During a recent press conference, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered a scathing rebuke of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump administration initiative, accusing it and the broader economic agenda behind it of echoing authoritarian tactics used by the Nazi regime in pre-World War II Germany.
While reaffirming Chicago’s reputation as the most “pro-worker” city in America, Johnson accused Washington of waging an ideological war against working-class communities, especially through deep budget cuts and administrative overhauls.
“The fact that the President of the United States of America is cutting off food supply and medicine to working people and families across this country — that is an act of war,” Johnson said passionately.
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He warned that the nation’s economic policies, spearheaded by the Trump-backed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are inflicting real harm on cities like Chicago. Despite that, he called on leaders to confront these policies with unflinching resolve.
“And we’re going to need leaders who are prepared and willing to stand up for working people… We can’t tippy toe,” he added.
When asked whether it’s possible to cooperate with the federal government under Trump for the city’s benefit, Johnson didn’t hold back. He referenced Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s February State of the State address, which issued a dire historical warning.
“Governor Pritzker… offered up a warning,” Johnson said. “You have a president that is cutting off medicine and food, a president that is working to erase culture… He’s doing it in plain sight.”
Pritzker had drawn parallels between Trump’s rise and that of Adolf Hitler, noting the rapid dismantling of democratic institutions during the Nazi takeover of Germany. Johnson echoed those concerns, accusing Trump of using similar methods to target vulnerable communities.
“He’s doing it right here in this country, against working people, erasing Black folks from museums and the history and the culture,” Johnson said. “So, when you ask how we balance that, you have to fight it and resist it with everything that’s in you.”
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Further emphasizing his point, Johnson charged Trump with holding everyday Americans hostage in a broader battle to reshape the federal system.
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“The President of the United States of America is capturing the hopes and aspirations of working people and holding us hostage as he works to implement and annihilate democracy,” Johnson added.
Chicago has joined other major cities, Baltimore, Santa Clara, and Harris County, Texas, in a lawsuit seeking to block DOGE’s sweeping cuts to federal agencies. Deputy Corporation Counsel Steve Kane argued the legality of these cuts, asserting they violate constitutional principles.
“Congress created these federal agencies. It funded them. But the president is trying to fire all these people and gut these agencies that Congress created,” Kane told a local news outlet.
The ripple effects of these reductions are already being felt in the Windy City. DOGE-related actions led to the cancellation of the Department of Energy’s 2025 Small Business Expo, which was slated to take place in Chicago. Other federal withdrawals have impacted regional services and clean energy initiatives.
Bloomberg also reported that Chicago recently tapped Ernst & Young to evaluate budget solutions as the Trump administration threatens to withhold funds from sanctuary cities like Chicago.
Meanwhile, the city continues to experience fallout from prior federal agency shutdowns. Offices of the Department of Health & Human Services, which supported tens of thousands of low-income families in Illinois, were shuttered. Other closures hit the SEC, Federal Transit Administration, and Labor Relations Authority, among others. Even federally supported art programs and public real estate holdings face uncertainty, Axios reported.
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