When he was running for Congress in 2024, Gabe Evans said that if elected, it would be his “mission” to stop the “scourge of fentanyl.”
It was a central campaign theme, repeated by Evans in ads, radio shows, debates, interviews, and pretty much anywhere else he could say it. He blamed the substance abuse crisis on Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, the state legislature, immigrants, the “left,” and every single Democratic leader in Colorado, especially his congressional opponent, incumbent Yadira Caraveo, whom he dramatically – and falsely – identified as “responsible for it all.”
Evans didn’t seem to care that his hyperbole was mocked as “bull****” by fact checkers. He continued to point to different aspects of the issue, blame his opponents, and say that, as a former police officer, he knew “how to fix it.“
And Evans has held on to the issue, still bringing it up frequently on social media and elsewhere, most recently at the Republican state convention last weekend.
But since he entered Congress, Evans has acted as if he were elected to exacerbate problems related to drug abuse, not solve them. His actions in Congress will likely worsen the crisis, say experts, leading to more overdose deaths, less health care for people with substance abuse problems, and cuts to programs and services for addicts.
One Big Beautiful Bill Hurts Addicts
Evans’ biggest blow to Colorado’s efforts to combat substance abuse came in the form of his two votes for the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), which cut $1 trillion from Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income people that’s funded with federal and state dollars. It was the largest cut in the program’s history and is expected to result in an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 Coloradans losing health insurance.
Of those, an estimated 53,000 Medicaid enrollees in Colorado with “substance-use disorder could lose coverage and access to treatment” under the OBBB, according to a report by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank. Nationally, over 1.6 million people with this disorder could be dropped from Medicaid. In a commentary published by the Brookings Institution, Regina LaBelle, a professor at Georgetown University, and David R. Holtgrave, an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University, reported last year that the Medicaid cuts for drug abuse treatment would have “devastating consequences.”
As a result, according to a University of Pennsylvania study, the U.S. can expect 1,000 more overdose deaths over a year.
The OBBB’s new Medicaid eligibility requirements, which require enrollees to work or volunteer at least 80 hours per month to receive assistance, will make it hard for people who need substance abuse treatment to maintain their coverage, says Adam Fox, deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, an advocacy group, even if this requirement does not apply to some.
“I think especially with the work requirements that are going to be starting in January, it’s gonna make it a lot harder for adults and parents to maintain their Medicaid coverage, and if they have a substance abuse illness that they need treated, that’s gonna make it that much harder for them to receive the treatment they need,” Fox told the Colorado Times Recorder. “And ultimately, it won’t make it any easier for them to maintain employment.
In the big picture, says Fox, the OBBB “fundamentally undermines Medicaid,” and access to substance use treatment that comes with it.
Evans has shown no qualms whatsoever about his votes for the OBBB, even telling a conservative radio host that he deserves “100%” credit for the bill’s passage because his victory in a swing state enabled Republicans to gain a majority in the U.S. House and pass the measure. (In fact, despite what Evans claims, his vote wasn’t decisive in the passage of the OBBB.)
Evans Silent As Trump “Dismantles” Treatment Systems
The Trump Administration has also attacked a variety of companion programs to support people with substance use disorders. These programs have been proven to be effective.
In January, Trump officials sent letters terminating $2 billion in grants to nonprofit groups, many of which provide direct support for people with mental illnesses or substance abuse problems. Colorado would have lost about $250 million, but the decision was reversed a day after the letters were sent.
The federal agency that manages the funds targeted by Trump is called the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which was hit with over 100 layoffs as part of Trump’s DOGE initiative last year.
The attacks on SAMHSA were widely denounced by advocates, including Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), who told Colorado Public Radio in October that Trump was “dismantling the very systems that have helped support people to get the treatment they need.”
Evans didn’t speak up in support of SAMHSA this year or last year, even though SAMHSA provides funding for Narcan, which can reverse an overdose and is credited with saving tens of thousands of lives in the U.S.
Evans brought Liz Hardy, whose daughter died of a fentanyl overdose, to the 2025 State of the Union to spotlight the fentanyl crisis. Hardy believes Narcan could have saved her daughter — and she’s been an advocate for its wide distribution.
Fox says the attacks on SAMHSA have created widespread uncertainty and made it “harder for the entities that provide treatment to “stay afloat and provide the services that Coloradans need.”
Evans’ office didn’t return a request for comment, but in a post on X last month, Evans wrote: “A recent study shows that while overdose deaths are falling across the country, Colorado continues to move in the wrong direction. Why? Because state Democrats have embraced soft-on-crime, sanctuary-style policies that weaken accountability and make it easier for deadly drugs to devastate our communities. And don’t just take it from me. Even the study’s authors pointed to Colorado’s drug laws as being ‘not as strict.'”
Evans, who does not face a challenger in June’s GOP primary, will likely face either former state Rep. Shannon Bird of Westminster or state Rep. Manny Rutinel of Commerce City in November’s election. His district, which is located north of Denver, is widely considered to be key in the battle over which party controls the U.S. House next year. In 2024, Evans defeated Caraveo by fewer than 2,500 votes, one of the slimmest margins in the country.
