The governors of Illinois and Colorado on Wednesday said they will co-chair a coalition of mostly Democratic-led states to fight back against polices incoming Republican President Donald Trump has vowed to push through.
With their Governors Safeguarding Democracy group, Democrats J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Jared Polis of Colorado join attorneys general and other Democratic governors who have pledged to resist conservative Trump policies on everything from immigration to rollbacks on environmental protections.
Among other things, Trump - who won a decisive victory over Democrat Kamala Harris in last week's election - has pledged to use federal law enforcement to investigate his political foes, launch the largest deportation effort in American history and purge colleges and universities of diversity programs.
"We founded (the group) because we know that simple hope alone won't save our democracy," Polis said on a conference call announcing the group. "We need to work together, especially at the state level, to protect and strengthen it."
Responding to the group's formation, Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump's transition team, said the president-elect "will serve all Americans, even those who did not vote for him in the election. He will unify the country through success."