Oregon DOJ reports $1.6B has been saved from Trump admin's federal funding threats
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Three months into President Donald Trump's second term, the Oregon Department of Justice says it has preserved more than $1.6 billion in federal funding for the state amid threats by the administration to cut funding.
In the last three months, Oregon has joined 13 multi-state lawsuits, and submitted numerous court filings, challenging the conditioning, reduction or elimination of federal funds for organizations in the state.
“Through every wave of chaos and every legally dubious executive order, our office has stood firm to protect the rights of Oregonians,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a press release Wednesday. “Our team at the Oregon Department of Justice is working overtime to make this happen. These victories in court have preserved more than a billion dollars in funding for critical services like food assistance, public safety, healthcare, education, and medical research.”
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According to the Oregon DOJ, the $1.6 billion in preserved funding for Oregon includes funds that were frozen, terminated, or threatened under the administration.
Officials note that the estimated $1.6 billion is likely "underinclusive," and does not represent the full scope these funding threats have had on organizations in the state.
"The figures include impacts that were reported by state agencies and other state entities submitting information and declarations for various lawsuits," the Oregon DOJ said. "The nature of these lawsuits and the urgency that is required does not allow for the legal team to unearth and document every single possible effect, but to quickly apprise the courts of significant in-state impacts."
These funding threats go back to the first few days of the Trump administration when a memo from the Office of Management and Budget directed a federal funding and grant freeze, leaving state agencies and community partners across the U.S. unable to access federal funding.
This impacted several organizations in Oregon, according to Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and Attorney General Rayfield, who held a joint press conference as the freeze was rolled out in January. Kotek and Rayfield said the funding freeze led organizations from the Oregon Health Authority to Head Start unable to access federal funding.
“Within the first few days of the Trump administration, there was a funding freeze memo that jeopardized funding across the entire state,” Rayfield recalled Wednesday. “I walked into work and heard our child support division couldn’t even access the portal they need weekly. For our folks on the frontlines in these divisions, it is extremely stress-inducing and chaotic.”
So far, the Oregon DOJ says it has spent an estimated $267,000 on federal litigation against the administration.
In some court rulings, Oregon’s federal funding was only protected because the state joined multi-state lawsuits, Rayfield said, noting states that did not join those suits did not have their funding protected.
This included a preliminary injunction Oregon received in its case to preserve research funding for medical institutions that provide care.
These federal funding threats under the Trump administration come amid Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency’s work to slash federal spending and the federal workforce.