Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is openly calling for criminal and civil action against officials and federal agents from President Donald Trumps first term, framing his remarks as part of a broader project 2029 agenda.
During an interview with New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Pritzker was asked, What does a project 2029 agenda look like for you? and responded with a sweeping call to target his political opponents, according to Breitbart.
He replied, I dont think you can speak of it in shorthand, but Ill just say a couple of things that I think are absolutely necessary. One is weve got to restore the rule of law, and that means holding people accountable whove broken the law. Talking about this administration, when we get a new one, the people in this administration whove broken the law and federal agents whove broken the law need to be held accountable.
Garcia-Navarro pressed him on whether that meant using the criminal justice system against those individuals, asking, And that means criminally prosecuted? Pritzker did not retreat from the implication, instead expanding the scope of potential punishment.
Pritzker continued: criminally prosecuted, civilly prosecuted, whatever it is that we can do. It may be that you cant criminally prosecute somebody, but that you can go after them civilly.
The Illinois governors remarks underscore a growing tendency on the left to weaponize legal mechanisms against political adversaries rather than debate them in the public square. His comments arrive as he seeks another term in Springfield, where he has already entrenched a progressive agenda on taxes, abortion, and state spending.
Pritzker, the incumbent Democratic governor of Illinois, is running for reelection and would serve a third term if elected after winning his primary without opposition on Tuesday. His uncontested primary victory reflects the Democratic Partys consolidation around a leader who now openly entertains using state power to pursue those who served under President Trump.
Conservatives quickly sounded the alarm over Pritzkers rhetoric, warning that it signals a dangerous escalation in partisan warfare. Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) posted on X in response to the interview:
Pay attention:
JB Pritzker and the Democrats are openly laying the groundwork for political retribution against their opponents.
We already saw it under Joe Biden.
Next time, it will be worse.
The American people have a duty to ensure this kind of tyranny NEVER takes power again.
Former Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Joel B. Pollak also reacted on X, writing: This threat is a call for civil war. His stark warning reflects a broader conservative concern that Democrats are normalizing the idea of criminalizing policy differences and retroactively punishing prior administrations.
Pritzkers reference to a project 2029 agenda comes as Republicans developed their own transition framework during the 2024 presidential election, Project 2025, a conservative-led effort to prepare for a potential future Trump administration. Heritage Foundation director Paul Dans said it was targeted by the greatest misinformation campaign since the Russia hoax, with Democrats and media outlets making wild claims about the initiative, even as he said, ninety percent of the characterization is false.
Officially known as the Presidential Transition Project, it is a 922-page policy framework intended to shape the agenda of a future administration, provide personnel, and guide the transition alongside a potentially Republican-controlled Congress. Dans said it responds to a system in which for the last 100 years, the progressives have built an administrative state in which unelected bureaucrats make policy decisions, adding that the project offers a conservative alternative developed by more than 100 organizations.
As Democrats like Pritzker float aggressive legal reprisals against Trump-era officials while simultaneously demonizing Project 2025, the contrast between the two visions for Americas future could not be sharper. One side is building a detailed policy blueprint to roll back the entrenched administrative state, while the other is openly musing about criminally prosecuted, civilly prosecuted, whatever it is that we can do, leaving voters to decide whether they want a government of lawsor a government of partisan score-settling.
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