Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Wednesday called President Trump’s efforts to reshape and shrink the federal government a “threat to our democracy.”
“The things that I’m speaking out about now, about, you know, the threat to our democracy, this is not a message to win elections on, it’s something people need to know,” Pritzker told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace on “Deadline: White House.” “They need to know that that’s happening.”
But Pritzker underscored the importance of showing what exactly that means, noting that “nobody knows” what democracy being at “risk” looks like.
“And the reality is, what people need to hear about is what the effects of that are,” he added. “The prices at the grocery store are going up because democracy is being taken away, the impact on you in terms of your health care, 770,000 people in Illinois will lose health care as a result of what Donald Trump and Elon Musk and the Republican Congress are doing right now.”
Since his return to office last month, President Trump’s administration has moved quickly to reshape the government via actions like executive orders and mass layoffs of government workers. Much of this work has been led by Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Republican-led Congress has also sought to push through Trump’s agenda and budget cut plan. Trump has vowed not to touch Medicaid, but Democrats, including Pritzker, and some moderate Republicans have expressed concerns that cuts could affect the health program.
Democrats have pressed for a tougher response to these actions, but have struggled to come together around a unified message.
Pritzker, a longtime critic of Trump, has trolled the president over his recent efforts, including his order to rename the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America.” He has also been particularly critical of the president’s immigration policies.
The Hill has reached out to the House Republican Conference, the White House and Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-S.D.) office.
