Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis will lead the Governors Safeguarding Democracy initiative in response to Donald Trump’s reelection — though they didn’t mention him by name as they announced the effort.
“What we’re doing is pushing back against increasing threats of autocracy and fortifying the institutions of democracy that our country and our states depend upon,” Pritzker said in a press briefing.
Both governors are Democrats from Blue states where party leaders are bracing for backlash.
Governors Safeguarding Democracy is non-partisan, and Pritzker and Polis are talking to Republican governors to join in the project, which they hope will “leverage collective experience and institutional knowledge… to protect the rule of law,” said the Illinois governor.
Polis said the organization was founded “because we know that simple hope alone won’t save our democracy. We need to work together, especially at the state level, to protect and strengthen it.”
The organization is privately funded — not by Pritzker, who is listed on the Forbes billionaire list. Its goals are similar to the National Governors Association, which Polis now chairs, but is a separate entity with its own staff and researchers.
Polis said the group isn’t singling out any particular threat. “It’s about being proactive around educating people and making sure governors have the toolkit to support our small and democratic institutions.”
Pritzker and Polis have known each other for 30 years and have juggled similar challenges recently in managing immigration.
They represent sanctuary states, which do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. That stance could create conflict with the new administration: Trump has threatened to withhold federal law enforcement grants from jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
No comments:
Post a Comment