Democratic Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois and Jared Polis of Colorado will co-chair a new “non-partisan” coalition of the nation’s governors determined to preserve “state-level institutions of democracy” ahead of Donald Trump’s incoming presidency.

Governors Protecting Democracy, or GSD, will be overseen by governors and supported by a network of senior staff designated by each leader, as well as supported by GovAct, an organization that “defends fundamental freedoms.”

The GovAct is being advised by a bipartisan panel that includes former Republican and Democratic governors and top officials including former GOP Gov. Arne Carlson of Minnesota, former Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts and former GOP Gov. Bill Weld of Massachusetts.

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GSD will “implement positive strategies to protect the rule of law” and support key government institutions to protect executive branch offices, elections, state courts, and other essential democratic bodies. It will create playbooks to “enable governors and their teams to anticipate and quickly respond to emerging threats.”

“How will this work? Essentially, GSD will catalyze interstate cooperation,” Pritzker said during a phone call Tuesday announcing the initiative.

He added: “GSD will leverage our collective strength, experience, and institutional knowledge to direct policies that uphold the rule of law and serve the people of all our states. We will also use the governor’s unique legislative, budgetary, and executive and administrative powers to deliver results.”

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Polis said the organization was founded because “we know that simple hope alone will not save our democracy.” The billionaire governor confirmed Tuesday that the initiative was not funded by Pritzker but was instead paid for by other “philanthropic dollars.”

Pritzker and Polis did not confirm Tuesday which governors had agreed to be part of the alliance, but said they had both “talked to governors across the country” and were “assisting Republican governors.”

Pritzker said the group was founded on a model initiative called the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, which Democratic governors formed in February 2023 after the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the right to abortion. This initiative was spearheaded by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has not been confirmed to be involved in this new alliance.

On the launch calls, Pritzker and Polis were asked specifically about recent comments by deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller that blue states could potentially use National Guard units from red states within their borders to carry out mass deportations.

“I’ll start by saying this is unacceptable,” Pritzker said. “This is not something that anyone could have predicted would be allowed under Title 32, and we – absolutely – will not cooperate on this. You know, beyond that, I can’t talk to you about how they plan to get this accomplished.”

Governors of Illinois and Colorado announce state-level coalition to resist Trump policies originally appeared abcnews.go.com