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Trump Halts Billions in Grants for Democratic Districts During Shutdown

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Trump Halts Billions in Grants for Democratic Districts During Shutdown

Two weeks into the government shutdown, the Trump administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion that had been reserved for more than 200 projects primarily located in Democratic-led cities, congressional districts and states, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

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Total amount of affected funding

By congressional district of grant recipient

Each of these infrastructure projects had received federal aid, sometimes after officials spent years pleading in Washington — only to see that money halted as President Trump has looked to punish Democrats over the course of the fiscal stalemate.

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The Times conducted its analysis by examining federal funding records, which include details about the city and state where each grant recipient is based. The projects include new investments in clean energy, upgrades to the electric grid and fixes to the nation’s transportation infrastructure, primarily in Democratic strongholds, such as New York and California.

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Total affected funding, by congressional district

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Ala.

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Ariz.

Ark.

Calif.

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Colo.

Del.

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Fla.

Ga.

Idaho

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Ill.

Ind.

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Iowa

Kan.

Ky.

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La.

Maine

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Md.

Mass.

Mich.

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Minn.

Miss.

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Mo.

Mont.

Neb.

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Nev.

N.H.

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N.J.

N.M.

N.Y.

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N.C.

N.D.

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Ohio

Okla.

Ore.

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Pa.

S.C.

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S.D.

Tenn.

Texas

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Utah

Vt.

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Va.

Wash.

W.Va.

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Wis.

Wyo.

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Circles sized by total amount of affected grant funding

In some cases, recipients had started to receive portions of the federal aid, only to become casualties in a funding battle that has no end in sight.

Mr. Trump’s aides have offered a series of explanations for the administration’s decision to pause or terminate grants, claiming in some cases that the spending would have been wasteful or in conflict with the president’s priorities. Since returning to office, Mr. Trump has been particularly aggressive in cutting federal investments to combat climate change.

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But the budgetary moves coincide with the president’s public pledges to use the shutdown to slash spending favored by Democrats. He has described the federal stoppage as an “unprecedented opportunity” to make some cuts permanent.

Many Democrats said that the announcements fit a broader pattern at the White House, where Mr. Trump has claimed vast authority to reprogram the nation’s budget, even though the Constitution gives that power to Congress.

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In doing so, Democratic lawmakers said the result could harm their cities and states, upending work that would have helped residents regardless of their political party.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

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Total affected funding, by congressional district

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N.Y. 10th

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Dan Goldman

12 $17.84 bil.

Ill. 7th

Danny Davis

9 $2.37 bil.

Calif. 12th

Lateefah Simon

10 $1.40 bil.

Wash. 10th

Marilyn Strickland

1 $995.1 mil.

Calif. 7th

Doris Matsui

4 $655.3 mil.

Calif. 32th

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Brad Sherman

1 $499.5 mil.

Minn. 4th

Betty McCollum

2 $465.9 mil.

Ill. 3rd

Delia Ramirez

14 $365.4 mil.

Colo. 2nd

Joe Neguse

15 $352.5 mil.

Mass. 2nd

James McGovern

3 $114.6 mil.

Ore. 2nd

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Cliff Bentz

5 $294.3 mil.

Mass. 7th

Ayanna Pressley

9 $207.6 mil.

Mass. 5th

Katherine Clark

9 $180.3 mil.

Mo. 2nd

Ann Wagner

1 $189.2 mil.

N.Y. 20th

Paul Tonko

25 $129.3 mil.

Md. 7th

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Kweisi Mfume

3 $158.9 mil.

Calif. 2nd

Jared Huffman

4 $129.1 mil.

Calif. 16th

Sam Liccardo

16 $75.2 mil.

Colo. 7th

Brittany Pettersen

13 $74.2 mil.

Calif. 17th

Ro Khanna

6 $25.9 mil.

Minn. 5th

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Ilhan Omar

5 $76.5 mil.

Calif. 5th

Tom McClintock

2 $79 mil.

Ore. 1st

Suzanne Bonamici

11 $73.6 mil.

Wash. 2nd

Rick Larsen

3 $47.8 mil.

Calif. 28th

Judy Chu

5 $53 mil.

N.M. 3rd

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Teresa Leger Fernandez

2 $65.4 mil.

Calif. 34th

Jimmy Gomez

3 $60.3 mil.

Colo. 1st

Diana DeGette

4 $57.6 mil.

N.M. 2nd

Gabe Vasquez

4 $56.1 mil.

N.M. 1st

Melanie Stansbury

3 $52.3 mil.

Minn. 8th

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Pete Stauber

1 $49.8 mil.

Calif. 6th

Ami Bera

1 $50 mil.

Wash. 3rd

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez

1 $46 mil.

Calif. 47th

Dave Min

3 $41.7 mil.

Calif. 19th

Jimmy Panetta

3 $30.8 mil.

Mass. 3rd

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Lori Trahan

3 $39.7 mil.

Calif. 15th

Kevin Mullin

5 $31.6 mil.

Colo. 8th

Gabe Evans

2 $32.9 mil.

Ill. 13th

Nikki Budzinski

7 $27.6 mil.

Mich. 6th

Debbie Dingell

1 $30.7 mil.

Ore. 3rd

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Maxine Dexter

2 $15 mil.

Hawaii 1st

Ed Case

5 $24.5 mil.

N.Y. 23th

Nicholas Langworthy

2 $27.4 mil.

N.Y. 17th

Michael Lawler

2 $26.2 mil.

Conn. 5th

Jahana Hayes

3 $20.1 mil.

Mass. 6th

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Seth Moulton

3 $17.5 mil.

N.Y. 16th

George Latimer

1 $20.4 mil.

Minn. 7th

Michelle Fischbach

1 $19.6 mil.

Calif. 25th

Raul Ruiz

1 $18.4 mil.

Calif. 4th

Mike Thompson

2 $16.6 mil.

Del.

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Sarah McBride

3 $15.3 mil.

Mass. 9th

Bill Keating

3 $6.4 mil.

Conn. 1st

John Larson

4 $8.2 mil.

N.Y. 19th

Josh Riley

5 $10.4 mil.

Md. 4th

Glenn Ivey

4 $11 mil.

R.I. 1st

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Gabe Amo

2 $11.5 mil.

N.Y. 3rd

Thomas Suozzi

1 $11.2 mil.

Calif. 49th

Mike Levin

2 $10.5 mil.

Mass. 8th

Stephen Lynch

2 $8.8 mil.

Calif. 42th

Robert Garcia

1 $9.7 mil.

Wash. 5th

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Michael Baumgartner

4 $8 mil.

Md. 3rd

Sarah Elfreth

4 $6.8 mil.

Conn. 2nd

Joe Courtney

3 $7.8 mil.

Calif. 50th

Scott Peters

1 $6.3 mil.

S.C. 4th

William Timmons

1 $1.7 mil.

Calif. 43th

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Maxine Waters

1 $6.3 mil.

Calif. 39th

Mark Takano

1 $6 mil.

Wash. 7th

Pramila Jayapal

1 $2.9 mil.

Vt.

Becca Balint

2 $2.8 mil.

N.Y. 22th

John Mannion

1 $5 mil.

Calif. 37th

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Sydney Kamlager-Dove

1 $3.4 mil.

N.H. 1st

Chris Pappas

1 $4.7 mil.

N.Y. 25th

Joseph Morelle

1 $4.8 mil.

Conn. 3rd

Rosa DeLauro

1 $4.4 mil.

Md. 1st

Andy Harris

1 $4.5 mil.

N.J. 6th

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Frank Pallone

2 $4.7 mil.

Calif. 14th

Eric Swalwell

2 $3 mil.

Calif. 9th

Josh Harder

2 $4.2 mil.

N.Y. 12th

Jerrold Nadler

2 $3.8 mil.

Ill. 16th

Darin LaHood

1 $2.9 mil.

Conn. 4th

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Jim Himes

1 $3 mil.

Ill. 10th

Bradley Schneider

1 $2.9 mil.

Ill. 5th

Mike Quigley

1 $2.7 mil.

Calif. 20th

Vince Fong

1 $2.1 mil.

Calif. 36th

Ted Lieu

2 $2.4 mil.

Md. 5th

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Steny Hoyer

1 $2.5 mil.

Ill. 9th

Janice Schakowsky

1 $2.5 mil.

Ore. 4th

Valerie Hoyle

1 $1.7 mil.

R.I. 2nd

Seth Magaziner

1 $1.9 mil.

Calif. 10th

Mark DeSaulnier

1 $2.1 mil.

N.Y. 26th

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Timothy Kennedy

1 $1.8 mil.

Ill. 17th

Eric Sorensen

1 $1.8 mil.

Calif. 24th

Salud Carbajal

1 $1.3 mil.

Calif. 11th

Nancy Pelosi

1 $1.9 mil.

N.J. 12th

Bonnie Watson Coleman

1 $2 mil.

N.Y. 13th

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Adriano Espaillat

1 $1.2 mil.

N.Y. 9th

Yvette Clarke

1 $1.1 mil.

N.Y. 6th

Grace Meng

1 $1.5 mil.

Ga. 5th

Nikema Williams

1 $1.1 mil.

Ill. 11th

Bill Foster

1 $1.1 mil.

Calif. 22th

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David Valadao

1 $1 mil.

New delays in transportation aid

So far, the administration has targeted essentially two broad tranches of federal aid. First, the White House has held up billions of dollars in previously approved transportation funding for New York and Chicago.

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In New York, the administration stopped the delivery of about $18 billion in pledged investments for two major projects: the Second Avenue subway, which traverses the east side of Manhattan, and the Hudson River tunnel, which serves as the primary rail route through New York City and along the northeast corridor. Funding for the tunnel, in particular, came only after years of wrangling, as New York officials and their counterparts in New Jersey looked to repair a roughly 115-year-old passage from damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy while improving rail capacity.

In Chicago, the Trump administration said it paused about $2.1 billion in money pledged for the city’s own transit upgrades, including an extension of its rail system into the South Side. Groundbreaking was expected to begin in 2026 after years of work to shore up federal funding for the expansion.

In both cases, the White House said it was pausing the delivery of federal dollars so that it could review the cities’ contracting policies. The administration sought to determine if leaders had made construction-related decisions on the basis of race, diversity or inclusion.

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The moves came at a moment when the president was at war with key leaders from those states. Mr. Trump has frequently attacked Representative Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Chuck Schumer, two New York Democrats who lead their party in the House and Senate, for refusing to bow to his demands on spending. The Transportation Department claimed that the two men were to blame for the slowdown in aid, since the agency could not complete its review quickly during the shutdown.

Separately, federal officials have repeatedly tried to withhold security and counterterrorism funding from New York, though the state won back some of the money.

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Mr. Trump has similarly gone after Chicago and its Democratic mayor, Brandon Johnson, along with the Democratic governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, saying this month that both should be jailed.

Deep cuts to energy funding

The Trump administration also moved to terminate another tranche of money outright. Two days into the shutdown, it announced it would end roughly $7.6 billion in previously approved grants for 223 energy-related projects in 16 states, 14 of which are led by Democrats. Those cuts were later expanded.

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The cancellations were the latest attempt by Mr. Trump and his top aides to revoke climate- and infrastructure-related funding adopted under President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a series of actions that have been challenged in court. The Energy Department said that it made its decision because the projects were “not economically viable” or did not advance Mr. Trump’s energy policy agenda.

Many of the projects are located in Democratic-led congressional districts, prompting lawmakers to question in recent days if there might be political motivations behind the administration’s actions.

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The cuts targeted a vast range of projects, including efforts to prevent power outages and modernize energy grids — a bipartisan goal — as well as investments in newer energy sources, like hydrogen. The Trump administration revoked its plan to provide up to $1.2 billion for the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, known as ARCHES, which aimed to help develop a clean-burning power source for heavy-duty trucks, port operators and other major drivers of harmful emissions.

The Biden administration announced the award in 2023, nearly two years after Democrats and Republicans adopted a bipartisan package to improve the nation’s infrastructure.

More cuts to come

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As the shutdown enters its third week, Mr. Trump and his aides have threatened additional cuts. The president in recent days has described the closure as an opportunity “handed to us on a silver platter” to lay off federal workers, slash federal agencies and reduce other funding, perhaps in permanent ways.

One potential target is Portland, Ore. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, signaled this month that the Trump administration could block some unspecified federal aid to the city, which is led by a Democrat, because of ongoing protests of the president’s immigration crackdown.

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Methodology

To analyze the impact of cancelled and paused grants, The Times began by compiling a list of affected grants. The list was then cross-referenced against data from USAspending.gov, where detailed information about each grant was collected. The figures shown on the page reflect the total amount of known funding that has not yet been outlaid.

To determine the impact by congressional district, each grant was grouped into the district where the grantee is located. In some cases, the work being funded by the grant may not occur in the same district, or could occur across multiple districts and states. The exact monetary allocation across those work sites is not known. Grants where the recipient could not be matched to a congressional district are not shown.

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For some large projects, government data only shows currently allocated funds, instead of the entire cost of the project. In cases where this is known, the grant data was supplemented by additional reporting to better reflect the amount of affected funding.

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National Park Service will void passes with stickers over Trump’s face

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National Park Service will void passes with stickers over Trump’s face

The Interior Department’s new “America the Beautiful” annual pass for U.S. national parks.

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Department of Interior

The National Park Service has updated its policy to discourage visitors from defacing a picture of President Trump on this year’s pass.

The use of an image of Trump on the 2026 pass — rather than the usual picture of nature — has sparked a backlash, sticker protests, and a lawsuit from a conservation group.

The $80 annual America the Beautiful pass gives visitors access to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites. Since 2004, the pass has typically showcased sweeping landscapes or iconic wildlife, selected through a public photo contest. Past winners have featured places like Arches National Park in Utah and images of bison roaming the plains.

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Instead, of a picture of nature, this year’s design shows side-by-side portraits of Presidents George Washington and Trump. The new design has drawn criticism from parkgoers and ignited a wave of “do-it-yourself” resistance.

Photos circulating online show that many national park cardholders have covered the image of Trump’s face with stickers of wildlife, landscapes, and yellow smiley faces, while some have completely blocked out the whole card. The backlash has also inspired a growing sticker campaign.

Jenny McCarty, a longtime park volunteer and graphic designer, began selling custom stickers meant to fit directly over Trump’s face — with 100% of proceeds going to conservation nonprofits. “We made our first donation of $16,000 in December,” McCarty said. “The power of community is incredible.”

McCarty says the sticker movement is less about politics and more about preserving the neutrality of public lands. “The Interior’s new guidance only shows they continue to disregard how strongly people feel about keeping politics out of national parks,” she said.

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The National Park Service card policy was updated this week to say that passes may no longer be valid if they’ve been “defaced or altered.” The change, which was revealed in an internal email to National Park Service staff obtained by SFGATE, comes just as the sticker movement has gained traction across social media.

In a statement to NPR, the Interior Department said there was no new policy. Interagency passes have always been void if altered, as stated on the card itself. The agency said the recent update was meant to clarify that rule and help staff deal with confusion from visitors.

The Park Service has long said passes can be voided if the signature strip is altered, but the updated guidance now explicitly includes stickers or markings on the front of the card.

It will be left to the discretion of park service officials to determine whether a pass has been “defaced” or not. The update means park officials now have the leeway to reject a pass if a sticker leaves behind residue, even if the image underneath is intact.

In December, conservation group the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C., opposing the new pass design.

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The group argues that the image violates a federal requirement that the annual America the Beautiful pass display a winning photograph from a national parks photo contest. The 2026 winning image was a picture of Glacier National Park.

“This is part of a larger pattern of Trump branding government materials with his name and image,” Kierán Suckling, the executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, told NPR. “But this kind of cartoonish authoritarianism won’t fly in the United States.”

The lawsuit asks a federal court to pull the current pass design and replace it with the original contest winner — the Glacier National Park image. It also seeks to block the government from featuring a president’s face on future passes.

The America the Beautiful National Parks Annual Pass for 2025, showing one of the natural images which used to adorn the pass. Its picture, of a Roseate Spoonbill taken at Everglades National Park, was taken by Michael Zheng.

The America the Beautiful National Parks Annual Pass for 2025, showing one of the natural images which used to adorn the pass. Its picture, of a Roseate Spoonbill taken at Everglades National Park, was taken by Michael Zheng.

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Not everyone sees a problem with the new design. Vince Vanata, the GOP chairman of Park County, Wyoming, told the Cowboy State Daily that Trump detractors should “suck it up” and accept the park passes, saying they are a fitting tribute to America’s 250th birthday this July 4.

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“The 250th anniversary of our country only comes once. This pass is showing the first president of the United States and the current president of the United States,” Vanata said.

But for many longtime visitors, the backlash goes beyond design.

Erin Quinn Gery, who buys an annual pass each year, compared the image to “a mug shot slapped onto natural beauty.”

She also likened the decision to self-glorification: “It’s akin to throwing yourself a parade or putting yourself on currency,” she said. “Let someone else tell you you’re great — or worth celebrating and commemorating.”

When asked if she plans to remove her protest sticker, Gery replied: “I’ll take the sticker off my pass after Trump takes his name off the Kennedy Center.”

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Federal immigration agents shoot 2 people in Portland, Oregon, police say

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Federal immigration agents shoot 2 people in Portland, Oregon, police say

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, a day after an officer shot and killed a driver in Minnesota, authorities said.

The Department of Homeland Security described the vehicle’s passenger as “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who had been involved in a recent shooting in Portland. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants Thursday afternoon, the driver tried to run them over, the department said in a written statement.

“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot,” the statement said. “The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”

There was no immediate independent corroboration of those events or of any gang affiliation of the vehicle’s occupants. During prior shootings involving agents involved in President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement in U.S. cities, including Wednesday’s shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, video evidence cast doubt on the administration’s initial descriptions of what prompted the shootings.

READ MORE: What we know so far about the ICE shooting in Minneapolis

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According to the the Portland Police bureau, officers initially responded to a report of a shooting near a hospital at about 2:18 p.m.

A few minutes later, police received information that a man who had been shot was asking for help in a residential area a couple of miles away. Officers then responded there and found the two people with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers determined they were injured in the shooting with federal agents, police said.

Their conditions were not immediately known. Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said during a Portland city council meeting that Thursday’s shooting took place in the eastern part of the city and that two Portlanders were wounded.

“As far as we know both of these individuals are still alive and we are hoping for more positive updates throughout the afternoon,” she said.

The shooting escalates tensions in an city that has long had a contentious relationship with President Donald Trump, including Trump’s recent, failed effort to deploy National Guard troops in the city.

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Portland police secured both the scene of the shooting and the area where the wounded people were found pending investigation.

“We are still in the early stages of this incident,” said Chief Bob Day. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more.”

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end all operations in Oregon’s largest city until a full investigation is completed.

“We stand united as elected officials in saying that we cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts,” a joint statement said. “Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences.”

The city officials said “federal militarization undermines effective, community‑based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region. We’ll use every legal and legislative tool available to protect our residents’ civil and human rights.”

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They urged residents to show up with “calm and purpose during this difficult time.”

“We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice,” the statement said. “We must stand together to protect Portland.”

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, urged any protesters to remain peaceful.

“Trump wants to generate riots,” he said in a post on the X social media platform. “Don’t take the bait.”

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Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

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Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

new video loaded: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

The New York Times sat down with President Trump in the Oval Office for an exclusive interview just hours after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis. Our White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs explains how the president reacted to the shooting.

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, Nikolay Nikolov and Coleman Lowndes

January 8, 2026

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