Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, the top Republican in the Colorado House of Representatives, announced her resignation from the Legislature on Monday.

“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 wrote in a letter to friends and supporters.

The Colorado Springs Republican wrote that a desire to be more present with her two children was a driving force in the decision. She wrote that they plan to move back to Mesa County.

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“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,” she wrote.

Colorado Politics first reported Pugliese’s resignation late on Sunday night.

Pugliese was first elected in 2022 to represent House District 14 in El Paso County. She was reelected in 2024. In January 2024, she was picked by fellow Republicans to lead the minority caucus after former Representative Mike Lynch stepped down from leadership in the wake of a drunken driving scandal.

Her resignation comes about one month after a public confrontation on the House floor on the last day of a special legislative session. Democrats accused her of failing to disclose that former Representative Ryan Armagost, a Berthoud Republican, took a photo of Democratic Representative Yara Zokaie and sent it in a Republican House caucus group chat. Republicans responded with crude comments about Zokaie’s appearance and outfit and the photo then landed on social media. It went viral and Zokaie faced threats and harassment, including towards her children.

Pugliese insists that she told House Democratic leadership on April 14 that Armagost took the photo, and those leaders then failed to tell Zokaie. Democrats say they had to review House security camera footage to determine that Armagost took the photo.

It came to a head during a debate over a resolution to condemn Armagost’s behavior, and Pugliese confronted House Majority Leader Monica Duran.

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“I am not a liar. I do not appreciate even (implying) that I am a liar, especially in a situation like this,” she said on the House floor.

Duran then responded to Pugliese and said it was an inappropriate time for the topic.

“The point of this day, in this moment, is to acknowledge what one of your members did to a member of mine,” Duran said. “If you want to talk about your character, or lack of character, let’s have that conversation. But I will not have that conversation here in this well.”

Pugliese immediately left the chamber, but returned to vote in favor of the resolution. In her resignation letter, she cited that incident and referenced the “collapse of integrity in the Colorado State House of Representatives.”

“The lies and hypocrisies the Majority spewed were beyond what I had ever expected, even in Colorado politics. It has been degraded, and the one word that is at the top of my mind is toxic,” she wrote.

House Republicans will now need to pick a new leader. A vacancy committee will also need to convene in Pugliese’s district to pick her replacement.

Duran and House Speaker Julie McCluskie thanked Pugliese for her time in the Legislature but did not address the incident during special session.

“Stepping up to lead a caucus and represent communities in our state legislature are commendable acts of public service, and we thank Minority Leader Pugliese for her commitment to the people of her district and service in the legislature. We admire her dedication to her children, and we wish her all the best in her move to Mesa County and in the next chapter of her life,” they said in a joint statement.

The former Senate minority leader, Paul Lundeen, also resigned this summer to head the American Excellence Foundation. Senate Republicans chose Senator Cleave Simpson to replace him as minority leader.