Sen. Merkley addresses shutdown, federal troops

OREGON — With the threat of a shutdown looming much of this year, Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley explained what congressional Democrats are demanding in order to reopen the federal government, and he also denounced President Trump’s deployment of federal troops to Portland last Wednesday.

The ask is two-fold — reverse cuts to healthcare spending solidified by the “Big, Beautiful Bill” and have the White House properly distribute funds appropriated by Congress — though Merkley has a laundry list of disagreements with the current administration. He emphasized the government hasn’t been functioning properly, and after narrowly avoiding one in March, this is the first shutdown since 2018.

“Over the last nine months, Trump has consistently violated the Constitution,” Merkley said during a press conference. “We see it in the attack on freedom of the press. We see it in the attack on freedom of speech. We see it in the militarization or weaponization of the Department of Justice to go after political enemies. But in the process of his policies, both the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ and also the use of tariffs, he’s made America sicker and poorer.”

Rep. Cliff Bentz of Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District has yet to make any public statements on the shutdown.

Absent any changes, 24 million low-income Americans who rely on financial assistance through the Affordable Care Act, including 110,000 Oregonians, will see their health insurance premiums rise an average of 75% in 2026, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a health policy organization. Those in rural areas will feel a larger impact if the subsidies, enhanced during the pandemic and extended in 2022, sunset, and 4 million people would lose insurance as a result.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and several other Republicans have claimed that reupping the ACA subsidies, and restoring about $1 trillion to Medicaid, would give “illegal aliens” free healthcare, which is false. While Democrats are pushing to change eligibility requirements for a small cohort of lawfully present immigrants, including those formally designated as refugees or asylum seekers, undocumented immigrants are largely barred from federal healthcare programs.

In a recent KFF poll, over three in four adults supported the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies.

As for the second demand, Trump has withheld over $410 billion from programs across the country since taking office, nearly half of all non-defense, discretionary money allocated for fiscal year 2025, according to a report from Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee. The Office of Management and Budget has offered no explanation on where this money has gone, or what it’s being used for, a senior member on the committee said.

Though one-third of Oregon’s 30,000 federal workers risk being furloughed or having to work without pay because of the shutdown, the Federal Unionists Network, a coalition of government unions, wrote they “will willingly forego paychecks in the hopes of preserving the programs we have devoted our lives to administering” in a letter to top Democrats.

Merkley noted that a shutdown provides Trump no extra legal authority to terminate federal employees on top of the measures he’s already taken, which have reduced the workforce by at least 12%, the New York Times estimated.

National Guard in Oregon

On Sept. 29, Trump federalized 200 members of Oregon’s National Guard, and despite a judge temporarily barring him from doing so, the president ordered another 200 come up from California a week later and mobilized the Texas National Guard as well.

“This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs,” U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut wrote in her ruling siding with the state of Oregon and City of Portland. “This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.”

On Saturday, the same day Immergut issued her ruling, protesters marched from Elizabeth Caruthers Park in South Portland to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building. In the evening, federal agents pushed protesters up residential streets, much farther than the typical driveway clearing, shooting tear gas, flash bangs and pepper balls. At least six people were arrested, according to The Oregonian, and videographers accompanied the agents at one point.

Merkley encouraged people to continue protesting peacefully, but warned against further provocation, saying that Trump is intentionally trying to create conflict to justify expanding his “authoritarian measures.” Speaking to 800 military leaders on Sept. 26, Trump said he intends to use American cities as “training grounds” for troops because the country is “under invasion from within,” Merkley noted.

Being just outside of her district, Rep. Maxine Dexter also addressed the protests at ICE’s facility. “Trump is telling a story about Portland that is completely disconnected from reality. The only people terrorizing our city are Trump’s federal agents, who used chemical crowd-control munitions against peaceful protesters this weekend,” she said in a statement.

According to Merkley, the troops are being stationed at the Camp Rilea Armed Forces Training Center near Astoria for 3-5 days of training before receiving assignments. He’s heard conflicting reports about the length of deployment, anywhere from 15 to 45 days. Both Oregon and California are suing the Trump administration over its use of domestic soldiers.

“They’re uninvited, they’re unnecessary and they’re unacceptable under our law,” Merkley said. “Our message to President Trump is simple: stay out of Portland.”