Dan Rayfield is Oregon's attorney general, sworn in on December 31, 2024. He served a decade in the Oregon legislature representing Corvallis, including as Speaker of the House from 2022, and spent 18 years in private practice before that.
Case
Businesses and 25 states say Trump's 10% and 12.5% Section 301 tariffs on 60 economies are a pretext to revive struck-down global tariffs. The administration says they lawfully answer forced-labor import failures. As of September 30, 2026, no court has ruled.
Case
A Border Patrol agent shot and wounded two unarmed Venezuelan nationals in a Portland hospital parking lot on January 8, 2026. DHS says the driver weaponized his truck; charges against both were later reduced, and a bullet-removal incident drew scrutiny.
Role at the time: Oregon attorney general, whose office co-led with Arizona and California the complaint for 25 plaintiffs (23 states and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania); the words are the complaint's, filed by the plaintiff states, not a personal statement
Response to this claim
Oregon, Arizona and California, leading the 25 plaintiffs in State of Oregon et al. v. Trump, said in their August 3, 2026 complaint that USTR did not make the country-specific findings Section 301 requires: it investigated 60 economies in about two and a half months, tied the 10% and 12.5% rates to no measured level of forced-labor imports, and left no way for an economy to escape the tariffs.
“The Plaintiff States oppose forced labor in all its forms and support protections for workers around the globe. But the Administration cannot use forced labor as a pretext to continue its illegal tariff scheme. The tariffs the USTR imposed are so broad that they defy the USTR's own stated aims and make a mockery of the statute used to justify them.”
Relative to the Section 301 forced-labor tariffs, the states reject them as a pretext and as contrary to law, which meets the label's test. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because they say they oppose forced labor, but they place no condition on their challenge.
Role at the time: Oregon Attorney General
Statement summary
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said he was deeply troubled by reports that two people were shot and injured in Portland during an incident involving federal agents. He said his office had been clear about its concerns over excessive use of force by federal agents in Portland, that the incident heightened the need for transparency and accountability, and that his office would take appropriate action as more facts came to light.
“We are deeply troubled by reports that two people were shot and injured in Portland today during an incident involving federal agents. We have been clear about our concerns with the excessive use of force by federal agents in Portland, and today’s incident only heightens the need for transparency and accountability. Oregonians deserve clear answers when people are injured in their neighborhoods. Our office is closely monitoring this situation and will take appropriate action to protect the rights and safety of Oregonians as more facts come to light.”
The case asks whether the Border Patrol agent was justified in shooting the two people. Rayfield said he was deeply troubled by reports of the shooting, pointed to his office's earlier concerns about excessive use of force by federal agents in Portland, and said the incident heightened the need for transparency and accountability. He did not say what the facts would show about this shooting, but he tied it to those concerns and did not defend the agents' conduct, so we used the label Condemned.
Statement dates: January 9, 2026
Statement dates: January 9, 2026
Statement dates: August 3, 2026
Statement dates: August 3, 2026
