BREAKING: Gov. Pritzker hosts press conference to address actions taken by President Trump

 

By MELISSA CROCKETT MESKE
IBJ Managing Editor
[email protected]

In the late afternoon on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker took to the podium to address recent actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration. Gov. Pritzker was joined by Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul both on stage and in his assessment.

“I believe it is my duty to report to you the truth of what actually happened today in Illinois,” said Gov. Pritzker to members of the media who were in attendance or listening in via live stream. “Donald Trump’s administration is lying to you … What the President is trying to do is illegal.”

This press conference resulted from actions outlined in a memo issued by the federal government’s Office of Management and Budget on Monday, Jan. 27. That memo said a temporary pause in federal funding across programs would be enacted at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28 to give time for federal funding agencies to review their grants, loans and programs to ensure that they align with the new administration’s priorities.

The Monday-issued memo followed dozens of executive orders signed by President Trump over the past week. Those documents included calls for reviews of various programs and funding, and the halting of all DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs.

A fact sheet was issued by The White House on Tuesday afternoon to clarify that the federal funding “pause” was not “across-the-board” however; further stating that any program that provides direct benefits to Americans, like Social Security, Medicare and food stamps was “explicitly excluded” from the pause.

This to which Governor Pritzker replied, “The White House’s attempt to walk back what they did today does not match what we saw on the ground. They assured us that Medicaid would not be affected. That was a lie. Our state agencies were unable to access the Medicaid system until an hour ago preventing payments for services. This has been reported from states across the nation.

He continued: “When we reached out to federal agencies, they informed us that they have been directed not to discuss any guidance with states. They have canceled previously scheduled meetings for this week.

“The White House assured us that Head Start would not be affected. That was a lie. Providers across the state experienced outages and some were unable to make their payroll. They assured us that they were doing nothing to take away individual assistance from the most vulnerable people in our state, but they refused to say that they would restore LIHEAP, the low-income housing energy assistance program, payments to support the unemployment system, and Meals on Wheels. These are programs that hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans depend on, children, seniors, veterans, working parents.

Pritzker’s strong stand continued: “Let’s just be clear about what happened over the last 24 hours. At 7:42 p.m. last night, we saw a memo from the White House saying that they were pausing federal funding across the board. This morning, along with all 50 states across the country, we discovered that our ability to access critical federal funding had been cut off. And now the administration would like us to believe that these were just coincidental website outages. They’re either lying to us, or they are critically incompetent.”

Gov. Pritzker wrapped up his initial remarks from the podium, saying, “Let me say that again. What the president is trying to do is illegal. I know these are challenging times, and the Trump administration is trying to confuse the American people. That’s why it’s so important that we speak plainly. I was very happy to hear as I entered this room today that an administrative stay has been granted. Let me assure you, the state of Illinois will fight this unlawful order with everything we have.”

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton took to the podium next. She strongly endorsed what the governor had said. She also added: “If it feels like you are being asked to subscribe to a nation fueled by hate over hope and retribution over problem solving, you are not imagining things. Whatever you are feeling right now is justified. And because the actions taken today do not respond to the very real needs of everyday Americans, you’re going to hear a lot of noise.

“Hear me when I say, no amount of backpedaling can override the truth they just dropped at our feet. This dizziness, this nausea, the panic, it’s all intentional. It is not a mistake that websites are suddenly going dark just as people start to ask questions. This level of chaos was intended when President Trump and the people in his ear made these decisions. Let’s stop ourselves from thinking in numbers and start thinking of faces,” she added.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul also spoke at the press conference. Among his remarks was that Illinois joined other states in drafting a lawsuit, now filed in Rhode Island, that resulted in a stay of the actions ordered by the OMB memo.

Raoul further said: “The framers of our Constitution gave the power of the purse to Congress, not to the president. In our lawsuit we allege that our Constitution through the separation of powers in Article 1, Section 1, and through the spending clause gives Congress alone the responsibility to approve the appropriation and spending of federal funds, including to the states.

“The executive branch does not have the authority under the Constitution or federal law to pause or impose conditions on federal funding when those actions are arbitrary and capricious or otherwise violate the law, including the Administrative Procedures Act,” Raoul further noted.

In further remarks about the pause in federal funding, Raoul quipped that it “takes away critical support to operations for agriculture, and you know, we heard a lot about the price of eggs over the last few weeks … And Illinois is one of the major producers of eggs, so I don’t want to hear Donald Trump talk about the price of eggs anymore. I don’t know who’s advising OMB on this act … But I can tell you that on January 20th, we had a peaceful transfer of power. We had an inauguration, but it was not a coronation.”

The governor then fielded questions from the media in attendance that were asking for further clarity on the OMB’s issued memo and the state’s response to it. Media members also asked how Illinois will handle the funding pause if it is ongoing, to which Gov. Pritzker indicated that the state is reviewing options now. He also reminded attendees that Covid-19 came without warning and was a significant financial hurdle for a very long period.

 

---

(Editor’s note: See the related story, “Gov. Pritzker highlights devastating impact of federal cuts for Illinoisans,” which can be viewed at https://www.ibjonline.com/2025/01/29/gov-pritzker-highlights-devastating-impact-of-federal-cuts-for-illinoisans/.)