It's no secret that Oregon's Earl Blumenauer is not a fan of Donald Trump.

The 68-year-old Democrat, who represents Oregon's 3rd Congressional District, which includes much of Portland, has derided the president, and even introduced legislation that would prevent taxes from funding events or overnight stays at hotels tied to the nation's chief executive or their relatives. The bill is titled the No Taxpayer Revenue Used to Monetize the Presidency Act -- or, the No TRUMP Act.

But as a member of the budget-writing Ways and Means committee, Blumenauer also has a front-row seat to Congressional Republicans' efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Ways and Means members pulled an all-nighter last week to pass groundwork for the GOP's American Health Care Act.

At the center of the push for Trumpcare is another Oregon Congressman: Greg Walden, a Republican representing the state's rural 2nd Congressional District. He is chairman of the committee that's crafting the American Health Care Act in tandem with the Ways and Means committee.

The American Health Care Act would cut the federal government's expansion of Medicaid, the program providing health insurance to the poor, which added 400,000 Oregonians to the system. States would instead have to shoulder more of the program's costs. The effect: hundreds of thousands of Oregonians could lose health coverage, many of them in rural counties, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

The Congressional Budget Office has also scored the American Health Care Act, saying the plan would leave an estimated 24 million uninsured by 2026.

As for Blumenauer, he is miffed by all of it. The following conversation between Blumenauer and The Oregonian/OregonLive has been edited for length and clarity:

Q: What should Oregonians know about the GOP health care bills?

A: It's critical that people in Oregon try and find out the facts, not political spin, about what it actually entails.

There is no decision that I've been faced with as a member of Congress that will have a more immediate and long term impact on the quality of life of people in our state than to gut the Affordable Care Act, repeal the promise of Medicaid expansion and fundamentally alter the economics of health care.

The Congressional Budget Office, which is as close as we get to an honest umpire calling balls and strikes, has provided some rather chilling testimony -- one of the reasons why I think the bills were rushed through in the middle of the night before the analysis could be shared. It documents that Oregonians would have higher costs, on average, for less coverage. It's clear that low- and moderate-income seniors would be hammered.

Q: Do you have concerns about how this legislation may affect the 3rd District?

A: Absolutely. My district includes OHSU, which has already begun a hiring freeze because of the unpredictability. This is a body blow to OHSU. It's a problem at Legacy Emanuel, Kaiser. The hospitals are deeply concerned about stresses they're going to face.

We have a serious budget problem in Oregon. This is going to add about $880 million that the state has to pick up. It blows a hole in the state budget now and it's going to get worse each year.

Q: Do you think the state could be forced to kick Oregonians off Medicaid?

A: Think about what the state's choices are. There are severe limitations now. There's a severe financing problem.

There will be service reductions from the state. It can't pick up the slack.

Q: Have you spoken to officials here about what may happen?

A: We've been in contact with the governor's office, the Oregon Health Authority, state senators, local officials. There is uniform apprehension and in some cases it approaches panic.

Q: For many Oregonians and Americans congress is opaque. Even when there are public hearings the process isn't that transparent. Would you agree?

A: It's very hard for normal people to follow Congress. I had a big town hall meeting after our marathon session and there were questions: Why was it rushed through? How can that happen?

It doesn't have to be that opaque. I was here for part of the process of passing the Affordable Care Act. I can't begin to recall all the hearings we had. We spent lots of time in public sessions.

Q: But much of the Affordable Care Act negotiations took place behind closed doors.

A: Of course. But there was a very clear public process as well. There were hours of hearings. After you've gone through all of that then there's negotiations.

Republicans refused to legislate, so all the votes had to come from Democrats. There was a lot of give and take, and I was involved in that. I'm pleased with how well we came out of it.

Q: The Affordable Care Act passed with no Republican support. So, what role does bipartisanship plays in negotiations now?

A: There will be some bipartisanship before this is done. Eviscerating Medicaid is something I don't think you're going to have any Democratic support for, and you may even lose some Republicans. They don't have anywhere near unanimous support.

Q: You're well aware of Greg Walden's high-profile role in reshaping American health care policy. What's your relationship with him like?

A: I've known Greg all his professional career, since he was an assistant sergeant of arms in the state Senate. We've worked closely together for years on Mt. Hood legislation.

I know Greg, his family. I like him. But I profoundly disagree with what he's shepherding through and I hope he changes his mind.

Q: How well is Congress performing as an institution at this moment in time?

A: I think the fact that we are pushing through a major piece of legislation that would unwind the most important health care advance in 50 years without hearings, without the Congressional Budget Office score in committee and it was jammed through with an all-night pair of sessions -- I don't think that testifies to Congress being well-run, transparent and accommodating.

I think this is a low point in the 20 years I've been in Congress.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

GFriedman@Oregonian.com; 503-221-8209