Bentz backs Iran pressure, Forest Service move, seeks troop caution

More than 450 people turned out for Cliff Bentz’s La Grande town hall and more than 300 packed his Pendleton meeting, but the congressman has since moved much of his public questioning to telephone town halls and smaller gatherings. Bentz has said disruptive meetings do not serve constituents well, and he has said he would return to in-person forums only if decorum and safety could be assured.

His office says he still meets with county commissioners, mayors, service organizations, chambers of commerce, irrigation districts, schools and hospitals. For Union County, where federal land decisions, grazing, timber, and wildfire smoke can affect the same households, the question is not just how often Bentz appears in person. It is whether residents can still press him face to face on the issues that shape daily life.

Those stakes run well beyond campaign rhetoric. Bentz said he backed the Trump administration’s effort to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons, but he was not enthusiastic about sending U.S. ground troops to seize Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile. He said he would want a detailed explanation before supporting any such move. Bentz also said he supports regime change in Iran, but not one initiated by the United States. The U.S. military launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Feb. 28, making his caution part of a live debate over military escalation and nuclear risk.

Closer to home, Bentz also supported USDA’s March 31 decision to move the Forest Service headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City. USDA said the agency will undergo a sweeping restructuring at the same time, shifting from a regional model to state-based hubs, closing nine regional offices and opening 15 state hubs. Reporting on the plan says at least 57 of 77 research stations in 31 states are slated to close or consolidate. Forest Service chief Tom Schultz said the agency is moving closer to the forests and communities it serves.

That argument has direct meaning in eastern Oregon, where wildfire response, grazing permits, public access and federal staffing decisions are part of the political weather. Bentz said the relocation makes sense because leadership should be closer to the forests and communities it serves. Critics of the broader reorganization worry about science capacity and national perspective, but Bentz has framed it as a western answer to a western set of problems.

The congressman has stayed active on other regional issues too, including Bonneville Power Administration leadership recruitment and an April 7 announcement that the President’s 2027 budget includes $80 million for a new F-35 Formal Training Unit at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls. Together, those positions show a lawmaker balancing national security hawkishness with a tougher western land-management argument and a more controlled style of public access.