Oregon Attorney General-elect Rayfield creates federal oversight cabinet

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon Attorney General-elect Dan Rayfield announced a new cabinet in his office on Thursday to oversee potential conflicts between federal mandates and Oregon law.

The Federal Oversight and Accountability Cabinet will support the Attorney General-elect and his work “to defend against potential federal impacts on the state and its people,” Rayfield's transition team said in a press release.

"In an era of uncertainty, we must be proactive in our outreach efforts and work to protect the interests and values of Oregonians," Attorney General-elect Rayfield said. "The leaders serving on the Federal Oversight and Accountability Cabinet create a critical nexus between what is happening on the ground in communities throughout our state and the work we are able to do at the Oregon Department of Justice to defend all Oregonians."

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Rayfield will chair the cabinet and has appointed several members to the group including Dustin Buehler, who was appointed to a special counsel position in the executive office to direct federal accountability work.

Buehler will co-lead the cabinet with Fay Stetz-Waters, who will continue her role as director of civil rights and social justice under the attorney general-elect.

Other cabinet members include legal experts, and leaders of nonprofits and unions, such as AFSCME Oregon Executive Director Joe Baessler, ACLU Oregon Executive Director Sandy Chung and Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette CEO Dr. Sara Kennedy, among other members.

“We stand ready to defend the rights and values of the people of Oregon,” Chung said. “We appreciate Attorney General-elect Rayfield’s partnership in these efforts, as well as his recognition that we are stronger together.”

The new cabinet comes after the attorney general-elect told KOIN 6 News about his plans to protect abortion rights in Oregon amid potential threats to access under the incoming Trump administration. 

"As attorney general in Oregon, the number one responsibility for me is to protect the values of our state," Rayfield previously told KOIN 6 News, noting his role to defend Oregon laws. "We have a lot of protections for abortion rights in Oregon. However, challenges come when they’re being threatened in other states, whether it’s the mifepristone lawsuit that the current attorney general had to intervene and be a part of, even when we had a Democratic president, if the current administration were to advocate and pass an abortion ban nationally, that law would be in conflict with Oregon laws. It would be our responsibility in the Attorney General’s Office to make sure that we stand up for Oregon’s values and stand up for the laws that we have passed in the state that reflect the values in our state."

Rayfield's preparations for potential conflicts between federal and state laws echo a move by Washington's Governor-elect Bob Ferguson who created a committee in his transition team to prepare for potential threats to state law from Project 2025, a policy guidebook for the Trump administration that was created by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.