Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek denounces Trump's attempts to send National Guard to Portland

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek was one of the local leaders who spent much of Tuesday meeting with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in an effort to deescalate a federal push to put troops on Portland streets.

A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from deploying any federalized National Guard members to Portland on Sunday, but efforts to portray the city as chaotic have continued. The president has gone as far as saying he would be willing to invoke the federal Insurrection Act if courts and local lawmakers continue to prevent his efforts around immigration enforcement.

That’s after the president attempted to send troops from California and Texas to Oregon this weekend following an initial restraining order that prevented him from mobilizing the Oregon National Guard. The administration has since appealed the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is set to hear oral arguments in the case on Thursday.

Throughout the back-and-forth, Kotek has denounced the president’s actions and his characterization of Portland as “war-ravaged.”

She joined OPB’s “Think Out Loud” with more details on her response to the attempted deployment of National Guard troops and the state’s efforts to block it.

Here are excerpts from that conversation, edited for length and clarity.

On Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s visit to Portland:

“She’s here to assess what’s happening here in Portland at the ICE facility. … She’s going to be meeting with local law enforcement, hearing from them about the efforts they have made to maintain calm, and the ability of folks to be there lawfully to protest and express their views.

I specifically asked that they follow state law regarding the use of tear gas. Back in 2020, when I was Speaker, there was a slate of bills that were passed to improve how local law enforcement works as it relates to crowd control and large demonstrations or small demonstrations. We have laws about how things like tear gas can be used. The federal agents there have been using tear gas. They’re in the area where there are homes. There’s a residential area near the ICE facility. So I said, ‘Hey, can you stop doing that?’ That is not great for the folks who live there.”

On National Guard troops remaining in Oregon:

“I have sent another request to Northern Command — this time being a lot more direct — that Oregon National Guard troops should go home and the California National Guard troops should go back to California.

I’m looking for a response there. With the 9th Circuit appeal now underway, … we’re a little bit in limbo, but I think the local court has been clear that this is an unlawful deployment and that people need to demobilize.

This is not a factual need on the ground in Oregon, to deploy any of the military in the National Guard, whether they’re from California or Texas or Oregon. This is a fundamental issue for our democracy — about what the control and the authority of the president is, and what the court says it is. The rule of law has to hold.”

On Oregonians’ right to protest:

“This is a very unusual situation. I don’t think we’ve seen this anytime in our nation’s history, where federal agents are disregarding local law and are attacking people on the streets who are lawfully protesting. … What we’re seeing from the Trump administration is an abuse of power in how they’re dealing with lawful protests outside their facilities. Local law enforcement will work with them to try to manage the situation, but they need to follow state law and treat people respectfully and not violently.”

This story was originally published by OPB.