White House Reviewing Portland Federal Aid Amid Anti-ICE Protests

President Donald Trump has directed his administration to review and potentially cut federal aid to Portland, Oregon, due to ongoing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in the city. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that federal funds will not support states or cities that "allow anarchy," and Trump has tasked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide troops to protect Portland and ICE facilities from attacks by left-wing groups such as Antifa. The protests, which have included nightly attacks on ICE buildings with objects like bottle rockets, have led to numerous arrests, with the FBI reporting 128 arrests since June. Leavitt also criticized the arrest of conservative influencer Nick Sortor during the protests, claiming he was wrongly detained while documenting the events, and announced a Justice Department investigation. This move follows a pattern in the Trump administration of threatening action against Democratic-led cities that resist federal immigration enforcement policies. Despite these tensions, Trump recently reversed funding cuts to New York over a related immigration dispute.