Trump called for troops in Portland. Here’s why Oregon’s governor was ready

President Donald Trump’s escalating rhetoric about Portland peaked last weekend when he seized control of 200 Oregon National Guard troops to deploy to what he claimed was a “war-ravaged” city.

Almost immediately, state and local Democratic leaders sued to block the extraordinary move and sought a temporary restraining to stop the deployment.

The rapid-fire response, which a federal judge plans to rule on as early as Friday afternoon, was nearly a year in the making.

Gov. Tina Kotek and a swath of state officials began meeting last December to plan around potential ways in which a second Trump administration could target Oregon, including a federal takeover of the National Guard, her office said in response to questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive.

According to a detailed timeline, the focus and frequency of such planning sessions intensified in late spring after the president deployed troops to Los Angeles to crack down on demonstrations against federal immigration raids.

In mid-September, as it appeared increasingly likely that Trump would intervene similarly in Portland, the governor pulled together local officials, law enforcement and emergency management departments in a manner commonly used before or during a natural disaster.

The political earthquake struck Oregon’s most populous city less than two weeks later, when the president announced Sept. 27 on social media that he would use the “full force” of the military to quell protests directed at the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement facility in Portland.

Kotek said that she and other state and local leaders were in lockstep and well-prepared at the moment of impact, and have continued to be in the week since.

“Our ability to respond efficiently to the President’s order of military intervention in recent days wasn’t by accident, it was by design,” the governor told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “Oregon is ready to push back on the Trump administration’s baseless attempts to undermine our values and attack our constitutional rights.”

In a statement Friday, Abigail Jackson, a White House deputy press secretary, blasted Kotek’s remarks.

“This is a pathetic admission from local leaders who have refused to take action while rioters in Portland committed arson and assaulted police officers,” Jackson said. “If local officials had spent half as much time trying to stop Portland’s out-of-control violence as they did planning their resistance PR tour against President Trump, Portland’s residents would be much safer.”

Trump has claimed in increasingly overheated language that the city’s ICE building is under siege amid ongoing demonstrations at the site, which have involved no more than several dozen people in recent weeks. The president promised in a White House press release Tuesday to “Crush Violent Radical Left Terrorism” in Portland.

The timeline from the governor’s office, which the Oregonian/OregonLive requested, offers the most comprehensive snapshot to date of the unprecedented planning by state and local leaders to combat a federal incursion of a major American city and shows the work started weeks before Trump returned to office.

In early December, Kotek pulled together Oregon’s top Democrats — which included the newly elected attorney general, secretary of state and state treasurer — to begin outlining potential threats posed by the incoming president.

The concerns covered ranged from the likely impact of tariffs on businesses to mass deportations to cancelled federal funding. Officials at the time also discussed the prospect of Trump wresting control of the state’s National Guard from the governor, Kotek’s office said.

The topic of “how to uphold Oregon values no matter what” resurfaced again in January during a monthly meeting held with Kotek’s 12-member public safety cabinet, said spokesperson Lucas Bezerra.

“The discussion made clear that the governor expected the cabinet to coordinate and remain in regular communication regarding potential actions by the federal government that would impact grants and policies,” Bezerra said.

In addition, the offices of Kotek and Attorney General Dan Rayfield began holding regular briefings and scenario planning sessions together in May. Over the course of five separate sessions, which at times included representatives of the Oregon Military Department, the two offices began to outline how the state might respond should Trump federalize the Oregon National Guard, invoke the Insurrection Act or send state troops from another state into Portland.

After the president federalized members of the California National Guard in early June and deployed them to Los Angeles, Kotek tried to use the “full measure of her authority and the authority of state government to prevent this outcome” from playing out in Oregon, Bezerra said.

“She directed her staff to convene relevant state agencies to gather information, set up open lines of communication, coordinate with other states named by the president, and get up to speed on the Constitution and laws that govern state versus federal authority,” he said. “These conversations took place on an as needed basis.”

Kotek and Rayfield’s offices held another scenario planning meeting in September as Trump began to publicly float the prospect of sending the National Guard to Portland, accusing anti-ICE protesters of ruining the city and threatening to “wipe them out.”

Soon after, Chris Warner, Kotek’s chief of staff, brought his counterparts from Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson’s offices into the mix, the governor’s office said.

By that time, a team of top Portland officials had already started meeting weekly for their own scenario planning, city spokesperson Jaymee Cuti told The Oregonian/OregonLive. The group, comprised of the city’s police, human resources and emergency management bureaus as well as the city attorney and deputy city administrator for public safety, convened for the first time on Aug. 28 — just two days after Labor Secretary and former Oregon U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer told Trump during a televised cabinet meeting, “I hope you will come to Portland, Oregon, and crack down.”

On Sept. 18, “as the threats came into focus and intelligence suggested an increased likelihood of a federal takeover,” Kotek launched a formal coordination effort with a host of agencies and local governments, Bezerra said. Among them are the Oregon State Police, the Oregon Military Department, the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, the Portland Police Bureau, the city of Portland, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and Multnomah County.

The group has met every other day since Sept. 27.

Jonna Papaefthimiou, Oregon’s state resilience officer, likened the effort to preparing for wildfires, severe weather or tsunamis.

“We take the time to assess potential outcomes, develop response scenarios, and engage the appropriate personnel to respond effectively and minimize negative impact to communities,” Papaefthimiou said.

Kotek praised Rayfield, Wilson and other partners “for helping position Oregon to push back on senseless attacks on our state.”

“We will stand together and fight back,” she said.

Hillary Borrud contributed to this report.