It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
Voters in November elected Tobias Reed as Oregon secretary of state, Dan Rayfield as attorney general and Elizabeth Steiner as treasurer. All Democrats. Democrats also gained supermajorities in both the Oregon House and Senate. All seven Oregon Supreme Court Justices were appointed by Democratic governors.
Gov. Tina Kotek and Democrat leaders have complete control over Oregon politics. They can pass any bill they want, including raising taxes and passing the budget without a single Republican legislator’s support.
Republican and Independent voters have been left out in the cold wondering, “Will we ever …”
- Get men and boys out of women and girls’ sports and locker rooms?
- Get Critical Race Theory and DEI programs out of Oregon public schools?
- Repeal Oregon’s sanctuary state laws so that local law enforcement can work with federal immigration officers to arrest and deport violent illegal aliens?
- Defund federally funded NGOs (“Non-Governmental Organizations”) that encourage illegal immigration and enable homelessness and drug addiction?
The outlook was grim. It could take decades for Republicans to elect a Republican governor, regain Republican majorities in the state legislature and appoint a majority of the Oregon Supreme Court to get these policies changed.
However, what appeared hopeless became a political possibility and likely reality in just three months.
All it took was the political earthquake of President Donald Trump’s reelection in November.
Winning the Electoral College and popular vote, Trump had a mandate to make America great again by making the federal government more efficient and effective in serving the American people. It also marked a return of reality and common sense to the Executive Branch.
Trump became the first American president to win a nonconsecutive second term since President Grover Cleveland did so in 1892. Trump had four years to prepare for his second term. He hit the ground running with dozens of executive orders on Day 1 and the nomination and appointment of highly experienced, talented and energetic leaders.
This included Trump appointing Elon Musk to lead the United States DOGE. The Department of Government Efficiency renamed and repurposed former President Barack Obama’s United States Digital Agency.
DOGE is tasked with auditing all federal government agencies to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse along with highlighting spending that does not serve the national interest.
Trump’s early actions will directly impact Oregon in many ways, including:
- The U.S. Department of Education has put Kotek and Rayfield on notice that Oregon’s discriminatory DEI practices must end, or else Oregon will lose federal funding.
- Trump signed executive orders to end “Radical Indoctrination in K-12 schooling,” and “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.”
- DOGE revealed that USAID used NGOs for domestic and international money laundering. NGOs will be audited, and future funding is at risk as questions arise over whether or not they serve the national interest.
Things get worse for the governor when it comes to Oregon’s sanctuary state status.
On Day 1, President Trump declared a national emergency at our southern border. His EO stated that “America’s sovereignty is under attack. Our southern border is overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics that harm Americans.”
Another EO named “cartels and other organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists.” The policy goal is “to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States.” That includes Oregon.
Attorney General Pam Bondi sued Illinois and New York for failing to comply with federal immigration laws and impeding federal immigration enforcement efforts. Will Oregon be next?
Now Kotek and other Oregon leaders face a moment of truth with two painful options.
1. Reform Oregon’s laws to maintain federal funding, or
2. Keep Oregon’s laws and raise state taxes substantially to make up for lost federal funding.
With great power comes great responsibility. And political accountability for choices made.
Raising taxes to maintain the status quo is not feasible for tax-strapped families and businesses, especially in light of the hundreds of billions of dollars in wasteful federal government spending uncovered by DOGE in just one month.
Oregonians should not be burdened with new taxes until an Oregon-DOGE effort first eliminates waste, fraud and abuse in Oregon’s budget.
Therefore, Gov. Kotek and House and Senate leaders must pass bills in 2025 to make Oregon laws conform with federal law. We’ll be watching carefully, governor.
This article originally appeared in the February-March 2025 Oregon Eagle.
Richard Emmons is the publisher and editor of the Oregon Eagle.