It's 2025, but it's starting to feel a little bit like 2028 in New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds the first presidential primary in the race for the White House.

That's because Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the billionaire two-term Democrat from the solidly blue Midwestern state, is coming to New Hampshire this weekend to headline the state party's largest annual fundraising gala.

Pritzker, who has become one of his party’s most vocal critics of the sweeping and controversial moves by President Donald Trump during the first three months of his second tour in the White House, is seen as a potential contender for the Democrats' 2028 presidential nomination. 

And trips to New Hampshire — which for over a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House — are seen as an early indicator of a politician’s interest in running for the presidency in the next election.

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"We’ve got to be ready for the fight," Pritzker said when asked by Fox News Digital what his message will be when he delivers the keynote address at the New Hampshire Democratic Party's annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club dinner.

The governor, a member of the Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain and who has started several of his own venture capital and investment startups, argued that the nation is "in a constitutional crisis" and that "we have too many people who are ill affected by the policies of the Trump administration."

"This is the moment for people to stand up and fight," he added.

Pritzker, 60, is the first potential Democratic presidential hopeful to visit New Hampshire, or any other early primary state, since Democrats lost the White House and their Senate majority and failed to retake the House in November.

And Trump and Republicans down-ballot made gains with key parts of the Democrats’ base, including with Black, Hispanic and younger voters.

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In the wake of those setbacks, Democrats have experienced increased intra-party tensions with an angry and energized base itching to fight back against Trump. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans, but also at Democrats, with many in the party's base upset that leaders haven't been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president. 

It’s also led to reflection about what the Democratic Party stands for and its direction moving forward amid flagging favorable ratings in national polling.

Two-term California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another high-profile Democrat who likely also has national ambitions in 2028, said earlier this week in an interview with "The Hill" that he wasn’t sure what the party truly represents.

"I don’t know what the party is," Newsom said. "I’m still struggling with that."

Asked if he's also struggling, Pritzker responded, "I've been clear my whole life. The Democratic Party stands up for working people. Stands up for working families. We're the party of civil rights. We're the party of human rights. No doubt about that, in my mind."

Pritzker, who is not prevented by term limits from running for re-election in 2026, has yet to say if he’ll make a bid for a third term steering Illinois. But the clock is ticking, with the filing period opening up later this year and the state’s primary just 11 months away.

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"Given the circumstances of getting on the ballot for people, I would need to make a decision and announce it by, you know, by latest July," Pritzker said when asked about his timetable for making a decision.

But it’s a possible presidential run by Pritzker that is grabbing headlines.

Chicagoan Bill Daley, who served as former President Bill Clinton’s commerce secretary and former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, told The Wall Street Journal last week that "there is no doubt that he [Pritzker] is going to run."

Pritzker, asked about Daley's prediction, said, "I’d guess I'd remind you that he didn't support me when I ran for governor the first time… I don't know where he gets his information."

And on the possibility of launching a national campaign in the 2028 election cycle, Pritzker said, "All I can tell you is, I'm focused on the question of whether I will run for re-election as governor, and on defeating the policies of Donald Trump."

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The governor is no stranger to New Hampshire. He headlined the 2022 New Hampshire Democratic Party convention, and he returned last September to campaign on behalf of then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the party's presidential nominee in July. Pritzker made multiple stops, including addressing union members at the New Hampshire AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day breakfast.

Pritzker was among those vetted by the Harris presidential campaign as a possible running mate.

The governor, who led a successful effort to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, was also among the potential 2028 White House contenders to speak during the convention week at the New Hampshire Democratic Party delegation's daily breakfasts.

Veteran New Hampshire-based Democratic consultant Jim Demers noted that "for many New Hampshire Democrats, his [Pritzker’s] visit is an early audition for 2028."

"It comes at a time when voters are really looking for leadership, someone who will challenge what Donald Trump is doing. So, what he says will be weighed very heavily," he added.

Demers, pointing to Pritzker’s handful of trips to the Granite State over the past couple of years, said that "every time he has visited with New Hampshire voters, he has delivered a message that has resonated very well."

Neil Levesque, the longtime director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, said that "Pritzker is coming into a highly political state at an opportune time because of how fired up and charged up Democrats are in opposition to President Trump."

And he noted that the stop "will kick off the first of multiple visits by multiple potential candidates, considering that Democrats are hungry for an opposition."

While Pritzker’s visit is the first as the very early moves in the 2028 White House race get underway, behind the scenes there’s already action.

A Granite State-based Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely shared that activists in New Hampshire are receiving fundraising emails on a regular basis from some of the potential candidates for 2028. 

"Every week I receive a dozen," the strategist said, adding that the messages are signed by Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Rep. Ro Khanna of California and other potential 2028 contenders.

The strategist said the possible White House hopefuls are "driving messaging and their names through this constant barrage of emails."

While the stop by Pritzker may seem very early, it's actually occurring later in the calendar than the first stop in an early-voting state in the 2024 presidential election cycle.

Mike Pompeo, the former congressman from Kansas who later served as CIA director and then Secretary of State in Trump's first administration, spoke in Iowa in late March 2021.

Pompeo, who took a hard look at running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination before deciding against launching a campaign, was the first of the potential Republican White House hopefuls that cycle to visit one of the early-voting primary and caucus states.

The Kennedy Center has canceled a week’s worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ people for the World Pride festival in Washington, D.C., amid a change in focus and the Trump administration firing the center's leadership.

Multiple artists and producers involved in the center’s Tapestry of Pride schedule said their events had been quietly canceled or transferred to other venues. The Tapestry of Pride was planned for June 5 to 8 before the cancellation.

Washington’s Capital Pride Alliance disassociated itself from the Kennedy Center in response to the canceled events.

"We are a resilient community, and we have found other avenues to celebrate," the alliance's deputy director June Crenshaw told The Associated Press. "We are finding another path to the celebration … but the fact that we have to maneuver in this way is disappointing."

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The Kennedy Center’s website still has a section for Tapestry of Pride with a general description and a link to the World Pride site. No other information is provided on the website.

The cancellations come in the wake of massive changes at the Kennedy Center, including President Donald Trump firing both the president and chairman in early February. Trump replaced most of the board with loyalists, who subsequently elected him the new chairman of the institution.

The World Pride event is held every two years and this year's event runs from May 17 through June 8 with performances and celebrations planned across the nation's capital. But concerns arose about what kind of reception attendees will receive due to Trump administration policies targeting transgender people and comments about Kennedy Center drag performances.

"I know that D.C. as a community will be very excited to be hosting World Pride, but I know the community is a little bit different than the government," said Michael Roest, founder and director of the International Pride Orchestra, which had its June 5 performance at the Kennedy Center canceled just days after Trump’s took control of the institution.

Roest told The Associated Press he was in the final stages of planning the performance at the center. He was waiting on a final contract when Trump revealed on Feb. 7 the leadership changes and his plans to amend the institution's programming.

The center then became unresponsive, he said.

On Feb. 12, Roest said he received a one-sentence email from a Kennedy Center staffer saying that they "are no longer able to advance your contract at this time."

"They went from very eager to host to nothing," he told The Associated Press. "We have not since heard a word from anybody at the Kennedy Center, but that’s not going to stop us."

After the cancellation, Roest said he was able to move the International Pride Orchestra performance to the Strathmore theater in nearby Bethesda, Maryland.

Roest said he was never given an explanation for why the performance was canceled so late in the planning stages. He said his orchestra would no longer consider performing at the Kennedy Center and that most queer artists would likely make the same choice.

"There would need to be a very, very public statement of inclusivity from the administration, from that board, for us to consider that," he said. "Otherwise it is a hostile performance space."

Crenshaw said some other events, including a drag story time and a display of parts of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, would be transferred to the World Pride welcome center in Chinatown.

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Monica Alford, a veteran arts and culture journalist and event planner, was set to organize an event on June 8 as part of Tapestry of Pride, but said she also experienced an abrupt end to communication within days of Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center.

Alford has a long history with the Kennedy Center and organized the first-ever drag brunch on its rooftop last year. She said she viewed the institution as her "home base" and "a safe space for the queer community." She also said she was disappointed to lose the partnership she had with the Kennedy Center.

"We’re doing our community a disservice — not just the queer community but the entire community," she told The Associated Press.

She said she was still finalizing the details of her event, which she said was "meant to be family-friendly, just like the drag brunch was family-friendly and classy and sophisticated."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked an executive order from President Donald Trump that would cancel collective bargaining rights for most federal workers. 

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman blocked the Trump administration from implementing the order following a lawsuit from the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents about 160,000 federal employees.

The union claims in the lawsuit that the order would violate federal workers’ labor rights and is unconstitutional, adding that it would lose two-thirds of its membership and half of its dues if they order is allowed to go through. 

The order exempted more than a dozen agencies from the requirement to bargain with unions, including the departments of Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services departments.

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It affects around 75% of the nearly one million federal workers represented by unions and expands an existing rule that exempts national security agencies like the FBI and CIA from collective bargaining requirements.

The U.S. Treasury Department also filed a lawsuit against the NTEU following the order to invalidate a collective bargaining agreement involving IRS employees. 

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The order is part of the administration’s efforts to lessen the size of the federal government, by making it easier to discipline and fire workers and change working conditions. 

The temporary injunction will remain in place pending the outcome of the NTEU lawsuit. 

Friedman said he would issue an opinion explaining his ruling in the next few days.

He also gave attorneys on both sides a week to propose how the lawsuit should move forward. 

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

States that allow illegal immigrants to collect unemployment benefits could lose federal funding, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said Friday. 

In a letter to all governors, Chavez-DeRemer urged them to comply with President Donald Trump's directives to ensure that tax dollars aren't used to benefit those in the U.S. illegally. 

"Our nation’s unemployment benefits exist solely for workers who are eligible to receive them," Chavez-DeRemer wrote. "To qualify for unemployment, one must be able and available to work, actively seeking work and be legally authorized to accept employment in the United States. Unemployment benefits are not a handout for those in our country illegally."

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Chavez-DeRemer urged the states to use SAVE, an online database for registered federal, state and local government agencies, to verify the immigration status of applicants seeking benefits or licenses.  

The move comes as the Trump administration continues to clamp down on illegal immigrants who receive taxpayer benefits. 

On Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USDA) is taking action to ensure that illegal immigrants no longer receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, widely known as food stamps. 

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"USDA's nutrition programs are intended to support the most vulnerable Americans," Rollins said. "To allow those who broke our laws by entering the United States illegally to receive these benefits is outrageous."

Last month, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner warned illegal immigrants living in government-funded housing that HUD is prioritizing only Americans under the Trump administration. 

"At HUD, we only serve one out of four Americans that we should be serving, and that has to come to an end," Turner told Fox News Digital at the time. "And so we're not only making it a priority, but we are making that our only priority, that American citizens will benefit from hard-working American taxpayer dollars." 

Several Democrats who have argued that "no one is above the law" in President Donald Trump’s cases are now condemning the arrest of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, warning it could threaten the rule of law.

"This is not normal," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., tweeted of Dugan’s arrest by the FBI on proceeding obstruction charges for allegedly shielding an indicted Mexican migrant from ICE agents. 

"The administration's arrest of a sitting judge in Wisconsin is a drastic move that threatens the rule of law," Klobuchar added, saying it's a "grave step and undermines our system of checks and balances."

During Trump’s 2019 impeachment, Klobuchar said his first impeachment case marked a "somber day for our country."

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"In America, no one is above the law, and the American people deserve to hear evidence and witness testimony during a full and fair trial in the Senate. If the president has any facts to present in his defense to the articles of impeachment, we should hear them," she said.

After the 2022 FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, Klobuchar said, "The law is king, and the former president isn't."

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., also condemned Dugan’s arrest, saying, "If [FBI Director] Kash Patel and Donald Trump don’t like a judge, they think they can arrest them.

"This is stunning — we must stand up to this blatant power grab. Republicans: How is this not a red line for you?"

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Commenting in 2020 on her vote to remove Trump from office over abuse of power allegations, Smith said she took her constitutional oath seriously and that "to condone corrupt behavior such as this undermines the core value that we stand for as a nation -- that no one is above the law, including and most especially our president."

Smith said she pored over presentations and evidence to reach that conclusion.

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., who represents Dugan’s county, lambasted the White House, saying its "willingness to weaponize federal law enforcement is shocking and this arrest has all the hallmarks of overreach."

"I will be following this case closely and facts will come out. However, I am very alarmed at the increasingly lawless actions of the Trump administration, and in particular ICE, who have been defying courts and acting with disregard for the Constitution."

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Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., commented on an apparently deleted tweet from Patel, writing on X, "Donald Trump and JD Vance are arresting judges now. Deleting the tweet won't undo the constitutional crisis you have just thrust us into."

In a 2023 interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Khanna said of the Trump impeachment, "You can't just say, 'OK, because someone was president or someone is a candidate, that you're above the law.' Everyone is under the law, and that allegations, the evidence needs to be pursued."

When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, Khanna said of the contrast that Trump has "waged war on the judiciary" and that there is no public evidence yet regarding Dugan, but "it is deeply concerning given the administration’s attacks on the courts."

"Even Chief Justice Roberts has rebuked Trump’s conduct toward the judiciary," Khanna added.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., said norms were being violated on the immigration and legal fronts for Dugan’s arrest.

In a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, Pocan laid out the differences he sees between the Dugan and Trump cases: "Judge Dugan’s arrest is outrageous and a fear tactic to our independent judiciary. Trump has always thought he was above the law, but now he’s enabling his goons to push that limit as far as it can go. His reckless deportations and flaunting of the Constitution will fail," Pocan said.

"This is stuff I expect from Third World countries," he told Axios.

In a December 2019 statement after his vote in favor of impeachment, Pocan said Trump was "never held accountable for his actions" over his 70-plus years of life.

"Today, Democrats sent a clear signal to this president and all future presidents: No one is above the law."

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Klobuchar and Smith for comment.