Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced this week that the Oregon Department of Justice has protected more than $1.6 billion in critical federal funding streams so far, after they were threatened by executive orders issued by President Trump and other federal actions. During the past 3 months, Oregon has joined 13 multi-state lawsuits and numerous amicus briefs that challenge the conditioning, reduction or altogether elimination of federal funding 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,” Rayfield said. “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.”
To date, the Oregon Department of Justice has spent approximately $267,000 on federal litigation. There was a significant jump in February, when President Trump issued many executive orders that would have had harmful impacts on Oregonians.
The $1.67 billion total that ODOJ has safeguarded so far includes both funding that was directly frozen, suspended or terminated as well as funds that were threatened due to federal action.
The ODOJ notes that the team believes this number is underinclusive and is not the whole scope of impacts that may have happened due to these federal actions. The figures include impacts that were reported by state agencies and other state entities submitting information and declarations for various lawsuits. 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.
AG Rayfield said this is impacting agencies across the state, and even divisions within the ODOJ.
“Within first few days of the Trump administration, there was a funding freeze memo that jeopardized funding across the entire state,” Rayfield said. “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.”
AG Rayfield also points out that in some of the rulings in these cases, Oregon was only protected because of joining the multi-state lawsuits – states that did not join did not have their funding protected. An example is the preliminary injunction Oregon received in its case that protects key research funding for medical institutions that provide care.
To learn more about ODOJ’s budget and how investments made help serve Oregonians, click here to see the recent budget presentation.
