This Senator’s new website tracks federal investments across his state
Plus: Have yourself a very Trump Christmas
Hello, in this issue we’ll look at how Sen. Michael Bennet’s (D-Colo.) office is making it easy for constituents to see where federal investments are being made plus the Trump campaign’s latest Christmas-themed merch.
Scroll to the end to see: the first-ever official White House ornament 🎄
Programming note: I’ll be off for the rest of the year for the holidays. See you in 2025. Miss you already.
This Senator’s new website tracks federal investments across his state
Coloradans curious about how their government is working for them now have a website for that.
Sen. Michael Bennet’s (D-Colo.) office unveiled an updated site this month with an “Investing in Colorado” page that tracks more than $11 billion in federal investments in the state since 2021 on a handy interactive map. Users can click around on the map to find how federal money has been spent in their part of the state, from $1.5 million to realign and widen the Cottonwood Pass to $500,000 for improvements to the Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs. Clicking on investments opens up a pop up that details how much was spent and on what.
“We really want to communicate all the work that he’s doing,” Bennet’s deputy communications director Eric Jones tells me. “They can see investment being made in their community directly.”
Creating the page was a “long process,” Jones says. “We’re blessed to have a state team and a legislative team that tracks this stuff so closely to have the opportunity to put this together.” Indeed, just a handful of offices have their own maps tracking local federal investments, including Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
Unlike campaign sites, lawmakers’ official government sites are for governing, and they can be distinguished with their senate.gov and house.gov URLs. Here constituents can find information about how to get in touch with their elected officials about things like Medicare, Social Security, and veterans benefits, and request tickets for White House tours or for flags flown over the U.S. Capitol.
It’s up to lawmakers’ discretion when and how to update their office’s sites. Bennet’s site was last updated in 2018, and the revamp also includes new branding. The previous minimalist mountain logo and a sans-serif wordmark was swapped for a new badge-style logo showing a mountain forest scene and the senator’s name in Roca, a retro serif typeface designed by Elena Genova.
Bennet’s site welcomes visitors with a button asking “How Can I Help You?” that takes users to a list of services his office offers, and a “Write Me A Message” button with ways to contact him. The color palette for the site is based on colors found in nature photographs of Colorado, and Jones says the goal was to “communicate Colorado.”
“We really wanted to focus on Sen. Bennet’s connection to Colorado and make sure that people see that,” he says.
Update: this story was updated with more information.
Have yourself a very Trump Christmas
When Santa Claus is making his list and checking it twice to find out who’s naughty or nice, do you think he takes into consideration federal charges related to mishandled classified documents and an attempt to overturn an election even though the cases were dropped? Asking for the first-ever incoming president in U.S. history to be convicted of crimes whose federal charges were dismissed after he won the election.
The presidential campaign is over, but the fundraising is not, and President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign is out with its latest Christmas collection, splitting the proceeds with its joint-fundraising committees and the Republican National Committee.