Town hall topics range from shutdown to Social Security

Rusty Rae/News-Register##At the Merkley town hall, Sheila Mariagh asks the senator, pictured below, what he thinks of current Democrat leadership. He noted that new leaders will be chosen in January 2027.

Rusty Rae/News-Register##

Democrats had already signed off on half the 12 spending bills when U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, visited McMinnville last week, which led him to predict there will be no government shutdown at the end of January.

Congress would be working on the rest of the budget this week, said Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee. He thought they would reach agreement before the Jan. 30 deadline.

Merkley’s town hall was Jan. 22, two days before Custom and Border Protection officers shot and killed a protestor in Minneapolis Saturday. The controversy has led some national Democratic leaders to say they plan to delay any spending agreement that would provide additional funding for immigration and border patrol enforcement, which could lead to another shutdown.

Merkley agreed Thursday that he is “very concerned about the Homeland Security Bill.” The “Big Beautiful Bill” already gave more money to ICE, he said, saying it was at the expense of nutrition and health care programs and “tax breaks for the rich.”

In addition to talking about a potential shutdown, the senator answered numerous questions from citizens during the town hall. Topics ranged from ICE to citizenship to Social Security.

About the latter, the senator said Congress must address the issue now rather than in seven years when the Social Security trust fund is depleted. “I’m trying to get the chair to hold hearings and create a national conversation,” he said.

Merkley also discussed his concerns about the Trump administration when he met with News-Register reporters before the town hall. He said he is worried about the administration’s efforts to create a “super-powerful executive branch” that is “rubber-stamped” by a Republican majority Congress and the Supreme Court.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

The senator also is deeply troubled, he said, about “the way he’s used emergency powers” and about how he and other Democrats have been denied access to ICE facilities. “They will not talk to us,” he said.

Merkley just published a pamphlet outlining “The Ten Rules of Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook,” and plans a follow-up soon: “Ten Things Citizens Can Do.”

Some of the questions and Merkley’s responses during the town hall were covered in a News-Register story Friday, Jan. 23. Additional information is included here.

Jan Schnack was one of about 200 people who crowded into the McMinnville National Guard Armory gym Thursday for the town hall.

“I’m so disappointed in what’s happening in our country,” said Schnack, who is in her 80s. “It’s upsetting to even watch the news at night.”

She said she attended the town hall “to at least be visible” in her support for improvements. “We have an idiot running our country,” she said. “He and his crew … spout off with no knowledge.”

Ron and Sally Parks also wanted to make a statement by attending Merkley’s event.

“We’re furious. We feel helpless,” she said.

Her husband added, “we want to encourage Congress to put a stop to this. We want to see the 25th Amendment applied, or impeachment.”

Merkley started his program by thanking those in attendance. “It’s so important for folks to be engaged,” he said.

One of the first audience questions, “What do we do to stop a fascist coup in progress?” Applause followed, as it did many questions that morning.

“Impeachment is not going to happen in the House, nor the Senate,” Merkley said, referring to the Republican majority in both. “The 25th Amendment (which would remove a president for incompetency) is a decision of the Cabinet, and they won’t.”

He also cited the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010, which caps donations by ordinary citizens and allows “dark money” donations through politicians’ allies. In addition, he cited the decision that provided presidential immunity and Trump’s recent statement that “ICE can operate with absolute immunity.”

“Are you kidding me?” the senator said, appalled by the remark.

Despite that bleak outlook, though, Merkley said, citizens need to keep pushing for what they believe in. He called for “significant protests,” such as the No Kings events; holding elected officials accountable and voting in the next election. “Get off the couch,” he advised.

Sheila Maraigh of McMinnville asked Merkley’s opinion about the Democratic leadership, which she called “weak and ineffective.” The senator wouldn’t comment on specific leaders but reminded the audience that new House and Senate leaders will be chosen next January.

He added that while he is a Democrat, he wants “to be the representative of everyone.”

Seth Whyte, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, told Merkley he became a U.S. citizen Nov. 7, 2024. At the naturalization ceremony, he said, speakers discussed how immigrants bring their history and skills to the U.S.

Whyte said he had heard there is a movement to end dual citizenship and wondered what the senator thought.

Merkley said he wasn’t familiar with any current movement regarding dual citizenship.

But it led him to talk about citizenship-related issues he is concerned about, including efforts to strip birthright citizenship from those born in the U.S. (“It’s in the Constitution,” he reminded) and to strip citizenship status from naturalized citizens (“Are you kidding me? Once they come in, they can’t be yanked back through the door”.)

Kim Hamblin of Sheridan noted that the town hall occurred on the 53rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide, which has since been reversed by a Supreme Court decision that left the matter up to individual states.

Hamblin asked the senator if he has seen efforts to ban abortions nationwide and ban protection for birth control.

Merkley said he has heard that a group is pursuing such a national ban, along with the right for states to prosecute residents who travel to obtain abortions. Groups also are seeking to ban sending the “morning after” pill through the mail.

“There’s probably no chance of such legislation, but it could be attached to other strategies,” he said.

Randy Stapilus of Carlton asked about upcoming elections. Merkley said he has been working to end gerrymandering and to promote vote by mail.

He asked crowd members if they were worried about whether elections will be carried out safely and fairly.

Almost all hands went up.

“That’s stunning,” the senator said, “and justified.”

Dayton Food Pantry in the spotlight

As he does at each town hall, U.S. Sen Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, highlighted the work of a local organization — the Dayton Food Pantry — when he spoke Jan. 22 in McMinnville.

The senator presented a U.S. flag to Debra Nissen, director of the food bank, who described the nonprofit’s operations and its new building.

“Hunger has no party lines,” Nissen said. “We serve a lot of homeless and working poor. I’d rather feed them and let their money go to rent.”

The pantry serves 80 or more families every other week. It also runs a clothing program that raises funds for food by selling high quality items on consignment, in addition to offering families a chance to “shop” for free clothes.

Volunteers worked for seven years to plan and raise funds for the building, which opened in late September 2025. Since the food bank started in 2003, it had been operated from a borrowed space in the Dayton First Baptist Church.

Green Spark Homes built the L-shaped building. Darrick Price, director of the construction company, said the effort also relied on volunteer help, donations and discounts.