White House Email Asked Five Agencies for ‘Immediate Actions’ on Colorado the Same Day Trump Attacked Its Governor Over Tina Peters

A deputy assistant to the president emailed officials at the Energy, Transportation, Interior and Agriculture departments and the Office of Management and Budget at about 3 a.m. on Dec. 15, 2025, calling a “brainstorm call” to discuss “immediate actions that your department or agency can take with respect to Colorado,” according to the Denver Post and The New York Times. Hours later Trump called Gov. Jared Polis “weak and pathetic” over the imprisonment of Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk convicted in an elections-office security breach.

Within days Colorado reported the closure of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, the end of $615 million in Energy Department funding, and the rejection of wildfire disaster relief. The causal link remains contested.

Colorado officials called the email a “smoking gun” at an Aug. 11 hearing in the state’s retaliation lawsuit. Attorney General Phil Weiser said it shows the White House “orchestrated an unconstitutional scheme to weaponize the federal government.” No court has ruled on the claim.