Eugene airport at risk over Rep. Hoyle’s shutdown vote

DeSpain: Hoyle’s Repeated Votes Against DHS Funding Put Oregon’s Small Airports at Risk of Closure
— Eugene Airport and Southwest Oregon Regional Airport face threat as TSA officers go unpaid and the Department of Transportation warns small airports may shut down
By Monique DeSpain for Congress,

EUGENE, Oregon (March 27, 2026) – Monique DeSpain, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and candidate for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, today called on Congresswoman Val Hoyle to put service over politics and stop blocking funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – a funding lapse that now directly threatens the two commercial passenger airports serving Southern and Coastal Oregon in Eugene and North Bend, Coos County.

Hoyle has voted against DHS funding legislation twice – first against H.R. 7147 on January 22 and again against H.R. 7744 on March 5 – both of which passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. The Senate has repeatedly failed to advance the bills, and as a result, DHS funding has been lapsed since February 14, leaving approximately 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers working without pay for over 40 days. Overnight, the Senate passed legislation that would fund most of DHS, with the exception of ICE and parts of Customs and Border Security. The bill next comes to the House for approval – a third vote on DHS funding in the House.

The consequences of this political gamesmanship are now hitting home in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. The district is served by two airports with scheduled commercial passenger service:

• Eugene Airport (EUG) – Located in Lane County, Eugene Airport is the primary commercial airport for the southern Willamette Valley.
• Southwest Oregon Regional Airport (OTH) – Located in North Bend in Coos County, this airport provides a critical passenger air link for Oregon’s South Coast communities, including Coos Bay, Bandon, and the surrounding rural areas. For many coastal residents, it is the only viable commercial air connection without a multi-hour drive to Eugene or Portland.

Both of these are exactly the type of small, regional airports that federal officials have warned are most vulnerable to closure under the ongoing shutdown.

“Val Hoyle has voted twice to leave the men and women of the TSA working without pay, and now the Department of Transportation is warning that small airports like Eugene and Southwest Oregon Regional could be forced to shut down,” DeSpain said. “This isn’t Washington, D.C. politics – this is about whether families in Lane County and Coos County can get on a plane. In my 30 years of military service, I learned that when people’s safety and livelihoods are on the line, you don’t take advantage of those people to make a political point. You put politics aside, swiftly do the right thing, and get the job done.”

The Threat Is Real: Federal Officials Sound the Alarm

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned last week that continued TSA staffing shortages will force small airports to close. “You’re going to see small airports, I believe, shut down,” Duffy told CNBC, adding that the current situation would “look like child’s play” compared to disruptions once TSA officers miss their next paycheck.

Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill echoed that warning in testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee on March 25, calling the situation “dire.” McNeill testified that TSA may be forced to make “very difficult choices as to which airports we might try to keep open and which ones we might have to shut down.” She reported that more than 480 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began, callout rates at some airports exceed 40 percent, and TSA officers are experiencing a more than 500 percent increase in assaults. Officers are reportedly sleeping in their cars, selling blood plasma, and taking second and third jobs just to make ends meet – all while being expected to keep the flying public safe.

By today, March 27, TSA officers will have worked 87 days without pay in fiscal year 2026, and the agency will have reached nearly $1 billion in unpaid wages.

Service Over Politics

“In the Air Force and throughout my career, a guiding leadership principle is: mission first, people always,” DeSpain said. “The mission here is clear – fund the department that keeps Americans safe. The people who depend on these airports – the families, the small business owners, the TSA officers living paycheck to paycheck – deserve a representative who will fight to protect them during political turbulence, not one who votes to unleash chaos and frustration in our airports, leaving them stranded and at risk. It is time to stop giving into woke special interests and for Val Hoyle to vote YES on TSA funding and keeping our local airports open and operational.”

DeSpain noted that the funding lapse has far-reaching consequences beyond air travel, including paused FEMA preparedness grants, reduced cybersecurity operations, and disrupted Coast Guard missions – all while the United States faces an elevated threat environment and prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup beginning June 11.

“Oregonians sent Val Hoyle to Congress to represent them and their interests – not to risk their safety to score cheap political points in D.C.,” DeSpain said. “I’m running because I believe our District deserves a leader who puts people and service over politics, every single time. That’s the leadership I will deliver when I’m elected in November.”

About Monique DeSpain

Monique DeSpain is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel with 30 years of distinguished military service, including experience as a Judge Advocate General officer advising senior military leaders. She is a Republican candidate for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District in the 2026 election, running on a platform of national security, accountability, and service over politics. Learn more at moniqueforcongress.com.

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