Mayor Brandon Johnson will testify before Congress next month in a Republican-led hearing on sanctuary cities, his office announced Wednesday. Last month, Oversight Committee chair U.S. Rep James Comer,

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s appearance is likely to represent a flashpoint in the ongoing battle with the GOP-controlled U.S House and the Trump administration, which is attempting to strip self-proclaimed sanctuary cities of all federal funding.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent letters Johnson and the mayors for three other major cities – Boston, Denver, and New York – last week, asking them to testify before the committee and hand over all documents and communications related to their city's sanctuary policies.

Over the past decade, the job description for the mayor of Chicago has included a new duty: responding to Donald Trump. The question before Brandon Johnson is, how does the freshman mayor come out on top against a reality TV-bred GOP president made famous for breaking the rules?

The Trump administration is suing Chicago over what are known as sanctuary laws. The administration claims the nation’s third-largest city “thwarts” federal efforts to enforce immigration laws.