Oregon senator also vows to fight any plan to sell public land

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley told hundreds of constituents at town halls this past weekend in Eastern Oregon to get engaged and hold their elected officials accountable.

The Democrat held the public events Saturday, April 12, in Joseph, La Grande and Hermiston, and Sunday, April 13, in Baker City.

“We need energized, effective citizens to save our republic,” Merkley told the crowd of about 130 at Hermiston High School.

Merkley devoted most of the hour-long events to taking questions from the audience. People received a numbered ticket when they entered, and the senator called out numbers to determine who asked questions.

Dick Haines was among the 150 or so in the audience at the Baker High School auditorium. He told Merkley he believes “we live in chaos” and it’s “intentional.”

“I just don’t see any end to sight in terms of laws that are being violated, and violations of the Constitution,” Haines said.

He asked Merkley what citizens can do, that they’re not doing, to support efforts to thwart the Trump administration.

Merkley said he understands it’s tempting for people to “curl up on their couch.”

“Be fierce in holding your elected officials accountable,” he said.

He also encouraged people to join a group that is trying to counter federal actions they dislike rather than advocating alone.

“I want to hold out hope that the courts” will push back against the administration, he said.

He noted the Senate, in bipartisan action, blocked the administration from imposing tariffs on Canada.

Merkley also noted President Donald Trump put a pause on most of the tariffs he imposed after hearing from citizens when stock and bond markets had major drops following the tariffs.

“Together it’s making a real difference,” Merkley said.

He noted senators, if they want to run for reelection in 2026, will need to consider their constituents’ feelings about the administration’s actions.

“I took an oath to the Constitution, I didn’t take an oath to Donald Trump,” said Merkley, who was elected to his current six-year term, his third in the Senate, in 2020.

Voting rights

Audience members asked about the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility — or SAVE — Act, which would require proof of citizenship when people register to vote. The House of Representatives passed the bill on Thursday, April 10.

“It’s a terrible bill,” Merkley said in Baker City.

Merkley said it would end vote-by-mail, which Oregon has had for more than 20 years, and potentially affect people who, for instance, change their name, as it would require voters to show ID before voting. He called it a “deliberate effort” to prevent people from voting and described it as “un-American.” He said he believes all Americans should be allowed to vote by mail.

He told the town hall crowds it would not pass the Senate, where it would require 60 votes and where Republicans lack a large enough majority to overcome a Democratic filibuster.

“We will put a knife through its heart,” he said of the bill, speaking to the Baker City audience.

Merkley during an interview in Hermiston said Oregon’s voting system has been reviewed and people voting who aren’t supposed to is a “nonproblem.”

Fighting for due process

Karen Sherman, a Hermiston School Board member and retired teacher, asked the senator how to support her neighbors who are immigrants.

“I think there’s just this fear across the country and so anything that you can give us for hope, I guess, (or) a way to keep us going and moving,” she said. “We need to stand as a community for those people who are here, who have been here.”

She referenced field workers who harvest crops, and said she’s noticed tension within the community over immigration. In response, Merkley said there has been historical bipartisan support on creating better pathways to citizenship and an improved asylum system. He told the Hermiston crowd that despite concerns the Trump administration doesn’t want to change things, he didn’t know why there couldn’t be support for a comprehensive immigration bill in 2025 when such legislation was proposed in 2013 and 2024.

“I feel like there’s a lot of weight on our shoulders, and I’m encouraging folks, if you are feeling that weight, then, first, don’t curl up on the couch,” he said. “By yourself, the world can be dark and depressing and it’s kind of ineffective all by yourself. But if you’re joined with others, then it’s energizing and it’s effective.”

Suzanne Fouty asked Merkley in Baker City about deportations.

“This lack of due process should make all of us extraordinarily frightened,” Fouty said. “How do we change this?”

Merkley said the administration is using a 1953 law, dating to the McCarthy era, to target people based on the opinions they express, and taking away their visas. And for deportations, he noted the administration has cited a 1796 federal act to justify some deportations.

Merkley, referencing the deportation of Venezuelan gang members, said everyone should care about people, regardless of their status, being arrested without due process.

“The government could do the same damn thing to any of us,” Merkley said. “Due process is the guarantor of our freedom. It is essential to our freedom.”

Hand off public lands

Merkley at the Baker City town hall vowed he would fight any effort by the Trump administration to sell public land either to states or private buyers.

Margie Edwards of Baker City said public lands are important to her. She asked Merkley about possible proposals of selling federal lands to a state or to private buyers.

Merkley said: “I’ll be damned if I’m going to let our public lands be owned by billionaires.”

Farmers worried about markets

In Hermiston, Merkley said he’s heard from constituents in agricultural communities across Eastern Oregon about concerns over tariffs and the potential for retaliatory tariffs.

“People are really concerned about whether this whole structure is going to drive a lot of inflation, which, I mean, basically tariffs are a massive national sales tax,” he said. “So the answer is yes, yes it will.”

He told the Baker City crowd the administration is “repurposing” laws to impose tariffs.

China remains the big tariff target with an all-out trade war having begun. As of Monday, April 14, the U.S. was imposing a 145% duty on most imports from China, while China is imposing 125% on imports from the U.S. The president is hoping to work out a deal with the political and trade adversary.

During an interview prior to the Joseph town hall, which about 150 people attended, Merkley said tariffs can be useful, but the president is “doing it in a fashion that undermines the stock market and the bond market.”

Merkley said one thing he’s hearing during his town hall tour is farmers’ concerns about how the tariffs will affect their markets.

“They’re worried that they’ll lose their market; they’ll lose their customers and if it’s reversed after a year or two, it’s hard to get those customers back,” he said.

Trump is in negotiation with many nations to reset tariffs.

Wildfire matters

Merkley at the Hermiston event mentioned his work to acquire funds to address wildfire season in the state. He said layoffs of U.S. Forest Service employees earlier this year — some have since been rehired, though their ultimate future is uncertain — “may end up being a devastating setback” in wildfire prevention projects.

“It’s the Forest Service who have the best understanding of how to fight the fires because they understand the forest that they’re dedicated to,” he said.

Firings and reductions in workforce also are hitting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. With regard to fire season, Merkley said it’s “essential” to know “every detail about the weather” to assess how to best attack the fire. National Weather Service meteorologists sometimes make specific local forecasts for the teams fighting wildfires, and if those forecasts aren’t available, firefighters might have less accurate information about how weather could affect fire behavior.

Merkley at the conclusion of the Baker City town hall said America has faced “very challenging situations” in the past.

“We found our way out of those dark areas, and we can again, with engaged citizens,” he said.

He also suggested people take a weekend and turn off their phones and news feeds, and instead visit other parts of Oregon as part of what he calls the “Oregon Treasures Quest.” It encourages people to visit at least 10 sites in 10 counties before Nov. 1, 2025.

(More information at OregonTreasuresQuest@Merkley.senate.gov.)

“We are so blessed to live in the most miraculously wonderful land to be found anywhere in the world,” Merkley said. “Hit the road, restore your soul, celebrate our state.”

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Wallowa County Chieftain reporter Bill Bradshaw contributed to this report.