Elizabeth O’Neal, an IRS employee, attends a town hall held by Oregon Democratic legislators at the Federal Building in Portland, Ore., March 17, 2025. The event aimed to provide an opportunity for federal employees to talk about the impact of layoffs in the federal government.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Current and former federal staffers joined Oregon Democrats in a town hall in Portland on Monday, saying President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government presents risks to Oregon life, potentially harming how the state responds to wildfires, preserves its natural resources and cares for veterans.
Dozens of attendees packed into the cafeteria of a federal building in Northeast Portland, filling up rows of seats and standing around the edges of the room. Many focused their ire on the mass firings by Trump and his billionaire partner, Elon Musk, who leads the administration’s cost-cutting initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Shawn McMurtrey, a disabled combat veteran who was recently fired from his job in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, speaks to legislators during a town hall in Portland, Ore., March 17, 2025.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
“This is not the America I swore an oath to protect,” said Shawn McMurtrey, a disabled combat veteran who served in the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan and was recently fired from his job in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Monday’s was the latest in a series of packed town halls that have occurred across Oregon since Trump’s second term began less than two months ago. In that time, firings have hit regional employers like the U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bonneville Power Administration — agencies that impact Oregonians’ lives, maintaining public lands, predicting the weather and keeping residents’ lights on.
“We have a department in the federal government now that is supposed to be concerned with efficiency, and government efficiency, but from what I’ve seen it’s more of an agency of chaos,” said Craig Ackerman, the former superintendent of Crater Lake National Park, Ywho retired in October and moderated the town hall.
Six of Oregon’s eight members of congress attended Monday’s town hall, and so did Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield. Newly-elected U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum had a previous commitment and did not attend.
In recent weeks, members of the delegation have faced pushback from town hall attendees who have accused the national Democratic party of being slow and disunified in its response to Trump’s barrage of new policies.
“I can feel the anger. I can feel the frustration,” said U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter. “I know we are not giving answers that are satisfactory.”
Republicans like U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, who represents much of rural eastern and southern Oregon, say the cuts are necessary to shrink government spending and eliminate national debt. Bentz was not invited to attend the town hall.
Oregon Democrats say the administration is cutting jobs that are critical to the lives and safety of Oregonians.
(Left to right) Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter, U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkely and Ron Wyden, U.S. Reps. Val Hoyle, Andrea Salinas and Suzanne Bonamici, during a town hall held at the Federal Building in Portland, Ore., March 17, 2025. The event aimed to provide an opportunity for federal employees to talk about the impact of layoffs in the federal government.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
“It is as clear as Crater Lake that Trump and Musk and their cronies are indiscriminately attacking your ability to serve publicly and are illegally firing many of you,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, the senior member of Oregon’s congressional delegation, who emphasized the importance of federal employees blowing the whistle when they see the government acting illegally.
Among those fired was McMurtrey. As a government scientist, his job was to help prevent fungal diseases from killing pears in Oregon, the nation’s second leading producer of pears. McMurtrey said his government salary wasn’t enough to afford to live where he worked, in Hood River, forcing him to sometimes sleep in a lab or his car when he’d commute to work from Portland.
“It is partially thanks to this research that you can buy pears all year round at the grocery store,” said McMurtrey, speaking from a table at the front of the room. He added, “I am not a waste of money.”
Federal workers – some of whom remain employed – said Monday that the mass firings have upended their lives, impacting their retirements, health insurance, loan payments and their future aspirations of public service jobs. Some voiced concerns of being retaliated against for speaking publicly. Others carried signs that said “S.O.S Save Our Services” and “Stop the war on America’s workforce.”
Belle Zaccari of Portland asks pointed questions of Oregon legislators during a town hall at the Federal Building in Portland, Ore., March 17, 2025. Zaccari, a clinical psychologist who has worked more than 10 years as a clinical psychologist for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, said she has more than $300,000 in student loan debt.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Belle Zaccari, a clinical psychologist who has worked more than 10 years as a clinical psychologist for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, said she has more than $300,000 in student loan debt. She added, “This is true for many people in this room.” She says veterans with chronic pain are not being served because of Trump’s previous executive orders.
“I came into the field of psychology to serve veterans, and I’m here. I get to actualize that dream,” said Zaccari. “And in this administration I see that threatened every single day. If I am to lose my job during this administration I don’t know that I’ll come back.”
Much of the battle over Trump’s efforts will be fought in court with Democratic attorneys general like Oregon’s Dan Rayfield, who attended Monday’s event. Rayfield, who has already sued the Trump administration eight times, alleges the mass firings are a result of decisions happening in “smoke-filled rooms without the public process.”
“Part of our jobs as attorneys general is to make sure the Trump administration is following the rule of law, making sure he’s following the constitution, and when he and his billionaire friends are not, we will hold them accountable in a court of law,” Rayfield said.
BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
The Oregon Ducks have been progressing through the class of 2027 with hopes of landing some of their top target’s commitment on both the offense and the defense.
With many names left on the board, the Ducks have started to receive some great news, including some news from someone they have been targeting since they offered back in January of 2025.
One of the Ducks top targets’ in the 2027 class at the cornerback position is Darius Johnson. Johnson recently released his top schools with Hayes Fawcett, as he is entering a crucial part of his recruitment. The four schools he has listed at the top include the California Golden Bears, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks.
Johnson is one of the better cornerbacks in the country. He currently ranks as the nation’s No. 178 prospect in the country, No. 20 player at the position, and the No. 14 player in the state of California, according to Rivals. Landing his commitment would be major for any of the schools, as he is someone who could see the field early due to his size, and his growing ability to lockdown a side of the field all by himself.
Johnson currently measures in at 6-1 and 155 pounds, and will be someone who continues to add weight through his high school program, and will eventually have the chance to really improve his frame when he gets to college. As of now, each of the four schools has a solid chance to win its recruiting battle, but there seems to be a clear leader at this moment.
The leader for the Ducks target seems to be the Michigan Wolverines, who have the only scheduled official visit at this moment. It seems likely that the talented prospect will schedule his other official visits sooner rather than later now that he has officially cut down his list. If the Ducks want to land his commitment, they will need to get him on an official visit because they are likely trailing at this point.
If he were to commit to the Ducks today, he would be the ninth commitment for the Ducks in the class of 2027. He would also be the third cornerback commit for the Ducks in the class of 2027, which is a position they have been recruiting heavily. The cornerbacks the Ducks have at this moment are four-star Ai’King Hall from the state of Alabama and four-star Josiah Molden from the state of Oregon.
Some of their other commits at this moment include four-star EDGE Rashad Streets, four-star defensive linemen Zane Rowe, and four-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett. This class is shaping up to be another top-five class if the pieces continue to fall into place for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
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