Early career Skaggs spent three years on active duty in the
United States Marine Corps, including service in Vietnam with the
1st Marine Division and assignments on Okinawa and at Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, DC. Upon discharge from active duty in 1971, he remained in the Marine Reserves until 1978, attaining the rank of Major. Skaggs first became involved in politics as a Democratic Party volunteer and officer in 1971. In 1974, he was hired as an aide to United States Representative
Tim Wirth of Colorado, a position he held until 1977.
U.S. House of Representatives He ran successfully for a seat in the
Colorado House of Representatives in 1980, and he served three terms—two as Minority Leader—before running for Congress. While in the House, he served initially on the
Science, Space & Technology Committee and the
Public Works & Transportation Committee, before winning a seat on the
Appropriations Committee in 1991. He also served six years (1993–99) on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He and Representative
Ray LaHood were founding co-chairs of the House Bi-Partisan Retreat, first held in 1997 and designed to encourage civility and comity in the House; the retreats continued through 2003. He was also co-founder of the Constitutional Forum (with Representative
Jim Leach), a series of seminars with distinguished guest lecturers who led member discussions of constitutional issues. During the 104th Congress, Skaggs was Chairman of the
Democratic Study Group, the principal policy and reform organization of House Democrats. In 1992, Skaggs came under fire for his overdrafts from the so-called House bank. His resignation raised eyebrows at the time, as no specific resignation reason was given; Skaggs merely cited a dispute with Gov. Bill Ritter. Skaggs was appointed the first chair of the board of the new
Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) in 2008. After control of the House changed to the Republicans in 2010, former Florida Representative and
CIA Director
Porter Goss became OCE board chair, with Skaggs as co-chair. Additionally, Skaggs was a member of the
U. S. Public Interest Declassification Board from 2005 to 2016. He serves on the boards of trustees of the National Endowment for Democracy and the American University of Iraq. He received the 2017 Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
David E. Skaggs Research Center in Boulder, Colorado, for which he secured funding, is named in his honor. He now is affiliated with the Denver office of
Dentons, where he works as a senior strategic advisor and independent consultant. He leads the legal team in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Colorado's so-called
Taxpayer Bill of Rights ("TABOR"). In January 2023, Skaggs was one of several applicants to fill the Colorado House District 12 seat vacated by the resignation of Rep.
Tracey Bernett. The committee elected Louisville councilman
Kyle Brown for the seat. Skaggs endorsed an
uncommitted vote in the
2024 Colorado Democratic presidential primary. In a column for
The Denver Post, he praised
Joe Biden's presidency but expressed doubt over his odds at re-election, and wrote that "he should step aside, as
Lyndon Johnson did in
March 1968 [...] preserve the splendid legacy he has earned, and avoid the embarrassment he doesn't deserve". In July 2024, after
Joe Biden's poorly received performance in
the first presidential debate on June 27, and subsequent
calls for him to suspend his campaign, Skaggs organized 24 former members of
Congress to sign a letter asking Biden to drop out of the race. == Personal life ==