Background
Within a month of his inauguration, President Trump lobbed a grenade into the board room. By executive order, the President demanded that The Washington County Board of Commissioners abandon its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or lose $135 million in federal funding. From the time it committed to DEI by Resolution No. 20-30 on February 25, 2020, the Board has worked to weave those values into the fabric of the County’s policies, programs, and practices.
The Board understood that failure to comply with Trump’s demands meant losing federal dollars that help individuals and families meet their most basic and essential needs — shelter, food and nutrition, health, and safety. Attesting to compliance with Trump’s demands without fully purging the “offending” language from the County’s policies, programs, and practices meant risking severe penalties for individual signers, as well as the County, under the False Claims Act. Moreover, the timeline for decision-making and action was extremely tight. July–August is the primary contract renewal period for grants and contracts.
The Board of Commissioners acted with urgency and leadership. On July 22, 2025, the Board adopted a Resolution on Access and Opportunity, a statement designed to assure the people of Washington County that it was not abandoning its values of inclusion or its commitment to support the laws of Oregon, a Sanctuary State, despite full compliance with President Trump’s demands.
We need to keep in mind that the Washington County Board was far from alone in its struggle. Universities, law firms, nonprofit organizations, local governments, and many businesses across the country faced the same difficult decision. Nevertheless, by complying with Trump’s demands, the County was seen by some to “bend the knee,” in spite of its unanimous adoption of the Resolution on Access and Opportunity. Testimony at the July 22nd hearing expressed concern that the Commissioners were walking back the County’s commitment to the values, as well as the language, of DEI. Some who testified expressed fear that the County would no longer support the State’s Sanctuary City law.
Why the Washington County Board of Commissioners should adopt the Resolution in Support of the Rule of Law
Adopting the Resolution reassures its constituents that the Board of Commissioners stands in public opposition to the coercive demands the Trump Administration imposed on the citizens of Washington County.
Adopting the Resolution adds Washington County, Oregon, to the growing number of local jurisdictions across the country that have passed resolutions to resist Trump’s Executive Overreach. The growing chorus of opposition will be heard in the Halls of Congress.
Adopting the Resolution puts Washington County on public record supporting the work of the Attorney General of Oregon as he uses every legal avenue to fight Trump’s accumulation of power in the courts.
Adopting the Resolution affirms Washington County’s support for the rule of law and restoration of the regular constitutional order.
Why Adopt the Resolution?
