Christine Drazan speaks to supporters at her election night party held at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Ore., Nov. 8, 2022.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
When the president first announced his plan to call up the Oregon National Guard to protect the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, state Rep. Christine Drazan came out swinging.
She issued a statement Sept. 27, saying the governor and the mayor of Portland’s “assertion that everything is fine is tone-deaf,” but did not specify that she supported a deployment.
Since then, Oregon’s most prominent Republican state lawmaker has issued no public statements or social media posts about President Donald Trump’s move.
A House Republican spokesperson said Monday that Drazan did not support the deployment of National Guard members from other states, only to quickly ask to retract the statement. The spokesperson then said her initial comment was inaccurate.
Asked Tuesday whether the staffer’s comment represented her views, Drazan told OPB the spokesperson does not speak for her and declined an interview request. Her limited response on the topic is in line with many of her fellow GOP lawmakers.
OPB emailed every Republican state lawmaker in Oregon on Monday to ask whether they support the deployment of National Guard members — either from Oregon or other states — to the Rose City. As of Wednesday at 10 a.m., two shared their views with OPB.
Related: Federal appeals court ruling keeps Oregon National Guard federalized ahead of oral arguments
Some have spoken out in hearings, social media or in news reports, urging local law enforcement to protect the federal facility, while offering little opinion on the use of military members. Others have been virtually silent.
“I have no response at this time,” said Rep. Virgle J. Osborne, R-Roseburg.
News broke on Sunday that Trump was sending hundreds of National Guard members from Texas and California to the state. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the president’s move, though a Wednesday ruling from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th District affirmed the president’s ability to federalize National Guard members.
The president is seeking to deploy National Guard troops to protect the ICE facility in Portland, a city Trump has falsely described as “burning to the ground.” The facility has been the site of regular protests for months, and was visited by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stands on the roof of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.
Eli Imadali / OPB
Should she run, Drazan is widely considered to be a top Republican contender in the 2026 race for governor. She recently resigned her position as House Republican leader to run for a state Senate seat, which became vacant when Republican Daniel Bonham, a lawmaker from The Dalles, resigned last month and took a position in the Trump administration.
Drazan’s Sept. 27 statement was forceful. “It’s shameful that state and local leaders have allowed violent mobs and domestic terrorists to assault federal law enforcement, destroy property, and interfere with those seeking immigration services from obtaining assistance and case management,” she said at the time.
OPB reached out by text and emailed a list of questions to Drazan before reaching her by phone Tuesday. She said she had been traveling and would not yet be granting interviews. She requested patience as she learned more about what was happening around the ICE facility.
Coming out on either side of the issue could be politically perilous for Drazan, who lost the 2022 governor’s race by less than 4% to Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat. Drazan’s campaign manager told OPB Wednesday morning that they do not have a comment for this story.
“We’ve seen that President Trump does not hesitate to call out people who voice opposition to his preferences,” said Christopher Shortell, a political science professor at Portland State University. “And I think that there is fear about what that would carry with it. Can you still be in the Republican Party if you express disagreement with the sitting president?”
Related: Portland weighs taking over lease at ICE facility
The president’s latest actions “puts elected Republican officials in a somewhat awkward position,” he said.
“Either they embrace a readily and demonstrably untrue description of what’s happening in Portland and side with the president, which risks their own constituents asking questions of them,” he said, “or they contradict the president, which puts them at risk of upsetting their constituents who believe what the president is saying.”
The president wants to use federalized National Guard members to tackle crime in major American cities, from Chicago to Memphis to Los Angeles. Oregon Democrats have largely denounced the president’s attempts as politically motivated, noting that violent crime is down in Portland.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, center, at a news conference in Portland, Ore., Sept. 27, 2025, responding to President Donald Trump’s statements about sending troops to the city.
Joni Auden Land / OPB
In a statement to OPB, Ashley Kuenzi, the communications director for the Senate Republicans office, said the Democrats “are desperate for the media to focus on their feud with Washington, D.C. instead of their own failures here at home.” Instead of commenting on the potential deployment, she blamed the majority party for the rising cost-of-living in the state.
“While they posture for cameras, everyday Oregonians are literally paying the price. Families are worried about how they’ll afford groceries, rent, and their next tank of gas,” she said, referring to the transportation package approved last week. “It’s time Democrats put down the cameras, pick up the solutions, and get serious about fixing the mess they’ve made.”
Without comprehensive polling, it’s hard to quantify precisely what Oregonians think about the president’s attempts to deploy the National Guard here.
An NPR-Ipsos poll last month found that while seven in 10 Americans believe that crime and violence has reached an unacceptable level, the public broadly doesn’t support the use of the National Guard to police cities. A Reuters poll, published Wednesday, found that about 58% of Americans think the president should only send armed troops to areas facing external threats.
Oregon’s Republican Party has not been silent, even as some individual lawmakers have been. On Oct. 5, the state’s official GOP account on X posted a fiery photo of police and protesters, seeming to support Trump’s deployment of California National Guard to Portland.
The Guardian reported that the image shared by the state party was actually a compilation of photos from South America that were taken nearly a decade apart. The GOP account deleted the post, but responded to one commenter: “It’s just a meme. Not Portland. But we could easily create a new one with screen shots from Portland.”
FILE - California National Guard are positioned at the Federal Building, June 10, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
Eric Thayer / AP
State Rep. Alek Skarlatos, a former National Guard member from Canyonville, said in a recent KATU television news interview that he would volunteer to be a part of the deployment if he were still serving.
“If it’s gotten to the level that the president of the United States has to order the National Guard into your city because you’re not doing your job, that’s pretty shameful,” he said.
Bonham, the former Senate minority leader, echoed his sentiment in a post to X.
“Was shocked to see (Portland Police Chief Bob Day) say no help was needed,” Bonham said. “I guess when you are a law enforcement official that doesn’t enforce law, that statement makes sense. Caught on tape is many current examples of lawlessness — yet he tries to suggest its all recirculated old footage. Not so.”
Rep. Lucetta Elmer, who was elected House Republican leader last week, said in a text to OPB Wednesday: “I don’t have any other comments on this right now.”
“I will be touring the ICE facility next week and can possibly offer more after that,” she said.
Related: Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek denounces president’s attempts to send National Guard to Portland
Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, has so far declined to back the potential deployment, telling OPB last week that he tries to “stay out of federal issues unless they directly affect” his district. Other Republican lawmakers responded differently.
“If the National Guard were deployed in Northeastern Oregon, I would be doing everything possible to support their mission and ensure our community’s safety — not fighting against them,” Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, said in an email Monday.
“Our National Guard members are our neighbors, friends, and family (regardless of what state they come from), and when they are called to serve, our responsibility as leaders is to help them be successful in keeping Oregonians safe.”
Rep. Dwayne Yunker, R-Grants Pass, was unequivocal in his support of any National Guard deployment. He said the city’s “Democratic leadership has failed the South Waterfront neighborhood,” where the ICE facility is located, adding: “The Guard will stop this chaos and protect our communities.”
“This chaos threatens all Oregonians,” Yunker said. “And it doesn’t have to be this way.”
Arguing that the deployment is not necessary, top city and state leaders have so far prevailed in a court fight with the administration, prompting a federal judge’s ruling that temporarily blocked National Guard members from being sent to Portland.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to weigh in on the president’s appeal as early as Thursday.
