Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday signaled he was open to testifying before a Republican-led congressional committee on the state’s so-called sanctuary policies for protecting immigrants, but hadn’t yet decided whether to accept the panel’s invitation.

“Part of it is scheduling. Part of it is consideration about how beneficial it will be to help people understand the laws,” Pritzker said after being asked at an unrelated event what would go into his decision.

The House Oversight Committee, led by Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, on Thursday sent a letter to Pritzker asking him to testify about state sanctuary policies. Also invited to testify were Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was last year’s Democratic candidate for vice president, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. The committee has called a number of state and local politicians to Washington in recent months to discuss immigration policies, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who sparred for hours with Republican lawmakers on the panel in March.

The governor declined to say when he’d make a decision about attending the hearing scheduled for May 15.

While an appearance before a congressional committee could raise Pritzker’s national profile as he weighs a possible 2028 run for president, a poor showing could dull his political prospects. Former Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned from her position amid criticism over her 2023 testimony about antisemitism before the same committee.

The committee has subpoena power, but Pritzker said he doesn’t see any reason that would be used to compel him to testify.

“Nobody’s violated any laws here,” he said.

The governor on Monday also criticized the hearing at which Johnson testified.

“There wasn’t anything particularly productive,” Pritzker said of that appearance. “It seemed like the members of the committee were all looking for some sort of social media moment.”

Pritzker said he hasn’t spoken with either Hochul or Walz about whether they will testify.

Illinois state laws prohibit local police from participating in immigration enforcement activities and contracting with federal authorities to detain immigrants on their behalf. Chicago, for its part, bans official cooperation between local law enforcement and deportation authorities, among other measures.

Such “sanctuary” laws have been a target of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown that includes targeting of blue cities including Chicago. Comer in a news release last week called the policies “obstructionist.”

Last week, President Donald Trump in a social media post threatened to “withhold all Federal Funding” from so-called sanctuary cities. The Johnson administration said the city is compliance with all state and federal laws and implied that withholding those federal funds would be unconstitutional.

During his first term, the Justice Department under Trump tried to withhold funds from sanctuary cities including Chicago but lost in court.

The president has long expressed a desire for mass deportations, sowing fear and confusion throughout immigrant communities in Illinois since he returned to office. Trump has said these actions will first target people who have committed crimes, but recent enforcement operations have seen others swept up in arrests.

In response to the initial request for Pritzker to appear before the congressional committee, Pritzker spokesperson Alex Gough noted that one of the state laws in question was signed by Pritzker’s Republican predecessor, Gov. Bruce Rauner.