How the Path to Fight Back Begins for Oregonians

Monday, April 7, 2025

How the Path to Fight Back Begins for Oregonians

There will be many paths to fight back against the illegal actions and dangerous incompetence of the Trump administration. Big and small actions are both important.

Here's one such proven path that started from my most recent open-to-all town halls in Linn, Clackamas, Crook and Deschutes counties, along with a town hall just for current federal employees and those fired by the Trump administration and Elon Musk's gang of cronies at the self-declared "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE).

At the federal employees town hall I hosted along with U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Andrea Salinas, Val Hoyle, Maxine Dexter and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, witnesses told us specifics about the damage done to basic services that Oregonians count upon.

Senior Social Security staff at the federal employees town hall in Portland told me that they were short-staffed even before DOGE arrived. They shared how they can't respond on the phone, the website is crashing, and seniors are getting lost in the system due to fresh and deep cuts from the Trump administration.

Based on those direct accounts, I grilled Trump's nominee to lead the Social Security Administration, Frank Bisignano about these problems.

In a national spotlight, the nominee failed to provide adequate answers for the tens of millions of Americans who have earned Social Security benefits. The nominee also lied to the committee and all Americans - I was able to call him out thanks to a whistleblower at the agency who confirmed that Bisignano personally insisted on hiring several key DOGE members.

Whistleblowers are the unsung heroes brave enough to alert the public to violations happening behind closed doors. And I encourage anybody who wants to blow the whistle on the Trump administration's lawbreaking and destructive buffoonery to contact me here.

It is only because of brave whistleblowers that I learned about the Trump administration's shuttering Medicaid portals that so many providers rely on for payment across all 50 states in January. Trump only reversed course on this part of his disastrous blanket freeze on federal aid AFTER I called his bluff and showed what whistleblowers had confirmed.

Whether I get a tip from a whistleblower or hear from Oregonians directly at a town hall about the Trump corruption and devastation, it helps a lot as I work to hold the administration accountable.

For another example from this past round of town halls, there's Isabella Isakson, an Olympian athlete and Army veteran. She was a U.S. Forest Service employee for the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland. She worked to alert the public about wildfires, and at our meeting, she conveyed the danger to rural areas when forests are not properly managed.

These workers serve on the front lines of the fight against the climate crisis by maintaining our beautiful forests and reducing the risks of wildfires. They are your neighbors who worked at the Bonneville Power Administration to help keep your lights on. They are your friends who worked at the Veterans Health Administration to deliver critical services guaranteed to Oregon's 251,000 veterans.

All of these Oregonians are absolutely invaluable to our state and our entire nation at large. They are incredibly brave for coming forward to tell us their stories.

I am dedicated to investigating these dangerous incursions by Trump and Musk into vital functions of the federal government. Protecting federal workers who provide crucial services to Oregonians is an absolute top priority for me, and I will keep pushing legislation like the Putting Veterans First Act that reinstates veterans unduly fired from their federal positions.

I will also continue to fight to protect whistleblowers at every level, and encourage anyone with information of wrongdoing to contact me or my office. It's not going to be easy and there is a lot of work ahead.

But I am committed to working nonstop to hold the Trump administration and Musk accountable for their assault on America.