned. That’s a distinction without a difference.

Not even a month into the conflict, Boebert is already abandoning President Trump. Until Iran’s core destabilizing elements are eradicated, holding funding won’t end the threat. It prematurely undermines the effort to eliminate it.

Perhaps Boebert feels vulnerable in November and views an anti-war position as necessary to secure her standing. But among Colorado’s Republican representatives, she has the safest seat.

Whatever her reasons, Boebert’s broader political calculus is also flawed. She could be weakening her standing by breaking with Trump at a pivotal time.

Voters don’t usually grade Republicans on a curve. When they’re divided on consequential questions of war and national security, the dissension reflects on the party as a whole, not just the dissenter.

It’s a hard lesson Republicans are learning in real time — including Trump himself in Colorado’s vulnerable 3rd District. On Friday, Trump announced he’d met with Hurd’s longshot primary opponent, Hope Scheppelman, and convinced her to withdraw and take a job in his administration.

“We decided that Congressman Jeff Hurd, of Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, should in no way, shape, or form, be impeded from winning the District in that the Democrat alternative is a DISASTER for our country,” Trump wrote, throwing his full support behind Hurd’s reelection.

Just weeks ago, Trump pulled support from Hurd after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his “Liberation Day” tariffs. Trump, seemingly looking for someplace to direct his anger following the ruling, targeted Hurd for publicly opposing his tariffs.

Hurd was representing his Western Slope district hit hard by tariffs, especially in agriculture, and standing up for Congress’s role in tariff authority. Normally, a president would write off one dissenting vote for a representative from a competitive district. Apparently not this time.

But Trump’s eventual about-face demonstrates the original un-endorsement was a mistake that put a Republican seat at greater risk — worsened by the fact that Scheppelman is woefully unfit for Congress.

During the 2024 primaries, Scheppelman — then vice chair of the Colorado GOP — stunned Republicans by sharing an attack ad against Hurd that was created and paid for by the leading Democratic challenger, Adam Frisch. Except in her posts, the video’s legal disclaimer was intentionally removed. After backlash, she doubled down, reposting the video and proudly conceding, “I have posted a video paid for by Adam Frisch.”

The Frisch fiasco underscored how unserious Scheppelman is. The absurdity was amplified by an infamous, rain-soaked huddle she held under a Bayfield bridge while still GOP vice chair — a five-minute meeting worthy of a Saturday Night Live skit.

Let’s be clear: Scheppelman doesn’t deserve a job in the Trump administration. But the president made a rash decision when he unendorsed Hurd and backed her, putting himself in a box.

Now, Trump’s decision to bust open that box — by moving Scheppelman out of the way and getting back on board with Hurd — allows Republicans to coalesce in the 3rd District. That’s the right call.

If Boebert’s break with Trump and Trump’s stumbles over Hurd are any indication, Republicans are playing with political fire at a precarious moment. It could cost them the House.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.