Writer's Notebook: What is Congressman Bentz afraid of?

Members of Congress and U.S. senators can be prickly. Some of them respond readily to press inquiries. Others hide from the press. And others engage in combat with reporters, especially in the era of former President Donald Trump, who called us the enemy of the people.

Gary Warner’s recent account in Oregon Capital Insider about how Oregon’s two Republican U.S. House members approached the debt limit vote contained an astounding piece of reporting. Warner noted that while an aide to U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer was forthcoming on where the congresswoman stands on various aspects of the debt limit question, U.S. Rep Cliff Bentz declined to comment.