At noon on Saturday, hundreds of people, some holding signs, formed a line along the snowy block in front of J.W. Poynter Middle School in Hillsboro.
And a lot of them were going to learn that their attempts to gain entry had been unsuccessful. The school gym’s fire safety capacity had already been reached by at least 1,200 people, and when the officials outside the school doors declared they would have to turn people away, they were greeted with shouts of protest.
However, Saturday’s attendance wasn’t for a school function like a basketball game. It was for a yearly town hall that U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, hosts. In contrast, less than 200 people showed up for his previous town hall in the county in August.
In previous years, the senator might have been questioned about a variety of matters affecting Oregon. But one topic dominated Saturday’s town hall: President Donald J. Trump’s recently sworn-in government.
The town hall on Saturday drew at least 1,200 attendees, a significant increase over the 150 people who attended the county’s last town hall in August.Todd Tatum
Wyden and many of the participants were focused on topics that he believes would affect Oregonians, such as Trump’s forthcoming tariffs on foreign trading partners, the federal employment freeze, and the Elon Musk-run Department of Governmental Efficiency’s access to sensitive government data.
What can we do to alleviate the confusion and chaos? Wyden inquired. He went on, “And let me use this word specifically, lawlessness,” to the cheers of the crowd in Washington County, which leans blue.
However, a few audience members questioned the senator’s position on important subjects.
Why do Democrats oppose Elon Musk’s efforts to embezzle millions of our tax dollars? From the bleachers of the gym, a woman asked.
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden is asked a question by a woman at his town hall on Saturday in Hillsboro. Many guests expressed worries and questions regarding the reforms proposed by the Trump administration.Todd Tatum
In response, Wyden stated that while he was not opposed to identifying unnecessary congressional spending, Congress, not political appointees, should be in charge of federal budgeting.
Another audience member attacked Wyden for backing Israel during its conflict with Hamas and the devastation that followed Israel’s military actions in Gaza, a contentious topic in the Portland region that has sparked numerous protests in the city.
In response, Wyden said, “I’m very opposed to Donald Trump on his Gaza plan, I think it is ethnic cleansing.” Wyden was alluding to the president’s intention to take over the Gaza Strip for the purpose of developing real estate. He said that he was putting forward a bill to prevent the deployment of American troops in Gaza, saying that the way Trump is handling it would further destabilize a region where it is the last thing you need.
In response to the new administration, the same audience member also inquired about Wyden’s efforts to safeguard access to reproductive health care. Wyden brought up his experience chairing the House Small Business Committee’s initial legislative hearing on the abortion medicine RU486 prior to the FDA’s approval of the pill. Access to reproductive healthcare is currently under attack, he continued.
He stated that in order to address the recent reversal of reproductive rights, we would require a grassroots organization for women that is unlike any that we have ever encountered.
The tone of other attendees was more frightened.
Jeremy Rauschert, 73, voiced his worries about how the Trump government will affect Medicare and Social Security.Todd Tatum
From the lines of folding chairs on the gym floor, Jeremy Rauschert, 73, remarked of Trump, “He’s going after our Social Security, our Medicare.” What will prevent him?
Wyden claimed to have the same worries as Rauschert.
The senator remarked of Musk’s staff, some of whom are younger than 25, that “some 25-year-old kid can look at Social Security information, and we have no idea where it’s going and what it’s going to be used for.” But until I stop it, I’m going to keep pushing.
Concerns about authoritarianism and what progressive political organizations and citizens should do to stop it were voiced by Wyden and a few other attendees.
Wyden stated at the town hall that grassroots efforts would bring about political change.
“We can have a nationwide network,” he remarked. We’re going to accomplish this by forming coalitions of people who, to be honest, have never spoken to one another, much less collaborated, in every part of the nation.
Wyden again reaffirmed his strategy to reach out to Republican voters in Oregon who might be harmed by Trump’s impending tariffs. “I hope to reach people in eastern Oregon, including counties where many want to secede to Idaho, by advocating for veterans health care and passing legislation that would help export their farming products around the world,” he said in a separate interview on Saturday.
Many people asked questions and expressed concerns about the changes proposed by the Trump administration during a town hall hosted by Senator Ron Wyden in Hillsboro.Todd Tatum
However, some audience members who disapproved of the Trump administration’s policies departed the town hall with doubts about how politically progressive politicians would be able to challenge it.
Following the town hall, which lasted for an hour and a half, Valentina Barret and Peter Van Patten stood outside the school, discussing the potential changes that the new administration might implement.
Barret stated, “I do believe that Senator Wyden did his best to respond to the questions.” However, the 35-year-old immigrant and veteran of the Air Force added, “I don’t know that we have enough actionable plans to be able to activate against this current administration to be able to push back effectively.”
Retired orthopedic surgeon Van Patten concurred.
“Everybody needs to get together, we need to have a public uproar about what’s happening,” Van Patten urged again. If (Trump) keeps ignoring what the legislative and court system are doing, I don’t think it will work.
Wyden acknowledged the anxiety and worry that were consuming the thoughts of Barret, Van Patten, and numerous other attendees that day while speaking with a small group of reporters in the middle school’s locker room. According to him, many of the town hall attendees were accustomed to a traditional understanding of how government functioned in the past, but they suddenly felt as though they were witnessing established procedures being undermined.
“It seemed like a lot of people were scared and frustrated,” he said. This type of town hall is completely different.
Crime, public safety, and local news are all topics covered by breaking news reporter Tatum Todd. You can contact them at 503-221-4313 or [email protected].
