Rep. Peter DeFazio 19th House Democrat To Announce Retirement

Oregon‘s most senior congressman, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), announced Wednesday morning that he will not seek reelection to his 4th Congressional District seat.

He is the longest-serving member of Congress in Oregon history.

In a statement, DeFazio said it is “with humility and gratitude” that he is announcing he will step down.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as Congressman for the Fourth District of Oregon. For 36 years, I have fought corporate greed and special interests to benefit Oregon’s working families,” DeFazio wrote.

He outlined his work fighting for affordable health care, better infrastructure and more.

“It’s time for me to pass the baton to the next generation so I can focus on my health and well-being. This was a tough decision at a challenging time for our republic with the very pillars of our democracy under threat, but I am bolstered by the passion and principles of my colleagues in Congress and the ingenuity and determination of young Americans who are civically engaged and working for change,” he added.

DeFazio, 74, won his seat in 1986 and has risen to the chairmanship of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, which has jurisdiction over the U.S. Coast Guard, interstate highways and transit, ports and water resources, railroads, aviation, and economic development.

As a longtime member of that committee, DeFazio played a central role in shaping and passing President Joe Biden’s trillion-dollar infrastructure bill last month. When Biden signed the bill on Nov. 15, DeFazio called it “the largest investment in America’s infrastructure in a generation.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi highlighted DeFazio’s accomplishments while in the US House of Representatives.

“Chairman DeFazio is known and respected by all as a champion of sustainable, smart and green infrastructure, whose progressive values, passion and persistence have helped rebuild America and the middle class,” Pelosi wrote. “His legislative successes – including expanding preservation and conservation efforts, protecting affordable health care, advancing tribal sovereignty, rebuilding our highways, ensuring aviation safety and, most recently, helping pass the historic, once-in-a-century Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Build Back Better Act – leave an outstanding legacy of progress for America’s children and future.”

Moving forward, DeFazio said he would be spending the next 13 months helping pass the Build Back Better Act, fighting the climate crisis and more.

DeFazio is the 19th House Democrat to either retire or run for another office this election cycle, following other senior-ranking Democrats, including Reps. John Yarmuth and G.K. Butterfield.

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