Trump admin's pause on Job Corps could hurt certain Mesa County residents, Weiser says
MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KREX) – Job Corps in Collbran – the only center in Colorado – is facing an uncertain future after the U.S. Department of Labor announced freezing the program.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, along with 17 other AGs, urged a federal court to protect the national program that provides career training and housing for those with a low-income background. Although operations at the center in Collbran will continue, its future remains in doubt, Weiser said.
'Despite facing financial hardship and other adversity in their lives, the students who enroll in Job Corps and live at centers like the one in Mesa County are working to improve their lives by learning important skills like carpentry, masonry, or even wildland firefighting,' said Weiser.
'This reckless decision will rob hardworking young people of a chance to better themselves and their communities, and risks leaving thousands of vulnerable young people homeless. I am urging the court not to allow the Trump administration to continue with this cruel and illegal plan.'
A bipartisan group and U.S. Rep Jeff Hurd have asked the Trump administration to keep Job Corps running. According to Weiser, many students were either homeless or living in foster care. They also do not have another place to go if the center closed, the Colorado attorney general said.
In a brief filed Friday, Weiser and the other AGs said, 'in the 60 years since Congress created Job Corps, millions of young Americans from low-income backgrounds have been served by the program's unique combination of education, training, housing, health care and community.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
37 minutes ago
- Washington Post
White House releases Situation Room photos from when U.S. struck Iran sites
After President Donald Trump launched the first significant U.S. military strike on Iranian soil since the 1979 overthrow of the U.S.-backed shah of Iran, the White House late Saturday released its photos of the president and his top advisers conferring in the Situation Room. The scenes were captured in the windowless room where top-secret operations are discussed and monitored. The White House photos showed Trump, wearing a MAGA hat, at the head of the table, surrounded by advisers including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
San Francisco Chronicle
38 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Photos: S.F. Juneteenth Parade a joyful celebration of Black freedom and heritage
The third annual San Francisco Juneteenth Parade enlivened Market Street on Sunday with an array of floats and performers, united by the theme of Black pride. A dozen block parties were in full swing through the duration of the parade, from the Embarcadero to Civic Center. The parties featured children's activities, a car show, games, giveaways, line dancing, musical performances and dances. San Francisco's parade was one of many events around the Bay Area this month celebrating Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned of their emancipation more than two years earlier. President Joe Biden declared June 19 a federal holiday four years ago, though his successor, President Donald Trump, did not sign a proclamation celebrating Juneteenth this year. Trump, who has sought to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies nationwide, has said the U.S. has 'too many non-working holidays' and that they harm the economy. Regardless, the mood was celebratory and upbeat Thursday during the Hella Juneteenth Festival at the Oakland Museum of California, where hundreds of people enjoyed live music, food and drinks while acknowledging the added significance of the holiday this year under Trump. Last weekend, San Francisco's Fillmore neighborhood celebrated Juneteenth with a party spanning eight blocks featuring performers, vendors, games and a fashion show.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
KY Rep. Thomas Massie is at odds again with Trump over Iran. Here's the history
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and President Donald Trump don't always see eye-to-eye. In fact, the two Republicans have been at odds for most of Trump's second term. Massie was one of only two House Republican 'no' votes on the president's massive spending bill, and he's been the loudest voice in the room against Trump's actions against Iran. And on Saturday, Massie led GOP opposition to the Trump administration's intervention in the Israel-Iran war by striking three Iranian nuclear development sites. Trump has repeatedly called the 4th Congressional District Rep. a 'grandstander' and said earlier this year he 'should be primaried.' The past few months are just the latest in a long history between Massie and Trump, though. The pair agree on many conservative principles, and have endorsed each other at points, but Massie's relationship with has been among the most frictional of any sitting lawmaker over the years. Here's a timeline: Massie, a critic of most precautionary measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, forced an in-person vote on a Trump-backed relief package early in the pandemic in 2020. Members of both parties criticized Massie, and Trump called him a 'third-rate grandstander.' The president also urged Republican leaders at the time to 'throw Massie out of Republican Party.' Later that year, a GOP primary challenger's attempt to brand Massie as disloyal to the president fell far short of success. The challenger, Todd McMurtry, notched 19 percentage points to Massie's 81. During the next election cycle, Claire Wirth took a similar tack and lost by roughly the same margin. Shortly after Massie's primary win, Trump endorsed him for the general election, calling the representative a 'Conservative Warrior' and a 'first-rate Defender of the Constitution.' In 2023, Massie hitched his wagon to the GOP presidential primary campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The governor was viewed widely as the most viable Republican alternative to Trump. Massie made several out-of-state appearances with DeSantis before DeSantis withdrew from the race in early 2024. In May 2024, Massie trounced his two GOP primary opponents, including Eric Deters, a Northern Kentucky political figure who has hewed close to Trump. In October 2024, just 11 days before the general election, Massie endorsed Trump in his ultimately successful bid for president. One of Trump's first legislative priorities was a funding bill that averted a government shutdown. Massie was the only 'no' vote on the bill in March of this year, prompting Trump's call that he 'should be primaried,' and vowing to 'lead the charge against him.' In the midst of that scrum, former co-manager of the Trump 2024 presidential campaign Chris LaCivita posted a cryptic message on social media indicating he'd work against Massie. As of late June, a legitimate primary challenger has yet to be announced. On Trump's wide-reaching 'Big Beautiful Bill,' Massie was unflagging in his opposition, citing its likelihood of increasing the national deficit and not cutting entitlement programs like Medicaid as much as he'd like. Trump made a pitch to Massie face-to-face at a House GOP caucus meeting in May, and Massie was unmoved. Two days later, Massie was one of just two House GOP members to vote no on the 'Big Beautiful Bill.' Since the conflict between Israel and Iran has heightened in the last 10 days, Massie has been one of the leading anti-intervention voices on the American right. Trump has not responded directly to Massie's activism, which turned to stark criticism following the U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites Saturday. Massie has asserted that the administration needed to consult Congress before launching the attack, and last week introduced a resolution against U.S. involvement in the war. Massie joined his resolution's co-sponsor, California Democrat Ro Khanna, for an interview on CBS Sunday denouncing the strikes. He framed the aggression as going against a crucial part of the new Republican party that stands against foreign intervention, adding he believes it was 'a good week for the neo-cons in the military industrial complex who want war all the time.'
