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Judge bulldozes Markwayne Mullin as wildfire victims suffer amid Trump 'pronoun' rule

rawstory.com · 4h · first reportShare

A federal judge ruled DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin cannot withhold Oregon disaster relief over President Donald Trump's 'pronoun' mandates as wildfires burn across the state. In a blistering order on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael McShane explained why he granted the city of Salem a preliminary injunction on Aug. 13, blocking the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency from tying disaster grants to Trump's gender ideology and diversity, equity and inclusion agenda. Salem needed $1,093,800 to repair a flood-damaged road to its West Salem Pump Station after December 2025 storms — but the federal government required the city to first pledge compliance with anti-diversity and anti-"gender ideology" executive orders unrelated to disaster recovery. "Yet, as wildfires, severe storms, and floods routinely ravage through the State of Oregon, disaster relief has become a tool to advance unrelated executive policy," McShane wrote in his ruling . "Altho