House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, a Colorado Springs Republican, said her kids “need their mom right now — and I need to keep them safe”
House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, the top Republican in the Colorado House of Representatives, announced her resignation from the legislature effective Monday, saying she was stepping down to be more present for her kids.
“I have spent the months reflecting on my life choices, especially in relation to my children,” she said in a letter Sunday to friends and supporters. “As a single mom, I raise my two children on my own. I am all that they have. There is nothing more important in my life than them. They have made so many sacrifices for me to be able to represent you. But they also need their mom right now, and I need to keep them safe.”
Pugliese’s decision comes after she had a high-profile clash with Democrats on the House floor last month at the end of a special legislative session. She cited that situation, as well as the assassination last week of conservative political influencer Charlie Kirk, in her letter.
“This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. When you are called to service, as I have been, it is difficult to walk away at a time when so many things need attention,” she said.
Pugliese is the second top Republican at the Capitol to depart in the past few months. Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, resigned in June to pursue a job leading a national conservative organization.
Lundeen and Pugliese are leaving as the GOP is trying to find its way back to relevance in the Colorado General Assembly. Republicans have been in the minority in both the House and Senate since 2019.
Reading the back-story for why she made headlines is basically Republicans in a nutshell. A white male R state senator took a subtle photo of an Iranian-American female D state senator without her permission. He then shared the photo on a GOP group chat where they all made fun of her and said she looks like a stripper and a prostitute. When it got reported that this was happening in their chat, he deleted his post and denied knowing anything about it. The guy is also the Chair of the anti-harassment committee. This woman who just resigned also said she had no idea who took the photo or anything about the chat that she was on. When security footage showed the guy took the photo and screenshots of the chat showed him making fun of her, he decided to resign to avoid punishment while also making a Twitter post about how he was being unjustly persecuted. This woman also got on the floor to yell at people for calling to question her integrity for lying about who took the photo and everything about the case.
How dare this woman of color act like a white person while wearing whatever she wants!?!
How dare you question my integrity after I lied right to your face to protect an abusive piece of shit!?!
Also, since body shaming is OK for him, let me say that he looks exactly like who you would picture if someone said, “a truck driver was arrested for aggravated assault while intoxicated.”
Thanks for the context.