JB Pritzker Floats Amendment to Curb Donald Trump's 'Massive' Profiteering

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said Congress should pass laws, and "possibly even an amendment to the Constitution," to limit what he called the president's "massive, massive profiteering." He said it in an interview when he was asked whether Democrats should impeach Donald Trump for a third time if they win back Congress.

Pritzker, a two-term Democrat, did not endorse impeachment and did not rule it out. He made the case for hearings first.

Pritzker Says Hearings Should Come Before Impeachment

The question came with some home-state pressure. The interviewer noted that fellow Illinois Democrats, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Senator Tammy Duckworth, had said another impeachment would backfire on the party. Asked whether he agreed, Pritzker changed the subject to corruption.

"Well, here's what I think, there need to be hearings, because there's so much corruption," he said. "The corruption is even at a higher level than the costs and cruelty that Donald Trump is bringing."

Pressed on whether he meant hearings instead of impeachment, he said: "Well, the hearings will uncover things, and then some decisions will have to get made about that."

He argued that most voters have not taken in the scale of the problem. "But the American public doesn't know the extent of the corruption. I think many of us paying very close attention do," Pritzker said. He said the public needs to see the corruption "so that the Congress can pass laws and possibly even an amendment to the Constitution that limits the, well, I would just call it the massive, massive profiteering that the President of the United States is able to do and is doing now with his family and his close friends."

Pritzker did not name specific deals. He offered no amendment text and did not say what a new law would restrict.

"I would just call it the massive, massive profiteering that the President of the United States is able to do and is doing now with his family and his close friends." — JB Pritzker

What Trump's Financial Disclosure Shows

Trump's annual financial disclosure for 2025, filed with the Office of Government Ethics, showed more than $1.4 billion in income from his cryptocurrency ventures, ABC News reported. That included $635 million under a license agreement for the $TRUMP meme coin and $526 million from token sales through World Liberty Financial, the Trump-connected crypto firm.

The same filing showed at least $389 million from his properties and golf clubs in the U.S. and Scotland.

An Associated Press investigation published by PBS News has also documented dealings with foreign governments. It found that the Trump family sold nearly half of World Liberty Financial to a company tied to the United Arab Emirates government for $500 million, and that Binance founder Changpeng Zhao later received a pardon from Trump. The same report found that a company owned by the Qatari government is helping develop a Trump golf club and villa project in Qatar.

The White House Says There Are 'No Conflicts of Interest'

The White House rejects the corruption charge. In the AP report, the White House said Trump acts in an "ethically-sound manner" and that suggestions otherwise are "ill-informed or malicious." "There are no conflicts of interest," said spokesperson Anna Kelly. The White House said Trump's assets sit in a trust managed by his children and that he has "no involvement" in the family's business deals.

Why Pritzker Floats a Constitutional Amendment

The legal baseline helps explain why Pritzker went as far as the Constitution. The president is exempt from the main federal conflict-of-interest statute, which bars other executive-branch officials from holding financial interests in matters they handle, the AP noted.

The Constitution's two Emoluments Clauses bar officeholders from accepting any "present, Emolument, Office, or Title" from a foreign state without Congress's consent, and bar the president from receiving "any other Emolument" from the federal government or the states beyond his salary.

Changing the Constitution is a far steeper climb than passing a law. Under Article V, an amendment needs two-thirds of both the House and the Senate, then ratification by three-fourths of the states. That is 38 states. The Constitution has been amended 27 times, according to the National Archives.

What Happens Next

Any hearings depend on Tuesday's results. Democrats lead the generic congressional ballot by 8.5 points in PolitiKool's polling average, and control of the Senate is a toss-up on PolitiKool's Senate map. Trump's approval sits at 37.7 percent in PolitiKool's polling average.

Pritzker has said hearings should come first. He has not said what they would need to find before Democrats decide on impeachment.