With Democrats set to take control of Congress with a resounding mandate for change, Illinois Gov.JB Pritzker is urging his party to act swiftly — with Trump-like speed — to advance an aggressive legislative and oversight agenda.
To help them along, he is out with a road map for what Congress should tackle the moment they’re sworn in.Fresh off a victory for a third gubernatorial term and looking toward a potential run for president in 2028, Pritzker is set to release a detailed 75-page plan Wednesday, with ideas on everything from increasing the federal minimum wage to restoring SNAP and Medicaid cuts.
The plan, which the governor has spent months crafting, was first shared with NBC News.“I believe that on Day One — and I literally mean Day One — that they should begin to introduce legislation.
...I’m looking for very quick action,” Pritzker said in an interview.
“I believe that there are big things and small things that need to be done, and they need to be done swiftly.” Pritzker’s release of a comprehensive policy initiative the day after the midterm elections sets in motion what will be intense jockeying among potential 2028 contenders to stand out in what is expected to be a crowded field.And it sets down a marker for Pritzker, digging into policy at a pivotal moment as the party is looking toward next steps.
Pritzker, 61, spent millions on battleground races in the midterms.Recently, he gave $1 million to Democrat Gina Hinojosa in her bid to oust Republican Gov.
Greg Abbott.It was a move that won Pritzker goodwill with Hispanic political leaders.
With two months before the new Congress convenes, Pritzker has 200 items he believes Democrats should tackle immediately.He pointed to the urgency of Trump’s first days in office in 2025, when the president issued a slew of executive orders and imposed wide-reaching agency policies.
Now that voters have spoken, Pritzker said, Democrats need to demonstrate they heard the call for change ...