U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio is retiring.
After more than three decades as a mainstay in Oregon politics, the state’s longest-tenured U.S. House member announced Wednesday that he won’t seek a 19th term representing the state’s 4th Congressional District, which spans the state’s southwest corner, stretching from the California border to Albany.
“With humility and gratitude I am announcing that I will not seek re-election next year,” DeFazio, 74, said in a statement. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as Congressman for the Fourth District of Oregon.”
The decision means Oregon will lose one of its most influential voices in Washington, D.C. DeFazio, known for a quirky personality and, at times, a short temper, is the influential chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure – a role that allowed him to shape a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package passed in November.
“He’s one of the most influential members of Congress on infrastructure, and I think I know a little something about that,” U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a longtime friend and transportation wonk in his own right, said Wednesday. “It will be a tremendous loss to lose the longest-serving member of Congress in Oregon’s history.”
DeFazio is also retiring just as he has reason to believe his path to reelection would be easier. The Fourth District is expected to be more favorable to Democratic candidates beginning next year, after Democratic lawmakers successfully passed a new redistricting plan. Members of both parties had expected DeFazio to cruise to victory, despite a potential rematch with a Republican candidate, Alek Skarlatos, who had proven competitive in 2020.
But Blumenauer, who learned of DeFazio’s decision Tuesday, said the new map actually helped the congressman’s decision to retire after decades of a grueling commute that often saw DeFazio having to drive hours back to his district after flying cross-country to Portland.
“It makes it easier for Peter because he doesn’t want to abandon his district,” Blumenauer said. “The [new] district is one that a thoughtful Democrat will win.”
DeFazio was first elected to Congress in 1986. At the time he was a 39-year-old county commissioner, who’d formerly worked as a staffer for Oregon Congressman Jim Weaver
Through his 34 years in the House, DeFazio cultivated a distinct populist view that resonated with voters disenchanted with the political establishment. Before Donald Trump launched his own battles against free trade, DeFazio voted against every major trade agreement to come before Congress. DeFazio parted ways with fellow Democrats in supporting a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. And he opposed President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus bill, saying it didn’t include enough money for infrastructure spending.
DeFazio often talked about battling “idiots,” as when he told a TV station in Eugene in 2011 that there was a shortage of federal money for needed dam repairs in Oregon because of “some of the idiots I’m working with in Washington.”
Blumenauer said DeFazio has continued to grow tired of the political gamesmanship in D.C.
“I think he is frustrated that he is spending a lot of time in Committee with Republicans just complaining,” he said. “They’re not involved in any constructive efforts. Peter’s instincts are to get things done.”
This story will be updated.
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