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  • Border czar says ICE could drawdown in Minnesota as shutdown deadline looms

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    *** partial government shutdown is not inevitable at this point. Lawmakers are still negotiating. Immigration enforcement, however, has emerged as the flashpoint in these talks with Minnesota driving the standoff. White House border czar Tom Homan spoke for the first time since taking over immigration operations in Minnesota after federal agents killed two Americans. I’m not here because of The federal government has carried its mission out perfectly, Homan said. The administration will continue its immigration crackdown in Minnesota, but also said federal immigration authorities are working on *** plan that would remove agents from the state if local officials agree to cooperate with immigration enforcement. This is common sense cooperation that allows us to draw down. On the number of people we have here. Following those remarks, Minneapolis’ mayor pressed for the immigration operation to end immediately. It is less safe when we have roving bands of agents marching down the street just looking for somebody who might be concerned, and I’ve got to tell you, everybody is concerned when you have that kind of occupation on Capitol Hill, *** partial government shutdown inches closer, and Senate Democrats are making their own demands of immigration enforcement. What ICE is doing. Outside the law is state sanctioned thuggery, and it must stop. The Senate has until Friday to pass 6 spending bills, including for Homeland Security. The motion is not agreed to. *** failed vote on the package Thursday sets up *** potential last minute effort before the weekend. The president says his administration is speaking with lawmakers. Hopefully we won’t have *** shutdown. We’re working on that right now. I think we’re getting close. The Democrats, I don’t believe, want to see it either. Senator Schumer says they may vote to pass the other appropriations bills that do not include funding for Homeland Security. In Washington, I’m Christopher Sales.

    Border czar says ICE could drawdown in Minnesota as shutdown deadline looms

    Immigration enforcement in Minnesota has become a focal point in the ongoing negotiations to prevent a partial government shutdown, with Democrats demanding changes following recent deaths.

    Updated: 3:41 PM PST Jan 29, 2026

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    White House Correspondent

    White House border czar Tom Homan spoke for the first time since taking over immigration operations in Minnesota after two Americans were killed by federal agents.”I’m not here because the federal government has carried its mission out perfectly,” Homan said. “I do not want to hear that everything that’s been done here has been perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect.”He stated that the administration will continue its immigration crackdown in Minnesota but is working on a plan to remove agents if state and local officials agree to cooperate with immigration enforcement.”This is common sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here,” Homan said.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has called for an immediate end to the immigration operation. “It is less safe when we have roving bands of agents marching down the street just looking for somebody who might be concerned. And I got to tell you, everybody is concerned when you have that kind of occupation,” Frey said.On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats are making demands regarding immigration enforcement. “What ICE is doing, outside the law, is state-sanctioned thuggery and it must stop,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the minority leader. As Congress faces a deadline to pass six appropriations bills, including funding for Homeland Security, immigration enforcement in Minnesota has become a central issue in the negotiations to prevent a partial government shutdown.The Senate has until Friday to pass six spending bills, including one for Homeland Security. A failed vote on the package Thursday sets up a potential last-minute vote before the weekend.Democrats have stated they will not support Homeland Security funding unless immigration enforcement changes, including requiring agents to identify themselves, obtain warrants for arrests, coordinate more closely with local law enforcement, and face stricter accountability when rules are violated. They argue these changes are necessary following the deaths in Minnesota.President Donald Trump expressed optimism about avoiding a shutdown. “Hopefully we won’t have a shutdown. We’re working on that right now, I think we’re getting close,” Trump said.Even a partial shutdown could have immediate impacts, with travelers potentially facing airport delays, hundreds of thousands of federal workers missing paychecks or working without pay, some federal loans being delayed, and key economic data like the monthly jobs report being put on hold.

    WASHINGTON —

    White House border czar Tom Homan spoke for the first time since taking over immigration operations in Minnesota after two Americans were killed by federal agents.

    “I’m not here because the federal government has carried its mission out perfectly,” Homan said. “I do not want to hear that everything that’s been done here has been perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect.”

    He stated that the administration will continue its immigration crackdown in Minnesota but is working on a plan to remove agents if state and local officials agree to cooperate with immigration enforcement.

    “This is common sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here,” Homan said.

    Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has called for an immediate end to the immigration operation. “It is less safe when we have roving bands of agents marching down the street just looking for somebody who might be concerned. And I got to tell you, everybody is concerned when you have that kind of occupation,” Frey said.

    On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats are making demands regarding immigration enforcement. “What ICE is doing, outside the law, is state-sanctioned thuggery and it must stop,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the minority leader.

    As Congress faces a deadline to pass six appropriations bills, including funding for Homeland Security, immigration enforcement in Minnesota has become a central issue in the negotiations to prevent a partial government shutdown.

    The Senate has until Friday to pass six spending bills, including one for Homeland Security. A failed vote on the package Thursday sets up a potential last-minute vote before the weekend.

    Democrats have stated they will not support Homeland Security funding unless immigration enforcement changes, including requiring agents to identify themselves, obtain warrants for arrests, coordinate more closely with local law enforcement, and face stricter accountability when rules are violated. They argue these changes are necessary following the deaths in Minnesota.

    President Donald Trump expressed optimism about avoiding a shutdown. “Hopefully we won’t have a shutdown. We’re working on that right now, I think we’re getting close,” Trump said.

    Even a partial shutdown could have immediate impacts, with travelers potentially facing airport delays, hundreds of thousands of federal workers missing paychecks or working without pay, some federal loans being delayed, and key economic data like the monthly jobs report being put on hold.

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  • US Sen. Amy Klobuchar announces run for Minnesota governor

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    U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday she is running for governor of Minnesota, promising to take on President Donald Trump while unifying a state that has endured a series of challenges even before the federal government’s immigration crackdown.Klobuchar’s decision gives Democrats a high-profile candidate and proven statewide winner as their party tries to hold onto the office occupied by Gov. Tim Walz. The 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, Walz abandoned his campaign for a third term earlier this month amid criticism over mismanagement of taxpayer funding for child care programs.“Minnesota, we’ve been through a lot,” Klobuchar said in a video announcement Thursday. “These times call for leaders who can stand up and not be rubber stamps of this administration — but who are also willing to find common ground and fix things in our state.”Klobuchar cited Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, federal officers killing two Minnesotans who protested, the assassination of a state legislative leader and a school shooting that killed multiple children — all within the last year. She avoided direct mention of ongoing fraud investigations into the child care programs that Trump has made a political cudgel.“I believe we must stand up for what’s right and fix what’s wrong,” Klobuchar said.Klobuchar, who becomes the fourth sitting senator to seek leadership of a home state as governor in 2026, has been among the loudest Trump critics, most recently over the immigration enforcement effort that has prompted massive protests.Multiple Republicans already are campaigning in what could become a marquee contest among 36 governorships on the ballot in November. Among those running for the GOP nomination are MyPillow founder and chief executive Mike Lindell, a 2020 election denier who is close to Trump; Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth; Dr. Scott Jensen, a former state senator who was the party’s 2022 gubernatorial candidate; and state Rep. Kristin Robbins.Immigration and fraud will be at issueThe Minnesota contest is likely to test Trump and his fellow Republicans’ uncompromising law-and-order approach and mass deportation program against Democrats’ criticisms of his administration’s tactics.Federal agents have detained children and adults who are U.S. citizens, entered homes without warrants and engaged protesters in violent exchanges. Minnesota resident and U.S. citizen Renee Good was shot three times and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in early January. On Saturday, federal officers fatally shot ICU nurse Alex Pretti during an encounter.Many Democrats on Capitol Hill, in turn, have voted against spending bills that fund Trump’s Department of Homeland Security. A standoff over the funding could lead to a partial government shutdown.Trump and other Republicans also will try to saddle Klobuchar — or any other Democrat — with questions about the ongoing federal investigation into Minnesota’s child care programs and its Somali community. Trump also has made repeated assertions of widespread fraud in state government, and his administration is conducting multiple investigations of state officials, including Walz. The Democrat has maintained that his administration has investigated, reduced and prosecuted fraud.Klobuchar has won across MinnesotaServing her fourth term in Washington, Klobuchar is a former local prosecutor and onetime presidential candidate who positions herself as a moderate and has demonstrated the ability to win across Minnesota.The senator won her 2024 reelection bid by nearly 16 percentage points and received 135,000 more votes than Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who had chosen Walz as her running mate. Harris outpaced Trump by fewer than 5 percentage points.Klobuchar gained attention during Trump’s first term for her questioning of his judicial nominees including now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. At Kavanaugh’s acrimonious confirmation hearings, she asked the future justice, who had been accused of sexual assault as a teenager, if he ever had so much to drink that he didn’t remember what happened. Kavanaugh retorted, “Have you?”The senator, who had talked publicly of her father’s alcoholism, continued her questioning. Kavanaugh, who was confirmed by a single vote, later apologized to Klobuchar.After Trump’s first presidency, Klobuchar was among the most outspoken lawmakers during bipartisan congressional inquiries of the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attacked the Capitol during certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over him in the 2020 presidential election. As Senate Rules Committee chair, she pressed Capitol Police, administration officials and others for details of what authorities knew beforehand and how rioters breached the Capitol.“It’s our duty to have immediate responses to what happened,” she said after helping write a report focused not on Trump’s role but on better security protocols for the seat of Congress.2020 presidential bidKlobuchar sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, running as a moderate in the same political lane as Biden. She launched her campaign standing outside in a Minnesota snowstorm to tout her “grit” and Midwestern sensibilities that have anchored her political identity.As a candidate, Klobuchar faced stories of disgruntled Senate staffers who described her as a difficult boss but also distinguished herself on crowded debate stages as a determined pragmatist. She outlasted several better-funded candidates and ran ahead of Biden in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. But Biden, then a former vice president, trounced her and others in the South Carolina primaries, prompting her to drop out and join others in closing ranks behind him.After Biden’s victory, Klobuchar would have been well-positioned for a Cabinet post, perhaps even attorney general. But the Senate’s 50-50 split made it untenable for Biden to create any opening for Republicans to regain control of the chamber.Klobuchar announced in 2021 that she had been treated for breast cancer and in 2024 announced that she was cancer-free but undergoing another round of radiation.Klobuchar joins Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet, Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn and Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville as senators seeking to lead their home states. Bennet, Blackburn and Klobuchar are not up for reelection in 2026 so could remain in the Senate should they not win their gubernatorial races. Tuberville is in the final year of his six-year term and will leave the Senate in January 2027 regardless.___Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press reporter Maya Sweedler in Washington contributed.

    MINNEAPOLIS —

    U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday she is running for governor of Minnesota, promising to take on President Donald Trump while unifying a state that has endured a series of challenges even before the federal government’s immigration crackdown.

    Klobuchar’s decision gives Democrats a high-profile candidate and proven statewide winner as their party tries to hold onto the office occupied by Gov. Tim Walz. The 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, Walz abandoned his campaign for a third term earlier this month amid criticism over mismanagement of taxpayer funding for child care programs.

    “Minnesota, we’ve been through a lot,” Klobuchar said in a video announcement Thursday. “These times call for leaders who can stand up and not be rubber stamps of this administration — but who are also willing to find common ground and fix things in our state.”

    Klobuchar cited Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, federal officers killing two Minnesotans who protested, the assassination of a state legislative leader and a school shooting that killed multiple children — all within the last year. She avoided direct mention of ongoing fraud investigations into the child care programs that Trump has made a political cudgel.

    “I believe we must stand up for what’s right and fix what’s wrong,” Klobuchar said.

    Klobuchar, who becomes the fourth sitting senator to seek leadership of a home state as governor in 2026, has been among the loudest Trump critics, most recently over the immigration enforcement effort that has prompted massive protests.

    Multiple Republicans already are campaigning in what could become a marquee contest among 36 governorships on the ballot in November. Among those running for the GOP nomination are MyPillow founder and chief executive Mike Lindell, a 2020 election denier who is close to Trump; Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth; Dr. Scott Jensen, a former state senator who was the party’s 2022 gubernatorial candidate; and state Rep. Kristin Robbins.

    Immigration and fraud will be at issue

    The Minnesota contest is likely to test Trump and his fellow Republicans’ uncompromising law-and-order approach and mass deportation program against Democrats’ criticisms of his administration’s tactics.

    Federal agents have detained children and adults who are U.S. citizens, entered homes without warrants and engaged protesters in violent exchanges. Minnesota resident and U.S. citizen Renee Good was shot three times and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in early January. On Saturday, federal officers fatally shot ICU nurse Alex Pretti during an encounter.

    Many Democrats on Capitol Hill, in turn, have voted against spending bills that fund Trump’s Department of Homeland Security. A standoff over the funding could lead to a partial government shutdown.

    Trump and other Republicans also will try to saddle Klobuchar — or any other Democrat — with questions about the ongoing federal investigation into Minnesota’s child care programs and its Somali community. Trump also has made repeated assertions of widespread fraud in state government, and his administration is conducting multiple investigations of state officials, including Walz. The Democrat has maintained that his administration has investigated, reduced and prosecuted fraud.

    Klobuchar has won across Minnesota

    Serving her fourth term in Washington, Klobuchar is a former local prosecutor and onetime presidential candidate who positions herself as a moderate and has demonstrated the ability to win across Minnesota.

    The senator won her 2024 reelection bid by nearly 16 percentage points and received 135,000 more votes than Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who had chosen Walz as her running mate. Harris outpaced Trump by fewer than 5 percentage points.

    Klobuchar gained attention during Trump’s first term for her questioning of his judicial nominees including now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. At Kavanaugh’s acrimonious confirmation hearings, she asked the future justice, who had been accused of sexual assault as a teenager, if he ever had so much to drink that he didn’t remember what happened. Kavanaugh retorted, “Have you?”

    The senator, who had talked publicly of her father’s alcoholism, continued her questioning. Kavanaugh, who was confirmed by a single vote, later apologized to Klobuchar.

    After Trump’s first presidency, Klobuchar was among the most outspoken lawmakers during bipartisan congressional inquiries of the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attacked the Capitol during certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over him in the 2020 presidential election. As Senate Rules Committee chair, she pressed Capitol Police, administration officials and others for details of what authorities knew beforehand and how rioters breached the Capitol.

    “It’s our duty to have immediate responses to what happened,” she said after helping write a report focused not on Trump’s role but on better security protocols for the seat of Congress.

    2020 presidential bid

    Klobuchar sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, running as a moderate in the same political lane as Biden. She launched her campaign standing outside in a Minnesota snowstorm to tout her “grit” and Midwestern sensibilities that have anchored her political identity.

    As a candidate, Klobuchar faced stories of disgruntled Senate staffers who described her as a difficult boss but also distinguished herself on crowded debate stages as a determined pragmatist. She outlasted several better-funded candidates and ran ahead of Biden in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. But Biden, then a former vice president, trounced her and others in the South Carolina primaries, prompting her to drop out and join others in closing ranks behind him.

    After Biden’s victory, Klobuchar would have been well-positioned for a Cabinet post, perhaps even attorney general. But the Senate’s 50-50 split made it untenable for Biden to create any opening for Republicans to regain control of the chamber.

    Klobuchar announced in 2021 that she had been treated for breast cancer and in 2024 announced that she was cancer-free but undergoing another round of radiation.

    Klobuchar joins Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet, Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn and Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville as senators seeking to lead their home states. Bennet, Blackburn and Klobuchar are not up for reelection in 2026 so could remain in the Senate should they not win their gubernatorial races. Tuberville is in the final year of his six-year term and will leave the Senate in January 2027 regardless.

    ___

    Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press reporter Maya Sweedler in Washington contributed.

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  • Trump says Illinois governor and Chicago mayor should be jailed as they oppose Guard deployment

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    President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the Illinois governor and Chicago mayor, both Democrats, should be jailed as they oppose his deployment of National Guard troops for his immigration and crime crackdown in the nation’s third-largest city. The officials said they would not be deterred.The Republican president made the comment in a social media post, the latest example of his brazen calls for his opponents to be prosecuted or locked up — a break from longtime norms as the Justice Department traditionally has strived to maintain its independence from the White House.Trump wrote on Truth Social that Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” It was a reference to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.It was not immediately clear what Trump was objecting to.Johnson, in a post on X, said, “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere.” Pritzker, also on X, said” I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?”White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, when asked what crimes the president believed Pritzker and Johnson had committed, failed to identify any, but she said they “have blood on their hands” and pointed to Chicago Police Department reports that at least five people were killed and 25 shot over the weekend.”Instead of taking action to stop the crime, these Trump-Deranged buffoons would rather allow the violence to continue and attack the President for wanting to help make their city safe again,” Jackson said.National Guard troops from Texas are positioned outside Chicago despite a lawsuit by the state and city to block the deployment.The troops’ mission is not clear but the Trump administration has undertaken an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago.Trump has called Chicago a “hell hole” of crime, even though police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including homicides. Protesters have skirmished with agents outside a detention center in the village of Broadview, outside Chicago.A woman in Chicago was shot by a Border Patrol agent over the weekend after she and a man were accused of using their vehicles to strike and then box in the agent’s vehicle. The agent then exited his car and fired five shots at Marimar Martinez, 30.Martinez and Anthony Ruiz, 21, are charged with forcibly assaulting a federal officer and were ordered to be released Monday pending trial. Martinez’s lawyer, Christopher Parente, claimed body camera footage contradicts the federal government’s narrative of her actions.Trump’s comment came as former FBI Director James Comey appeared in a Virginia courtroom, pleading not guilty in a case that has intensified concerns about Justice Department’s efforts to target Trump adversaries.When Trump was campaigning for the White House in 2024 at a time he faced criminal and civil investigations, he told supporters, “I am your retribution.”The Justice Department has also opened criminal investigations this year against California Sen. Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running for New York City mayor. The three, all Democrats, have all denied wrongdoing and say the investigations are politically motivated.Pritzker, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, has called the president a “wannabe dictator,” comparing his leadership to that of Russian President Vladimir Putin and joking that the Republican “doesn’t read” anything. The governor has suggested that Trump, who has threatened Chicago with apocalyptic force, suffers from dementia.Pritzker, eyed as a potential 2028 White House contender, has strongly fought against any federal intervention along with Johnson, saying it is not wanted or needed in Illinois or Chicago.”Certainly there’s a lot more going on in the world than for him to send troops into Chicago,” Pritzker told The Associated Press in August during a visit to a South Side neighborhood where a campaign videographer was also in tow. “He ought to be focused on some of the bigger problems.”Pritzker alleges that Trump is trying to militarize cities to affect the outcome of the 2026 election by impeding voting efforts in Democratic strongholds like Chicago.The heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune is seeking a third term as governor next year and has sidestepped questions about higher ambitions. Pritzker was among the finalists considered as a running mate for Democratic Kamala Harris’ presidential run in 2024.Trump has often singled out Chicago and Illinois because they have some of the country’s strongest immigrant protections. Both are “sanctuary” jurisdictions, which limit cooperation between police and federal immigration agents.Johnson, a first-term mayor, has strengthened those protections even further with executive orders, including one that bars immigration agents from using city-owned land as staging areas for operations. He calls Trump’s actions unconstitutional.Johnson has accused Trump of waging a war on Chicago and having an “animus” toward women and people of color. Nearly one-third of Chicago’s 2.7 million are Black and roughly one-third are Hispanic.”He’s a monster,” Johnson told reporters in May. “Period.”___Tareen reported from Chicago. Associated Press writer Christine Fernando in Chicago contributed to this report.

    WASHINGTON —

    President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the Illinois governor and Chicago mayor, both Democrats, should be jailed as they oppose his deployment of National Guard troops for his immigration and crime crackdown in the nation’s third-largest city. The officials said they would not be deterred.

    The Republican president made the comment in a social media post, the latest example of his brazen calls for his opponents to be prosecuted or locked up — a break from longtime norms as the Justice Department traditionally has strived to maintain its independence from the White House.

    Trump wrote on Truth Social that Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” It was a reference to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    It was not immediately clear what Trump was objecting to.

    Johnson, in a post on X, said, “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere.” Pritzker, also on X, said” I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?”

    White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, when asked what crimes the president believed Pritzker and Johnson had committed, failed to identify any, but she said they “have blood on their hands” and pointed to Chicago Police Department reports that at least five people were killed and 25 shot over the weekend.

    “Instead of taking action to stop the crime, these Trump-Deranged buffoons would rather allow the violence to continue and attack the President for wanting to help make their city safe again,” Jackson said.

    National Guard troops from Texas are positioned outside Chicago despite a lawsuit by the state and city to block the deployment.

    The troops’ mission is not clear but the Trump administration has undertaken an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago.

    Trump has called Chicago a “hell hole” of crime, even though police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including homicides. Protesters have skirmished with agents outside a detention center in the village of Broadview, outside Chicago.

    A woman in Chicago was shot by a Border Patrol agent over the weekend after she and a man were accused of using their vehicles to strike and then box in the agent’s vehicle. The agent then exited his car and fired five shots at Marimar Martinez, 30.

    Martinez and Anthony Ruiz, 21, are charged with forcibly assaulting a federal officer and were ordered to be released Monday pending trial. Martinez’s lawyer, Christopher Parente, claimed body camera footage contradicts the federal government’s narrative of her actions.

    Trump’s comment came as former FBI Director James Comey appeared in a Virginia courtroom, pleading not guilty in a case that has intensified concerns about Justice Department’s efforts to target Trump adversaries.

    When Trump was campaigning for the White House in 2024 at a time he faced criminal and civil investigations, he told supporters, “I am your retribution.”

    The Justice Department has also opened criminal investigations this year against California Sen. Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running for New York City mayor. The three, all Democrats, have all denied wrongdoing and say the investigations are politically motivated.

    Pritzker, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, has called the president a “wannabe dictator,” comparing his leadership to that of Russian President Vladimir Putin and joking that the Republican “doesn’t read” anything. The governor has suggested that Trump, who has threatened Chicago with apocalyptic force, suffers from dementia.

    Pritzker, eyed as a potential 2028 White House contender, has strongly fought against any federal intervention along with Johnson, saying it is not wanted or needed in Illinois or Chicago.

    “Certainly there’s a lot more going on in the world than for him to send troops into Chicago,” Pritzker told The Associated Press in August during a visit to a South Side neighborhood where a campaign videographer was also in tow. “He ought to be focused on some of the bigger problems.”

    Pritzker alleges that Trump is trying to militarize cities to affect the outcome of the 2026 election by impeding voting efforts in Democratic strongholds like Chicago.

    The heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune is seeking a third term as governor next year and has sidestepped questions about higher ambitions. Pritzker was among the finalists considered as a running mate for Democratic Kamala Harris’ presidential run in 2024.

    Trump has often singled out Chicago and Illinois because they have some of the country’s strongest immigrant protections. Both are “sanctuary” jurisdictions, which limit cooperation between police and federal immigration agents.

    Johnson, a first-term mayor, has strengthened those protections even further with executive orders, including one that bars immigration agents from using city-owned land as staging areas for operations. He calls Trump’s actions unconstitutional.

    Johnson has accused Trump of waging a war on Chicago and having an “animus” toward women and people of color. Nearly one-third of Chicago’s 2.7 million are Black and roughly one-third are Hispanic.

    “He’s a monster,” Johnson told reporters in May. “Period.”

    ___

    Tareen reported from Chicago. Associated Press writer Christine Fernando in Chicago contributed to this report.

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