Lawmakers return to Salem this week to assess how Oregon might adjust to financial changes that have swept the state since President Trump took office.

Over the past year, the Trump administration has moved to shrink federal spending, shifting costs onto state and local governments. Now, state leaders are flocking to Oregon’s Capitol, where they will present options to legislative committees on how the state might adjust to budget cuts that seem all but certain.

“The Trump administration’s budget bill created a nearly $900 million hole in the state budget—threatening critical services like schools, health care, food assistance, natural resources, and public safety,” Oregon Democrats said in a statement Friday.

Those changes ensued through the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, which Congressional Republicans passed in July, just days after Oregon lawmakers passed the state’s two-year budget. The bill created new work requirements for SNAP and slashed Medicaid funding to pay for tax cuts promised during the president’s campaign, including for tips and overtime pay.

Many Republicans have hailed the president’s actions as a long-overdue correction to what they see as wasteful spending and mismanagement of government programs. Democrats almost uniformly argue the cuts could cripple essential programs that many Americans rely on.

“While the Trump administration is wreaking havoc on Oregonians’ pocketbooks, our focus in this difficult budget environment is on making Oregon more affordable, protecting essential services, and ensuring every taxpayer dollar is being spent efficiently and effectively,” Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey said in a statement Friday.

Lawmakers will ultimately have to decide what — if any — of the federal funds Oregon will backfill with its own money. Meanwhile, the state is facing slimmer than expected overall revenue, which economists have largely attributed to slow economic growth and ongoing trade tensions stemming from the Trump administration’s tariffs.

The latest revenue forecast will be presented on Wednesday. That will help indicate what lawmakers have to work with in the upcoming short legislative session, which begins in January.

Lawmakers will also hold other hearings and discussions this week. On Monday, legislators will gather in the chamber of the state House of Representatives for a ceremony celebrating the life and service of the late Rep. Hòa Nguyễn, a Portland-area lawmaker who died of cancer.

Nguyen, 41, was one of two sitting Democratic lawmakers who died of cancer this year. Aaron Woods, a 75-year-old state senator from Wilsonville, died in April.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/17/oregon-lawmakers-politics-federal-funding-salem/