More than 2,000 gather for Sen. Jeff Merkley’s town hall at Clackamas Community College

Published 12:49 pm Monday, February 24, 2025

An estimated 1,600 Oregonians packed into Randall Hall gymnasium to hear Sen. Jeff Merkley speak and answer questions during a town hall at Clackamas Community College on Sunday, Feb. 23.

The rain in Oregon City thankfully stopped for the 600 people still waiting outside after the building reached capacity.

“What I’ve noticed is that after the election, people were very cynical and really depressed, but that has changed because of how dramatic the Trump administration’s actions are. I’m seeing now that people are energized —larger town halls than I’ve ever had,” Merkley said to the Oregon City News before the town hall. “People are coming an hour, two hours early to the town halls. This is remarkable and the reason why is: The President has essentially attacked the heart of our Constitution, the separation of powers. In doing so, people are worried we could lose our republic. Once you have the vision of Congress making the laws and the president implementing (them) broken, then you no longer have a democracy. You now have an authoritarian government.”

Before greeting the spirited crowd, Merkley stepped outside to thank everyone for coming even if the building capacity wouldn’t allow any more people inside. Even local Clackamas County officials, such as state Rep. Courtney Neron, D-Wilsonville, Rep. Annessa Hartman, D-Gladstone, and West Linn Mayor Rory Bialostosky, had to watch from the side of the bleachers after every seat had been filled.

This is one of many town halls that Sen. Merkley has hosted during the first month of President Donald Trump’s second term. Earlier in the day, he held gatherings in Yamhill County and Polk County. So far, Merkley has tallied 11 such events in February.

And he’s not alone, as other members of Oregon’s congressional delegation including Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Cliff Bentz have also held listening sessions and town halls.

“Every week that I do town halls is getting more intense, because we’re seeing more and more unacceptable, unconstitutional decisions. This is reverberating across the country,” Merkley said during his opening remarks Sunday.

Many attendees who asked questions were concerned about the future of federal funding for things like the National Institute of Health or Head Start to Success. Others held signs or shouted angrily about the activities of the new Department of Government Efficiency and Elon Musk.

“There is no law that created this department. All it is is a creation of the president out of thin air,” Merkley said before the town hall. “What authority do Elon Musk and his minions have? Well, no legal authority, and yet they’re walking into departments and taking over computers.”

Many attendees simply wanted to feel like someone would stand up to the administration.

“I’m curious how you are thinking about adaptation at a time when this administration … will not just break the rules, but change the rules. I’m concerned about this idea of the status quo. It doesn’t work anymore. We have to do something different,” Jayson Shanenfelt said.

Merkley also addressed questions about Medicare, the federal debt ceiling and climate change.

“We are seeing a snowpack of the Cascades drop by not yet 50% of what it was 90 years ago, but it’s getting close. That means less water in our streams, for our trout and our salmon. It means less water for our farmers and our ranchers,” said Merkley.

He said citizens can make an impact by letting their voices be heard, whether that be at a town hall or online — especially when opposing the budget proposed by House Republicans. Earlier this month, Merkley, the high-ranking Democrat on the Senate’s Committee on Appropriations, criticized Republicans for proposing $2 trillion in spending cuts while increasing the deficit by $2.8 trillion.

“If we can bring enough intensity to bear over the next couple of weeks, they will not be able to do that bill in the House,” Merkley said. “(Trump is) not just being a disrupter of ideas and proposals that go to Congress for consideration. He is breaking the law. He is breaking the Constitution and we are going to win by standing together, raising our voices, using our votes, using every instrument we possibly have together to stand up and defend our republic.”

Merkley also emphasized the importance of building coalitions at a local level.

“You’re seeing a build-up of energy and it’s a get-off-the-sofa moment,” said Merkley. “I’m encouraging (constituents) to create connections with affinity groups, groups that share their views, no matter where they are in the political spectrum. If they’re on the right, and you find a group that shares your views, that strengthens your voice. Of course, if you’re more from the point of view I come from, encouraging people to join groups like Indivisible (Clackamas) or Move On because there’s fear and depression in isolation.”