Latest news with #JaredPolis
CTV News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Man pleads not guilty to hate crimes in attack on Colorado demonstration for Israeli hostages
Colorado Governor Jared Polis speaks during an event outside the Boulder County Courthouse, Wednesday. June 4, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (Matthew Jonas/The Denver Post via AP)
The Independent
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
White House donates photo of Trump to Colorado Capitol to replace ‘purposefully distorted' painting of the president
The White House has donated a portrait of Donald Trump to the Colorado Capitol to replace one that the president hates. The new artwork, which appears to depict Trump's official photograph, is set to replace a painting the president claimed had been 'purposely distorted' in an alleged petty plot by Colorado Governor Jared Polis. The decision to replace the portrait was made on Thursday by Lois Court, chair of the Colorado Capitol Building Advisory Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the historic preservation of the building. 'It is currently being framed,' Court, a Denver Democrat, told the Colorado Sun. Court told the newspaper she made the decision with two Democratic state legislators on the advisory committee. The committee is reportedly weighing whether to remove presidential portraits altogether to make room for paintings of Colorado's governors. 'In due time,' Court said, 'we will have a thorough discussion about all the presidential portraits.' Colorado Republicans raised over $10,000 to commission the portrait by artist Sarah Boardman, which was unveiled in 2019 during the president's first term. The painting was removed in March after the president flew into a fit of rage and said that Boardman made former President Barack Obama look 'wonderful' but him look 'truly the worst.' Along with his own calls to remove the painting, Trump alleged that Colorado natives had been left furious about the portrait, urging state officials to pull it down. 'She must have lost her talent as she got older,' Trump said in his March Truth Social rant. Boardman said in April that the situation was 'directly and negatively impacting my business of over 41 years, which now is in danger of not recovering.' In a separate interview with the Colorado Times, she claimed that personal politics don't influence her work. The president seized on the moment to take a swipe at Polis and his policies, referencing members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which had a presence in Aurora, Colorado, last year. 'I am speaking on their behalf to the Radical Left Governor, Jared Polis, who is extremely weak on Crime, in particular with respect to Tren de Aragua, which practically took over Aurora (Don't worry, we saved it!), to take it down,' he continued. 'Jared should be ashamed of himself!' Polis, however, wasn't behind the painting, which was commissioned in 2018, months before he took office and a year before it was finally unveiled. Earlier that year, a political activist had snuck into the State Capitol with help from an advisor to Colorado's Democratic House Speaker, Crisanta Duran. A large painting of Russian President Vladimir Putin was erected where Trump's portrait was meant to hang. It came after Republicans reportedly could not raise the funds required to commission the picture of Trump. After the stunt, Kevin Grantham, a Republican who served as president of the Colorado Senate, raised more than $10,000 through GoFundMe for the portrait.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Normalizing Risk In Crypto Policy Debates Promotes Bipartisanship
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) (L) and House Minority ... More Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) rally with fellow Democrats to mark the first 100 days of President Donald Trump's second term in the White House on the East Steps of the U.S. Capitol on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by) If Washington officials and the crypto native industry normalized discussions about risk, could that create a more comfortable place in the sector for Democrats who want to have a different conversation about how to unleash the power of blockchain and cryptocurrency, while also safeguarding market participants? The partisan backlash over stablecoin legislation that has played out in the U.S. House and Senate for the most part has been around risk. There were as many as 100 amendments during debate of the GENIUS Act. Members, such as Senator Ruben Gallego (AZ), who pushed back with real concerns in the end voted in favor of the bill after transparent, good faith negotiations. Normalizing topics about risk, just as we have done with issues like privacy in crypto, may lead to more substantive deliberations and the advancement of a policy and regulatory framework that ensures entrepreneurs and small business owners can innovate here in America. US Democratic Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado uses a Robocoin machine to purchase bitcoins ... More during a demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, April 8, 2014. Robocoin is the world's first bitcoin kiosk for buying and selling the digital currency. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) Democratic Lawmakers Champion Crypto There is already a track record of common ground. The refrain that Democrats are anti-crypto is a misnomer. Democratic officials have been champions for a long time, which is why there have been so many significant policy strides. In a twist of fate, it was President Obama's Commodity Futures Trading Commission in September 2015 that first classified Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities. This decision was justification for an enforcement action that, in hindsight, ended up being a landmark decision that even former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler could not dismantle during his regulation by enforcement tenure. A year later, then Democratic Congressman Jared Polis (CO-02) launched the Congressional Blockchain Caucus in September 2016, along with Republican Congressman Mick Mulvaney (SC-05). 'The blockchain has boundless potential. From cryptocurrencies to supply chains to banking to property titling, blockchain-based solutions have the ability to decentralize cybersecurity and revolutionize many industries. It's vital for Americans, businesses, and members of Congress to learn about blockchain technology so the U.S. can continue to secure its stance as the global leader of ingenuity. The Blockchain Caucus will focus on raising awareness, advancing ideas that foster growth, and safeguarding consumers,' U.S. Rep. Polis said back in 2016. Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (VI) would later become the first female, and Congressional Black Caucus Member, to join that Caucus in 2019. UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 07: Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., leaves the Capitol after the last votes ... More of week on Friday, February 7, 2020. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Financial Inclusion Is Simply No Longer Enough How did things shift? Creating a financial system that is open and accessible to everyone is a guiding principle of the 2008 Bitcoin white paper, and has been central to crypto's narrative from the beginning. So, why has the prospect of financial inclusion not overruled dissenters like Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-32) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA)? They declared war on crypto during COVID and positioned themselves as the unofficial voices for Democrats on all matters relating to crypto. The answer may simply be that Democratic policymakers and rulemakers have been burnt before. Leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, predatory payday and subprime lenders lobbied Congress under the guise of financial inclusion and enlisted prominent civil rights groups to amplify their message. A crisis of their own making? That was the implication in a 2009 analysis by the Center for Public Integrity that stated, "Congress paved the way for the creation of the subprime lending industry in the 1980s." Balancing Innovation With Guardrails Today, many Congressional Democrats may be skeptical when industries make bold claims about any type of inclusion. In the 1990s, the internet industry lobbied Congress and made the case that the world wide web would be a decentralizing medium. Yet, a handful of wealthy now control Web2, and lack of inclusion in Silicon Valley has been the subject of many Congressional inquiries. History may have shown that it is safer to tread cautiously. Washington Democrats certainly have taken a more tempered approach to the crypto industry - focusing on risk, scams, and illicit use of cryptocurrencies. This should not be too surprising since research shows that communities of color have tapped digital assets for wealth creation. Derisking Debates About Risk On a more extremely level, Senator Warren, Congressman Sherman, and their supporters have weaponized valid questions and concerns around anti-money laundering, ransomware, and fraud. Their crusade even imprinted on the Biden Administration, which broadly claimed the current rules were sufficient, contributing to the lack of clarity plaguing the industry today. But they do not compromise a majority of Democratic lawmakers. Most want an honest debate that is not contentious - deliberations where they can ask tough questions and have productive exchanges about solutions. The stake are high. Diverse consumers and nontraditional retail investors - including women, young people, the working class - are leading national adoption of cryptocurrency. These market participants have a higher risk appetite and embrace alternative financial instruments. This growing trend does warrant a deeper focus on financial education and digital tools to help consumers to identify scams. As financial and technological innovations become more accessible and easier to use, developers may need to integrate risk mitigation in design and development as enhanced product components. Some builders are already exploring these types of features. Debates about risk do not have to be feared as covert attempts to undermine or derail the sector. It is past time to stop treating risk like the third rail - code for anti-crypto. In fact, the path to greater bipartisanship in crypto policy may be normalizing risk mitigation as core to the innovation paradigm, thereby creating a more comfortable access point for Democratic officials.
E&E News
4 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
‘A devastating blow': Western governors wary of public land sales
SANTA FE, New Mexico — Bipartisan leaders of Western states cautioned Congress on Monday against broad mandates to sell public lands to help pay for Republicans' tax cuts, energy and border security megabill. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said during a news conference here, ahead of the Western Governors' Association annual meeting, that cutting public land access to hunters, anglers and other recreationists in Colorado through sales 'would be a devastating blow to the quality of life, as well to our economy.' Republican governors were more open to the idea of selling off some federal land but said those decisions should be driven by local and state leaders, not Congress. Advertisement Wyoming's Republican Gov. Mark Gordon said public lands are important to Wyomingites but that he was open to case-by-case proposals for sales. 'Those kinds of decisions should be made on a local level with a very robust process that does not say we're going to wholesale get rid of our public lands, but we're going to look at certain places where the adjustments that we can make just make better sense than what we have today,' he said. He noted there are areas in Wyoming that have a 'checkerboard' of private, state and federal land ownership that make them difficult to manage. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the current chair of the Western Governors' Association, said a sweeping auction of public lands would be a 'nonstarter' for New Mexico. 'The process that has been described so far is a problem for a state like New Mexico,' she said at the news conference. Land sales proposed as part of the Republican 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' currently under consideration have faced opposition from environmental groups, hunters and anglers, as well as several prominent Republican lawmakers in states like Montana. Recently, GOP Sens. Jim Risch and Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo, both from Idaho, joined the chorus of critics. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) has been adamant that sales will be included in the budget reconciliation package. Lee originally called for the sale of 1.5 percent of the federal estate, exempting protected areas and saying there would be local input on what plots to sell. New draft language states that land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service would only be sold for 'development of housing or to address associated infrastructure to support local housing needs.' Grisham said that she was open to the idea of using some public land for housing but that the essence of public lands should be protected. 'They belong to all of us and selling that to the private sector without a process, without putting New Mexicans first, is at least for me as a governor going to be problematic,' she said. She said: 'We want flexibility. We want opportunities at the federal level, but a one size fits all typically doesn't work for most governors.' South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) praised the Trump administration leadership on Western land issues so far but also echoed the need for national policies that are guided by states. 'The solutions for the United States' problems are not going to come from D.C. They're going to come from the states and the governors and the legislators,' he said. The meeting in Santa Fe will include speeches from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and, on Tuesday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. Grisham said Monday that the governors would push the administration on the issues they are united on. 'Particularly at the beginning of a new administration, I think we lean in a little bit harder,' she said. A local protest and march against the sale of public lands, organized by conservation groups, was scheduled to coincide with Burgum's address to governors. 'Our cherished public lands are the backbone of the West and the core of our identity as Americans. It's disgusting that anyone would back this plan to permanently privatize and bulldoze these beautiful places,' said Laiken Jordahl, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement Monday. 'Every Western governor should publicly oppose this reckless proposal and pledge that their states won't participate in dismantling our public lands if this monstrosity becomes law.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Jared Polis negotiating with Broncos about potential stadium site
The Denver Broncos have been buying up properties around Burnham Yard since September, and now they're attempting to purchase the 58-acre former rail yard from the state. The Broncos have been negotiating with the office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis about purchasing the Burnham Yard property, according to a report from the Denver Post. That site is one of several locations the team is considering for a potential new stadium, and the club has already spent around $146 million buying adjacent properties. Advertisement The Broncos had previously mentioned Lone Tree and Aurora as potential stadium sites. Polis hopes to keep the team in Denver. 'The Governor is committed to keeping the Denver Broncos in Colorado, and hopefully in Denver,' Polis spokeswoman Shelby Wieman said in an email to the Denver Post. "Therefore, we support efforts to ensure Colorado remains the home of our Super Bowl champion team.' The Broncos' current lease at Empower Field at Mile High runs through 2031, so if the team is going to build a new stadium, securing a location would be a top priority. Denver's front office has insisted that all options -- including possibly staying at Mile High -- are still on the table, but the team is widely expected to build a new stadium. The Walton-Penner family purchased the Broncos for $4.65 billion in 2022. Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans. This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: NFL: Gov. Jared Polis negotiating potential stadium site with Broncos
