CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he’s open to working with President-elect Donald Trump’s new border czar — but said he was skeptical the incoming official had the “authority” to do everything he said.

“Being a border czar is not an official position in the government, and it will be up to the President of the United States and up to the leaders of the Customs and Border Patrol to make decisions about how we’ll manage the border,” Pritzker said.

Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, visited Chicago on Monday and said both Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson “suck” for their comments about not working with federal agents on deportations. Illinois is a sanctuary state and Chicago is a sanctuary city, meaning there are laws and ordinances that prevent local law enforcement from working with ICE.

Homan spoke at a Chicago GOP gathering and said the city would be ground zero for “the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen.”

Pritzker dismissed Homan’s comments as political rhetoric but said he should be “serving Democrats and Republicans. If you take a position in the executive branch, you serve all of the people of the United States.”

Pritzker said he agrees that “violent criminals who are undocumented and convicted of violent crime should be deported.” Asked if that meant he would work with federal agents to allow deportation of convicted violent criminals, Pritzker said, ‘Yes. Sure, just as I do every day with federal and state law enforcement on other matters.”

Trump has also promised to bring in National Guard units to help in the new administration’s deportation efforts. Pritzker said he would reject any attempt to use the Illinois National Guard to assist ICE, and he would reject Guard units from other states coming to Illinois.

“I do not believe that we should be pitting one state’s National Guard against another state,” said Pritziker. “I think that’s un-American.”

Sen. John Fetterman plans to meet with Pete Hegseth on Thursday, making him the first Senate Democrat to sit down with Donald Trump’s embattled pick for Pentagon chief.

The Pennsylvania senator, known for his blunt and pragmatic approach, confirmed the meeting on Wednesday and said he’s not ruling out supporting Hegseth. His decision comes amid allegations against the former Fox News anchor of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement.

“He could theoretically become the head of the Defense Department,” he said. “I’ve discovered in my time in D.C. that that’s important. And, ‘Are you having a conversation with someone?’ I don’t know why that’s shocking.”

Fetterman, a populist outsider, said he wanted to hear out Trump’s pick.“I mean I’m waiting,” he said. “And I’m looking forward to having an opportunity to have a conversation.”

Hegseth’s team is voicing new optimism about his chances of confirmation after MAGA allies waged a pressure campaign against Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who was seen as wavering until Monday when she struck a warmer tone.

As part of a weeklong blitz of Capitol Hill, Hegseth has meetings planned Wednesday with Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) — as well as Montana Republican Senator-elect Tim Sheehy.

Hegseth on Wednesday met with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the incoming chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and widely viewed as a swing vote, for nearly an hour and half.

Collins said she won’t make up her mind until a FBI background check is completed and he testifies at an Armed Services confirmation hearing. The two spoke about a variety of topics, Collins said, including women in the military, sexual assault, NATO, and Ukraine. She said she also pressed Hegseth on the allegations against him, although did not say how Hegseth responded.

“I asked virtually every question under the sun,” Collins told reporters. “I obviously always wait until we have an FBI background check and one is underway in the case of Mr. Hegseth. And I wait to see the committee hearing before reaching a final decision.”

Rep. Chip Roy is making a bid to lead the House Rules Committee next year, which would give him and the chamber’s right flank an influential perch for shaping legislation.

The Texas Republican, during an interview on Steve Bannon’s “War Room,” said he would “defer” to Speaker Mike Johnson on who ultimately gets the top spot but “obviously I have put my name out there.”

“A number of my colleagues, I’m proud to have their support. … I think I would add some value to that position because of my expertise on the rules and because I think I can figure out how to bring the conference together,” Roy added.

Roy is currently a member of the Rules Committee. Unlike most House panels, Johnson decides who chairs the committee as well as its members. Roy and Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) were added to the Rules Committee at the start of this Congress as part of a deal with Kevin McCarthy meant to boost conservative representation on what is typically a leadership-aligned committee.

Norman and Roy are members of the House Freedom Caucus, while Massie is not but has served as an occasional gadfly for leadership. Combined, the three of them currently have the ability to block any bill in the Rules Committee, as long as Democrats also oppose it, something that has sparked headaches for McCarthy and Johnson.

Their votes against rules on the floor have also sparked perennial calls from some of their GOP colleagues to strip them of their Rules seats. If Johnson taps Roy to be chair of the committee, it would be a significant boost not only for the Texas Republican but also the Freedom Caucus, which has at times struggled to find its footing.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) is also viewed as a contender for the Rules gavel, particularly as Johnson comes under scrutiny for the lack of women atop House committees. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) ran for the Foreign Affairs gavel but was defeated by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) in an upset.

Johnson, asked about the lack of women leading House GOP committees during a press conference this week, told reporters, “We haven’t decided on the committee chairs yet, so we’ll see how this shakes out. … Stay tuned on the final composition of conference chairs.”