The governor of Oregon is calling it a “phased withdrawal,” nonetheless federal officers sent to Portland by Donald Trump will soon be leaving.
“After discussions with the Vice President and administration officials this week, the federal government has agreed to my demand and will withdraw these officers from Portland. They will also clean up the Courthouse, removing the graffiti,” Gov. Kate Brown said.
Meanwhile, the acting chief of Homeland Security released his own statement with a much different spin. Chad Wolf said federal agents will remain in Portland until certain conditions are met:
“We will continue to maintain our current, augmented federal law enforcement personnel in Portland until we are assured that the Hatfield Federal Courthouse and other federal properties will no longer be attacked and that the seat of justice in Portland will remain secure.
“The Department will continue to re-evaluate our security posture in Portland, and should circumstances on the ground significantly improve due to the influx of state and local law enforcement, we anticipate the ability to change our force posture,” Wolf added.
NBC News reports as of Wednesday, 114 federal officers were in Portland.