Oregon Senate Republicans walk out for 3rd straight year, citing governor’s COVID-19 restrictions

Oregon Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod, shown here during a swearing-in ceremony Jan. 11, boycotted a Thursday floor session to protest Gov. Kate Brown's COVID restrictions.Brooke Herbert/The Oregonian

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Oregon Senate Republicans carried out their first Capitol boycott of the legislative session on Thursday, in what has become an increasingly common tactic by the party that holds a minority of seats in both chambers of the Legislature.

Unlike in 2019 and 2020, when Senate and House Republicans walked out to kill proposals to cap greenhouse gas emissions and other Democratic proposals, Senate Republicans decided to no-show this time in order to protest Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19 restrictions. They outlined their reasoning in a letter to the governor.

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