{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/watch-hickenlooper-takes-aim-at-trumps-golden-age-of-corruption-in-senate-floor-speech/", "WATCH: Hickenlooper Takes Aim at Trump\u2019s \u201cGolden Age of Corruption\u201d in Senate Floor Speech", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "John W. Hickenlooper", "H000273", "www.hickenlooper.senate.gov", "hickenlooper", "https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press/page/", "scraper", "Hickenlooper: \u201cIt\u2019s an era of spoils and bribery for the powerful and well-connected, while you are left behind.\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper took to the Senate floor to call out President Trump for his corruption and the cost-of-living emergency he\u2019s created.\n\n\u201cNearly 20 months into his second term, President Trump calls this period in American history a \u2018Golden Age,\u2019\u201d said Hickenlooper on the Senate floor. \u201cGolden \u2013 for who? For billionaires. For Mar-a-Lago members. For the president\u2019s cronies. Not for farmers on the Western Slope, small business owners in Colorado Springs, or working families in Denver.\u201d\n\nWatch his full speech HERE.\n\n\u201cHousing. Gas. Groceries. When everything costs more, it\u2019s hard for Americans to plan for today, let alone tomorrow. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are abandoning long-term financial milestones and cutting back just to get by,\u201d Hickenlooper continued. \u201cBut President Trump\u2019s Wall Street friends aren\u2019t cutting back. Not at all. His company is charging them up to $100,000 a month for faster access to his Truth Social posts that routinely influence stock prices. That\u2019s more than the median American household makes in an entire year. All to give greedy investment bankers another leg up.\n\n\u201cThis isn\u2019t normal. This isn\u2019t simply corruption. This is a sellout \u2013 of you, of America, of the office we used to respect in this country.\u201d\n\nHickenlooper blasted the president for personally profiting off his war in Iran that has claimed the lives of 18 servicemembers and cost Americans billions. Hickenlooper has introduced a War Powers Resolution to direct President Trump to terminate U.S. military hostilities against Iran and has voted repeatedly to end the president\u2019s war.\n\n\u201cWhile Americans are shelling out over $100 billion more in energy costs since President Trump started his illegal war with Iran. He has raked in millions of dollars off oil and gas stocks. He\u2019s not only enriching himself, but his billionaire buddies, too.\u201d\n\nHe highlighted how the president and his family\u2019s self-dealing extends to artificial intelligence and data centers while Americans pay higher energy prices.\n\n\u201cDonald Trump Jr.\u2019s venture capital firm has invested millions in AI companies. One of the UAE\u2019s most powerful royals has invested half a billion dollars in the Trump family\u2019s cryptocurrency venture.\n\n\u201cSo, it should come as no surprise that President Trump has rolled back AI safeguards and authorized Big Tech to sell some of America\u2019s most advanced AI chips to the Emiratis. Or that his Big Beautiful Bill cut $1 trillion from your healthcare while handing businesses massive tax breaks to fuel investments in AI.\u201d\n\nHe continued, \u201cYour energy bills are spiking. You\u2019re worried your job could be next. Your farm is already facing a water shortage. Meanwhile, billionaires have turned AI into a horse race focused only on who is winning, with too little thought for humanity and who gets left behind.\u201d\n\nHe also called out President Trump for ignoring the soaring housing costs while his son-in-law\u2019s invests in luxury housing across the world.\n\n\u201cNearly half of all U.S. renters now spend roughly a third of their income on housing costs. Nine in ten young people say it\u2019s harder to buy a property now than a generation before,\u201d said Hickenlooper. \u201cInstead of building more affordable housing here, the Trump family is building more housing in Saudi Arabia. The president\u2019s son-in-law is using his position as special envoy for peace to cut a $3 billion-dollar sweetheart deal to build high-end housing some 6,000 miles away.\n\nHe continued,\u201d While people on the Eastern Plains are unsure how they\u2019ll ever afford a home, the Trump family is shoring up housing in the Middle East.\u201d\n\nThroughout August recess, Hickenlooper traveled across Colorado and heard from Coloradans getting crushed by Trump\u2019s cost-of-living emergency.\n\nRanchers and farmers described how the increasing costs caused by Trump\u2019s war in Iran are crushing them. Healthcare providers highlighted how the Republican\u2019s cruel healthcare cuts are undermining the care they can provide for their community and how families are now paying double for their insurance.\n\nHickenlooper has fought against the president\u2019s disastrous budget bill that gutted health care to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. He\u2019s doing a state-wide tour of local hospitals and clinics to meet with Coloradans and hear how they are grappling with the increasing costs of healthcare. He helped defeat Trump\u2019s effort to sell off millions of acres of public lands to pay for his lavish tax cuts. He is working to permanently end Trump\u2019s slush fund for Tina Peters, Proud Boys, and January 6th rioters.\n\nFor a full video of Hickenlooper\u2019s remarks, click HERE. A full transcript of his remarks as prepared for delivery is available below:\n\nMr. President,\n\nIn 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump traveled to Gettysburg where he vowed to \u201cdrain the swamp.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe system is designed for one reason: to keep the corrupt establishment and special interests in power,\u201d he told the crowd. He then declared: \u201cI have no special interest but you, the American voter.\u201d\n\nIn hindsight, that wasn\u2019t a promise. It was a projection.\n\nMillions of Americans voted for President Trump in that election and again in 2024 because they believed he would end the corruption in Washington and lower costs.\n\nNearly 20 months into his second term, President Trump calls this period in American history a \u201cGolden Age.\u201d Golden \u2013 for who? For billionaires. For Mar-a-Lago members. For the president\u2019s cronies. Not for farmers on the Western Slope, small business owners in Colorado Springs, or working families in Denver.\n\nWhat we\u2019re living through isn\u2019t a \u201cgolden age\u201d of America. It\u2019s a golden age of corruption.\n\nIt\u2019s an era of spoils and bribery for the powerful and well-connected, while YOU are left behind.\n\nAmericans do what they can. The president and his cronies do what they want.\n\nTake housing. Nearly half of all U.S. renters now spend roughly a third of their income on housing costs. Nine in ten young people say it\u2019s harder to buy a property now than a generation before.\n\nInstead of building more affordable housing here, the Trump family is building more housing in Saudi Arabia.\n\nThe president\u2019s son-in-law is using his position as special envoy for peace to cut a $3 billion-dollar sweetheart deal to build high-end housing some 6,000 miles away.\n\nWhile people on the Eastern Plains are unsure how they\u2019ll ever afford a home, the Trump family is shoring up housing in the Middle East.\n\nThen there\u2019s energy.\n\nWhile Americans are shelling out over $100 billion more in energy costs since President Trump started his illegal war with Iran\u2026 He has raked in millions of dollars off oil and gas stocks.\n\nHe\u2019s not only enriching himself, but his billionaire buddies, too.\n\nThe president has spent more than a billion dollars of YOUR taxpayer money to cancel clean energy projects, all while his neighbor in Palm Beach stands to cash in on a massive payout.\n\nYour energy bills go up. His friends\u2019 bank accounts go up faster.\n\nAnd that pattern of self-dealing extends to artificial intelligence.\n\nDonald Trump Jr.\u2019s venture capital firm has invested millions in AI companies. One of the UAE\u2019s most powerful royals has invested half a billion dollars in the Trump family\u2019s cryptocurrency venture.\n\nSo, it should come as no surprise that President Trump has rolled back AI safeguards and authorized Big Tech to sell some of America\u2019s most advanced AI chips to the Emiratis. Or that his Big Beautiful Bill cut $1 trillion from your healthcare while handing businesses massive tax breaks to fuel investments in AI.\n\nYour energy bills are spiking. You\u2019re worried your job could be next. Your farm is already facing a water shortage. Meanwhile, billionaires have turned AI into a horse race focused only on who is winning, with too little thought for humanity and who gets left behind.\n\nBut now, even some of the biggest names in AI are warning that we\u2019re moving too fast. The question is: Will we listen?\n\nWill we act?\n\nHousing. Gas. Groceries. When everything costs more, it\u2019s hard for Americans to plan for today, let alone tomorrow. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are abandoning long-term financial milestones and cutting back just to get by.\n\nBut President Trump\u2019s Wall Street friends aren\u2019t cutting back. Not at all. His company is charging them up to $100,000 a month for faster access to his Truth Social posts that routinely influence stock prices. That\u2019s more than the median American household makes in an entire year. All to give greedy investment bankers another leg up.\n\nThis isn\u2019t normal. This isn\u2019t simply corruption. This is a sellout \u2013 of you, of America, of the office we used to respect in this country.\n\nIn his first year back in office, President Trump made over two billion dollars.\n\nSo, what has he learned from his first term? The answer is clear. It\u2019s not how to lead or how to make life more affordable for Americans. It\u2019s how to leverage the presidency for personal profit.\n\nAnd that\u2019s what it all boils down to. Profit over peace. Profit over people. Profit over principle.\n\nThat\u2019s the opposite of what government service should be about.\n\nOver the last two months, I\u2019ve traveled through the San Luis Valley, through Colorado\u2019s mountain communities, and everywhere in between to hear what Coloradans need at this moment.\n\nThey need leaders who will tackle the cost-of-living emergency. Leaders who will help keep their businesses open amid difficult headwinds and their farms afloat through record drought.\n\nThey don\u2019t need leaders who only look after themselves and other billionaires. They don\u2019t need leaders focused on renaming lakes and building monuments to themselves.\n\nThis president can\u2019t seem to get out of his own way.\n\nWhen we passed the most consequential housing bill in decades, opening the door to homeownership for millions of Americans and stopping Wall Street from buying up homes that belong to working families, President Trump refused to sign it.\n\nWhen we passed a unanimous bill to deliver clean, reliable drinking water to 50,000 Coloradans \u2013 many of whom voted for President Trump \u2013 he vetoed it.\n\nWhen we made a once-in-a-generation investment to address climate change and preserve a future for our kids, the president and his administration cancelled tens of billions in grant funding that would have helped our environment while creating good paying jobs.\n\nIf we want to revive the American dream, we must start by undoing the damage this administration has done.\n\nPresident Trump has started a forever war with Iran that\u2019s already costing American lives, sent prices climbing, and drained our military stockpiles.\n\nLet\u2019s end it.\n\nPresident Trump has imposed crippling, illegal tariffs that are driving up costs for families and small businesses alike.\n\nLet\u2019s end them.\n\nPresident Trump\u2019s immigration agenda has diverted billions in federal funding from healthcare to lawless immigration enforcement executed by undertrained officers.\n\nLet\u2019s end it. All of it. And let\u2019s get back to the promise that another president once made at Gettysburg: a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.\n\nThat\u2019s how we move our country forward. That\u2019s how we begin to make your life better again.\n\nThank you, Mr. President.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/watch-hickenlooper-takes-aim-at-trumps-golden-age-of-corruption-in-senate-floor-speech/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.095188945531845, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}