As the federal government screeches to a halt, Oregon’s congressional Democrats say they and their colleagues have two main demands to reopen and fund the federal government:
First, Republicans who hold the presidency and majority in Congress must reverse cuts to Medicaid and health spending made in July. Second, President Donald Trump must implement spending bills as written, as required by the Constitution — meaning no more impoundments of congressionally directed funding by Trump, who in the last eight months has stopped billions in money allocated by Congress from reaching states and agencies.
The consequences of the shutdown that began Wednesday morning will be sweeping, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers face furloughs. About 30,000 federal workers are in Oregon, and the Oregon Employment Department estimates 10,000 of those workers could be furloughed or required to work without pay. Other non-federal employees whose jobs are funded through the federal government could see hours reduced or be laid off during an extended shutdown.
Currently, no Oregon state employees are being furloughed due to the federal government shutdown, according to Bryanna Duke, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Administrative Services.
“Agencies are reviewing their specific funding streams and will continue to assess potential future impacts on the workforce if the shutdown persists,” she said in an email.
But Oregon Democrats said Wednesday that far more sweeping consequences will unfold if they don’t do something to ensure tax credits are extended for Americans who are insured through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid restrictions are reversed. Some in the delegation said the shutdown is also about much bigger issues and the only way to push back on Trump’s consolidation of executive power.
Over the weekend, Trump made the unprecedented announcement that he would order Oregon National Guard troops deployed to Portland to watch over federal buildings, despite protests from Gov. Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and others that the city is safe and that Portland Police has small demonstrations in the block around an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility well under control.
Oregon’s lone Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz, representing the state’s 2nd Congressional District in eastern and southern Oregon, did not respond to questions from the Capital Chronicle about the shutdown Wednesday.
‘Not asking for a lot’
More than 111,000 Oregonians who buy health insurance through the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace will pay significantly more for their plans next year unless the tax credits are extended, and nearly 35,000 will lose all financial help paying for monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Across the country, without the tax credits, Americans who buy health plans through ACA marketplaces will see costs rise an average of 75% next year, according to analysis from KFF, a health policy organization.
“Democrats weren’t asking for a lot, but I think what we are asking for are things that really matter to Americans, right, and certainly to Oregonians,” said Rep. Andrea Salinas, a Democrat representing Oregon’s 6th District in the Willamette Valley.
Her constituents who buy health insurance on the state’s marketplace could see their premiums increase by as much as $1,500 per month next year if the federal tax credits aren’t extended, she said.
“That’s a lot of money,” Salinas said. “That could make the difference of either having health care or not having health care. We’re in a position right now where we’re just trying to make sure that people can get the health care that they need. That’s it. Yeah, it’s pretty plain and simple.”
Salinas said the Federal Aviation Administration will continue to function and Social Security checks will go out, but the work of some safety net agencies could be slow, and National Parks will likely temporarily close. Despite the government shutdown, Head Start programs will remain open across the country and Head Start staff, who are not federal employees, will continue to work for the foreseeable future.
“If it goes on for too long, you will start to see things slow down more and more. But I am hoping that, again, Republicans recognize that Americans, Oregonians, are hurting right now, and that the cost of living is too high, and that starts with the price of health care,” Salinas said.
Republicans have control
Until Monday, Trump had not met with Democratic leadership once since being sworn in on Jan. 20.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in the hours before the shutdown that there wouldn’t be any further talks with Democrats until the government reopened.
“The negotiation happens when the government is open. So let’s keep the government open and then we will have the negotiations,” Thune said.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, of Oregon’s Portland-based 1st Congressional District, said in a statement that Republicans had left the Capitol by Wednesday.
“House Democrats are ready, willing and able to work with our colleagues to keep the government open with a bipartisan proposal that will stop the harmful health care cuts, but House Republicans didn’t even show up to work,” she said.
Salinas, who was still in D.C., said she has not seen Bentz in the Cannon House Office Building where they both have their offices since the shutdown began, nor had she heard from him.
In a tweet, Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, gave a brief statement. He said responsibility for the shutdown lies with Republicans.
“Republicans control the White House, Senate, and the House,” Wyden said. “This government shutdown has failed Republican leadership on full display.”
Rep. Janelle Bynum, of the 5th Congressional District that stretches from Bend to Portland, similarly made her statement brief and clear, that Republicans had the power to keep the government open as the majority party.
“Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency — they own this shutdown,” she said.
In a separate statement, Bynum said she asked the House’s chief administrative officer to withhold her pay for the duration of the shutdown.
‘Perilous moment’
Other members of the delegation said that the shutdown is about pushing back on President Donald Trump’s growing consolidation of executive power.
“Over the last nine months, Trump has consistently violated the Constitution, separation of powers and checks and balances, and we see it in so many different ways,” Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, said in a news conference Wednesday morning.
“We are in the most perilous moment for our constitution since the Civil War. We have never seen such a combination of attacks on our freedom of expression and our freedom of press, and our freedom of assembly. We’ve never seen such attacks on our universities and our law firms. We’ve never seen such a militarization, or weaponization, of our Department of Justice to go against folks that Trump doesn’t like.”
For Rep. Maxine Dexter, of Oregon’s Portland-based 3rd Congressional District, the shutdown is also about a check on Trump’s power.
“Authoritarianism begins when Congress becomes a rubber stamp. I will not be part of that. I’m fighting for a government funding bill that protects health care, lowers costs and includes ironclad protections to rein in Trump’s power,” she said in a statement. “During this shutdown, my office will remain fully operational. I encourage any Oregonian who needs assistance to contact my office.”
Trump Cancels Blue State Projects Including Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub
Trump administration officials on Friday defended the decision to cancel federal projects in regions of the country that have voted for Democrats, saying the move isn’t political but an effort to reduce the size and scope of government during the shutdown.
Republican leaders in Congress also backed the White House’s decision to punish Democratic voters by unilaterally canceling funding that lawmakers approved on a bipartisan basis. Democrats, however, said it’s an unacceptable escalation that further erodes Congress’ constitutional authority over spending.
“The president and (White House budget director) Russ Vought were not given any additional authority under a shutdown, and they shouldn’t pretend they have it and they shouldn’t act like it and they certainly should not be threatening people,” Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., said on a call with reporters.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., gave a bit of a mixed message during a morning press conference, saying that while decisions about which projects to cancel are “tough,” President Donald Trump and other officials “are having fun with” the shutdown on social media.
“Are they taking great pleasure in that? No,” Johnson said, referring to the actual governing. “Is he trolling the Democrats? Yes, because that’s what President Trump does and people are having fun with this.”
Later in the day, Johnson opted to further delay bringing the House back into session, canceling a second week of floor votes, which means the earliest that chamber will return to Capitol Hill is Oct. 14.
Shutdown ‘is not a joke’
Trump has posted frequently on social media during the shutdown, including a video that depicted House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero and a video that appeared to be created by artificial intelligence depicting Vought as the Grim Reaper.
Murray said on the call with reporters that Republicans posting the videos show they are treating the shutdown “as a joke.”
“This is not a joke. This is real,” Murray said. “They need to stop the taunting. They need to stop the childish behavior. They need to stop hurting people and they need to come and work with us to solve a serious problem in front of our country.”
Jeffries, asked about the social media videos during a press conference, said it shows Republicans are on “defense” over their policies on health care and other issues.
“Donald Trump has behaved in a deeply unserious and deeply unhinged manner and it’s evidence of the fact that Republicans have a weak argument, so they’ve resorted to deepfake videos and to lying about the nature of the policy decisions,” Jeffries said.
Projects axed in Chicago, New York, blue states
Johnson said he spoke earlier this week with Vought — one of the authors of Project 2025 who said previously he wanted “bureaucrats to be traumatically affected” — and that Vought “takes no pleasure in this.”
“Russ wants to see a smaller, more efficient, more lean, effective federal government, as we do. But he doesn’t want people to lose jobs. He doesn’t want to do that,” Johnson said. “But that’s his responsibility. So he’s very carefully, methodically, very deliberately looking through that to see which decisions can be made in the best interest of the American people. That’s his obligation and that’s his real desire.”
Typically during a government shutdown, federal employees are categorized as exempt, meaning they keep working without pay, or are placed on furlough. Both categories receive back pay once Congress votes to approve a stopgap spending bill.
But Vought has indicated he wants to use the shutdown as an excuse to lay off federal workers en masse, a step not taken during past funding lapses. He’s also taken to social media several times to announce canceled or halted projects in areas of the country that don’t regularly vote for Republicans.
Vought wrote in a post on Wednesday, shortly after the shutdown began, that $18 billion in Transportation Department funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Ave Subway in New York City was put “on hold.” Both are in Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Jeffries’ home state.
Vought then said the Energy Department would cancel $8 billion in climate funding that was slated to go to projects in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
The Washington State Standard reported some of the funding would have gone toward the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub and Source New Mexico posted an article detailing a few impacted projects, including funds to the “New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology for the third phase of a project … to develop a storage hub at a commercial scale within (the) San Juan basin.”
Additionally, Vought on Friday froze $2.1 billion in Transportation Department funding for the “Red Line Extension and the Red and Purple Modernization Project” in Chicago, writing it was “put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting.”
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin represents Illinois, and the state’s governor, JB Pritzker, has been in a public back-and-forth with Trump over immigration enforcement, which the administration has heightened in Chicago. Pritzker has repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s requests to bring in the National Guard.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said during the press conference with Speaker Johnson that it makes sense the Trump administration would implement the shutdown through a political lens.
“I think they’re going to make decisions that are consistent with their priorities,” Thune said. “And yes, they’re going to have a different political view of the world than the Democrats might have.”
Hatch Act questions
The actions of Trump administration officials have raised questions about whether they could be in violation of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that “limits certain political activities of federal employees.”
The Office of Special Counsel writes on its website the law is meant to “ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation.”
Any federal employee found to have violated the law can face removal from service or a fine of up to $1,000, among other possible repercussions.
Public Citizen has filed numerous complaints against the Trump administration, alleging that banners and messages posted on government websites about the shutdown violate the Hatch Act.
“Even for an administration that flouts ethics guidelines regularly, these messages are a particularly egregious and clear-cut sign that Trump and his cabinet see themselves as above the law,” Craig Holman, a government ethics expert with Public Citizen, wrote in a statement.
As with many of the Trump administration’s actions, any new precedent set by the Republican administration could be used by a future Democratic president in a way that would very likely be harmful to Republican voters and regions of the country that consistently support GOP policies.
Layoffs still threatened
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during an afternoon briefing that administration officials are trying to determine where to make additional spending cuts and layoffs during the shutdown.
“The Office of Management and Budget is in constant communication and contact right now with our Cabinet secretaries and agencies across the board to identify, unfortunately, where layoffs have to be made and where cuts have to happen,” Leavitt said. “But again, the Democrats have an opportunity to prevent this if they vote to reopen the government.”
Leavitt declined to say whether the administration would back away from plans to lay off federal workers by the thousands or cancel funding for projects in Democratic areas if Republicans and Democrats in Congress strike a deal to reopen government.
Leavitt said the “blueprint” for shrinking the size and scope of the federal government is whatever the president and administration officials come up with, after being asked by a Fox News reporter about Trump writing in a social media post earlier this week that Vought was “of PROJECT 2025 Fame,” after the president repeatedly distanced himself from the document on the campaign trail.
From our news partners: DC Delegation by Alex Baumhardt of Oregon Capital Chronicle. Trump Cancels Blue State Projects by Jennifer Shutt of States Newsroom.
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com