Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker condemned President Donald Trump and Texas Republicans for their aggressive mid-decade redistricting effort and mocked GOP supporters of the plan, saying today that “when Donald Trump calls, they say, ‘Yes, sir, right away, sir, happy to lick your boot, sir.’”
And Pritzker, a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, warned Republicans, arguing that “they’re headed toward a loss of the Congress in 2026. They’re afraid, and they should be.”
“So they’ve decided that the only way to save themselves is to cheat to change the rules in the middle of the game,” Pritzker said during a news conference Tuesday organized by Illinois Democrats and the Democratic National Committee.
The governor praised Texas Democrats who have left the state to break quorum, many of whom are in Illinois. “The state of Illinois is proud to stand side by side with these brave Texas Democrats, heroes in the battle to save our democracy,” Pritzker said, standing alongside several of the members.
Pritzker’s comments follow similar remarks yesterday from two other Democratic governors of populous blue states, New York’s Kathy Hochul and California’s Gavin Newsom, who have fielded growing calls from members of their party to pursue redistricting plans of their own. Momentum is growing behind retaliatory measures, as Democrats grapple with the possibility of losing up to five US House seats in the Texas plan.
