Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a blunt ultimatum Tuesday to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, warning that the Biden administration’s legal battles with the city won’t stop her from sending “four times the amount of federal officers” if local officials continue to resist cooperating with federal security operations.
Noem flew to Portland to tour the city’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility — a flashpoint for repeated protests — amid an ongoing legal dispute between Oregon state leaders and the Trump administration over the president’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to the city.
Noem told Fox News host Jesse Watters that she left her meeting with Mayor Wilson “extremely disappointed.”
“He’s continuing to play politics,” she said. “What I told him is that if he did not follow through on some of these security measures for our officers, we were going to cover him up with more federal resources — and we were going to send four times the amount of federal officers here so that the people of Portland could have some safety.”
Standing atop the ICE facility alongside federal agents earlier in the day, Noem accused Wilson of cowardice, saying his hesitation had endangered both citizens and law enforcement.
“He’s going to have blood on his hands because he sat around and thought too long,” she said. “He’s too scared of the political ramifications of making a big decision to keep his city safe.”
Noem claimed the unrest surrounding Portland’s ICE operations was being driven by “professional terrorists,” echoing the Trump administration’s argument that organized agitators were targeting federal facilities nationwide.
“That’s my concern — you’ve got so many people here in Portland playing politics,” she added. “They don’t realize they’re up against professionals who know exactly what they’re doing.”
Wilson’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News or other media outlets’ requests for comment. However, the mayor later issued a written statement describing his meeting with Noem as “cordial but deeply concerning.”
“What the secretary saw today matches our reports: Portland continues to manage public safety professionally and responsibly, irrespective of the claims of out-of-state social media influencers,” Wilson said.
He rejected Noem’s framing of the city as “out of control,” adding, “The tactics used by federal agents at the ICE facility are troubling and likely unconstitutional. We still do not know what ‘Full Force’ against Portland means, or how the administration plans to use our city as a military training ground.”
Wilson said he plans to “explore all options to protect our community and our right to free expression.”
Noem’s visit came two days after a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to Oregon, ruling that the White House had not demonstrated a sufficient need for military intervention. The government has appealed the decision.
Ma Schumer Uses Hours-Long Tactic to Stall Vote on Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
President Trump, for his part, has repeatedly described Portland as “war-ravaged,” saying local officials have allowed chaos to fester by refusing to cooperate with federal authorities.
“This is not about politics,” Trump said earlier this week. “It’s about restoring law and order.”
“This is just one small block in a big city,” Day said. “Our officers are maintaining control.”
Still, Noem’s warning suggests that tensions between federal and local officials are far from cooling. Her threat to increase federal presence by “four times” — effectively a surge of tactical agents and DHS personnel — marks the most aggressive escalation yet in the administration’s ongoing confrontation with progressive-led cities.
“This is not a negotiation,” a DHS spokesperson said Tuesday evening. “Either Portland’s leadership steps up and secures federal facilities, or we will.”
G.W. Bush Teams With Democrats To Denounce Trump’s USAID Cuts 
Former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have once again united to express their disapproval of President Donald Trump, specifically regarding the reductions to international programs that they assert are crucial to U.S. interests.
In a recent video, Bush is seen alongside Obama and U2’s lead singer Bono, a vocal critic of Trump, commending the departing personnel of USAID, the international diplomacy agency that Trump significantly curtailed earlier this year. Bush has consistently advocated for funding initiatives aimed at combating AIDS and HIV in various regions of Africa.
Bush, who has largely refrained from criticizing Trump since he assumed office in 2016, utilized his video comments to lament the departure of staff members whom he credited with fostering global stability through their efforts against the spread of AIDS and HIV—a program recognized for saving 25 million lives over the last two decades.
“You have demonstrated the great strength of America through your efforts — and that is your compassionate spirit,’’ Bush remarked to USAID staff, as reported by the Associated Press. “Is it in our national interests that 25 million individuals who would have perished are now alive? I believe it is, and so do you.”
“Dismantling USAID is a disgrace, and it’s a calamity,” Obama stated in a video presented to departing USAID employees on Monday. “Because it represents some of the most critical work being conducted anywhere globally.” Referring to Trump’s decision as “a monumental error,” he further noted that “eventually, leaders from both parties will come to understand how essential you are.”
In collaboration with Elon Musk and the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, Trump effectively disassembled the extensive global agency, retaining only a minimal skeleton crew as operations were gradually terminated following the discovery of significant waste, fraud, and abuses.
Musk previously referred to USAID as “a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who despise America.” It became an initial target of the Trump administration’s initiative to reduce what the president described as a federal government riddled with waste, fraud, and misuse of taxpayer funds. The New York Post reported that the State Department officially integrated USAID earlier this week.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio juxtaposed the trio’s narrative of despair with a message of hope, emphasizing the potential of a streamlined government devoid of far-left political influence.
“Aside from establishing a global NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to demonstrate since the conclusion of the Cold War,” Rubio stated in his announcement. “Development goals have seldom been achieved, instability has frequently escalated, and anti-American sentiment has only intensified.”
“This period of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially concluded,” he added. “Under the Trump Administration, we will finally establish a foreign funding mission in America that prioritizes our national interests. As of July 1st, USAID will officially stop executing foreign assistance.” Rubio further remarked: “Foreign assistance programs that are in line with administration policies—and that promote American interests—will be managed by the State Department, where they will be executed with greater accountability, strategy, and efficiency.”