Northwest tribal programs affected by federal spending cuts
The Trump administration is cutting DEI, or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, and that’s affecting funding and projects for Indian tribes.
Kylee Probert, a descendant of the Spokane Tribe who grew up in the Northwest and went to college in Washington and Oregon. In September, she got her dream job: helping oversee grants for tribal communities through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“ I wanted to help tribes. I wanted to make a difference in government," she said.
Instead, last month, Probert was fired, one of thousands of federal workers whose jobs were terminated during their probationary period. She was managing more than a dozen grants to help tribes across the country, projects that addressed cultural programming and substance abuse.
“Those projects were frozen, with no sort of timeline or indication as to whether or not they would be able to restart the work, or whether their funding would be renewed," she said.
Now, her projects with tribes have been frozen, with no information on when they will be able to restart the work, or whether their funding will be renewed.
The administration says it’s cutting costs. But Probert says she has concerns about the long-term impact on public health initiatives and the well being of communities that rely on those programs.
Rather than feeling deterred, Probert says she feels reinvigorated, and she still wants to make a difference in public health. That could mean going to an indigenous law school, or finding a new job in health policy.
Tariffs, spending cuts could hinder shipping on the Columbia River
Tariffs imposed this week started have begun affecting shipments between the Northwest and the rest of the world – even before they officially went into effect.
Dan Jordan is the administrator of the Columbia River Bar pilots, the group that escorts ships across rough seas separating the Pacific Ocean from ports on the Columbia River.
“It got really busy before the tariffs went into place, with shippers wanting to move their goods before they came into place. With the tariffs in place, it’s slowed down dramatically," he said.
Columbia River ports are among the top U.S. exporters of wheat and soybeans to Asia. After President Donald Trump imposed a new tax on Chinese imports, China retaliated with its own tariffs targeting those American commodities.
Meanwhile, cuts to the budget of the National Weather Service could also have an effect on shipping traffic, Jordan said.
“We want to get commerce going, but we don’t want to do it in a dangerous way. So we’re on the telephone with them frequently, with the forecaster in the office – when ships should sail and when they shouldn’t."
He says the Weather Service office that works with Columbia Bar pilots has been understaffed for years. He warned if it loses more employees, ships would have to be more conservative. That could lead to longer delays before ships can cross the bar.
The Trump administration has cut National Weather Service staffing in Oregon by more than 30%, according to the Salem Statesman Journal.
Bonneville Power Administration offers jobs back to staff fired by Trump administration
Three people familiar with internal operations at BPA confirmed that 89 staff who’d been fired are receiving emails or letters asking them to return to work. About 35 were already hired back in mid-February.
A spokesperson for BPA declined to comment. But insiders confirmed that offers to return to work went out Thursday. Those staff asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation, but OPB has verified their identities. Among those who are being asked to return are staff who worked in diversity roles that have been targeted by the Trump administration.
Even after rescinding those terminations, the agency is still down hundreds of positions, after 240 resigned in exchange for a buyout offer and 90 people who received job offers had those offers canceled.
BPA operates 75% of the Northwest’s power grid, distributes hydropower from 31 federal dams, and plays a key role in ensuring reliable access to electricity for millions of people in the Northwest. It covers its expenses from revenue its operations generate, and makes annual payments to the federal government.
OPB broke the news that job cuts could affect a significant share of BPA’s workforce on Feb. 13, prompting a public outcry from utility experts and federal officials concerned that the cuts could affect the reliability of the Northwest power grid.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on Tuesday sent a letter to federal cabinet secretaries decrying the cuts.
“These positions were linemen, engineers, substation operators and power dispatchers, and multiple entities across the Pacific Northwest are raising real alarm about grid instability and power outages due to a shortage of staff who know how to manage grid events,” Kotek wrote. “As you know, BPA is a self-supporting entity. Ongoing workforce reductions by definition will not impact federal spending, but they do create instability for power availability and rates in the region.”
The people who are being asked to come back to BPA after being fired were all in their first year or two on the job, and so still in probationary status with fewer civil service protections.
The firings and rehirings at Bonneville mirror a sometimes chaotic approach to federal staffing that has played out at many agencies since Trump took office. The administration has fired tens of thousands of federal workers, including at least 2,000 Forest Service staff nationwide. Those cuts have raised concerns about wildfire preparedness in the Northwest.
Many of the firings have been challenged in court. On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to bring back nearly 6,000 workers at that agency.
Idaho House passes latest Medicaid work requirements bill
The latest bill to add work requirements to Idaho’s Medicaid expansion program is heading to the Senate.
House Bill 345 easily cleared the House Thursday along party lines with little debate.
Rep. Jordan Redman’s (R-Coeur d’Alene) newest proposal largely focuses on requiring participants to work, study or volunteer for 20 hours per week to qualify.
“Medicaid expansion was brought into place for the working poor. Right now, we have 47% of them not working,” Redman said.
House Democratic Leader Ilana Rubel (D-Boise) says the bill’s monthly reporting rules are too onerous. She also points out parents with children ages six or older would have to meet these work requirements.
“This basically strips out the ability for those at home and homeschooling to remain on Medicaid without having to be out in the workforce and reporting,” Rubel said.
Redman’s prior bill, House Bill 138, would’ve repealed Medicaid expansion if the state didn’t get approval from the federal government on several conditions.
Those include adding a lifetime eligibility limit and capping the number of current participants. In all, 10 of the 11 requirements listed in HB 138 would’ve needed federal approval.
HB 345’s fiscal analysis said the measure would save Idaho nearly $16 million the first year it’s implemented. It projects $27.2 million annually for each of the following years.
Redman said those savings will also come from switching to a managed care scheme, which would allow the state to negotiate contracts with other organizations to deliver care.
But opponents say the state would lose money because it’ll need to hire new staff to track the monthly work reporting requirements.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
Washington lawmakers look to lure people to veterinary careers
The Washington legislature has, over the years, acted to ease workforce shortages in many areas of health care and it did so again on Thursday.
The state House voted to create a work group to study how to train and recruit more large animal veterinarians to the state.
“During COVID I had an illness go through my personal herd of cattle and it was incredibly difficult to find anybody who could come out to the property and actually treat these animals," said Rep. Matt Marshall (R-Eatonville).
He was one of several representatives who testified for the need for a way to recruit new people to the profession.
Rep. Mary Dye (R-Pomeroy) says many in the veterinary field have gravitated to small animal work because it’s easier work and more lucrative.
“This is time to incentivize a new group of people that are brave and strong and love working in the middle of the night and snow and mud. But it’s still really rewarding work," she said.
The bill passed the House 96-1 and now moves to the state Senate.
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Reporting contributed by Lauren Paterson, Courtney Sherwood, James Dawson and Doug Nadvornick.