Another week, another Thursday newsletter jam-packed with some high-impact political news both in Ohio and our nation’s capital.
Some out-of-the-box proposals were approved by Ohio House this week; tariffs shook the stock market; and the future of Medicaid expansion in Ohio became much less certain.
Ohio House passes budget impacting school funding, elections oversight, libraries and more
• The story: The Ohio House voted 60-to-39 Wednesday to advance its draft of the state’s two-year operating budget, which significantly diverts from both precedent and many of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s newly-proposed ideas.
• ‘Consequential’: Leaders for House Republicans and Democrats alike view the House’s budget to be one of the most important pieces of legislation to come out of the chamber in the past decade. The two sides are, however, split on whether those consequences will benefit the state.
• New ideas: The bill, if enacted into law as-is, would make significant changes to how the state funds its K-12 public schools and libraries; force schools to give back unused funding to property tax payers; give the Cleveland Browns $600 million in public bonds for a new stadium; move to ban Ohioans from using food stamps to purchase soda; require porn sites to verify users’ age; exclude coroners from being an elected office; and much, much more.
Trump stuns Congress with tariff switch: Ohio delegation reacts
• The story: Lawmakers in Congress were hit with a bit of political whiplash on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump suddenly dropped reciprocal tariffs (for 90 days) on much of the world, while raising tariffs even more on China.
• Direction change: Trump’s move — one week after his self-proclaimed “Liberation Day” on tariffs — led to an immediate rally on Wall Street, after days of losses which many in the Congress pinned squarely on the president’s tariff plans. That trend didn’t carry over to Thursday.
• Democrat view: Ohio Democrats were stunned by the turn of events. “Pure chaos,” posted U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Cincinnati (whose district includes Warren County). “Trillions of wealth lost, jobs gone, prices skyrocketing.”
• Republican view: It was a much different reaction from Ohio Republicans. On the Senate floor, GOP U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio praised Trump’s tariff efforts. “President Trump is doing a masterful job of negotiating,” Moreno said. “We’re going to rebuild this country with American hands.”
• Targeted aggression: Trump did not spare China, further increasing tariffs on Beijing to a dizzying 145% — a move which drew support from lawmakers in both parties.
• Medicaid expansion: As state and federal lawmakers pursue initiatives and possible cuts to Medicaid, local residents who have been on the program say it saved their lives and helped them get back on their feet. Here’s Samantha Wildow with the story.
• Gold standard: Miami Twp. trustees filed a lawsuit against Fiscal Officer Bob Matthews over allegations he improperly tried to invest $9.7M in gold coins and retaliate against a township employee. Jen Balduf has the story.
• May 6 primary: Want to vote on May 6? Luckily for you, we’ve got a list of races and issues on ballots in Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Butler, Warren, Clark and Champaign counties. Here’s Sydney Dawes with the story.
State political news of the week
• Cellphone ban: After years pushing for schools to limit students’ cellphone use during school hours, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine backed a new bill Tuesday that would “finish the job.” Here’s my story.
• Libraries: There has been a lot of chatter about the Ohio House’s budget significantly cutting the state’s funding commitments to local libraries. We looked into it and determined: it’s complicated! Here’s a piece from me, Sydney Dawes and Josh Sweigart.
• Bond, capital bond: On May 6, voters across Ohio will approve or deny Issue 2, a request from the state in the form of a constitutional amendment to issue up to $2.5 billion in bonds to help pay for infrastructure projects over the next decade. Here’s my story.
National political news of the week
• Hurdle cleared: After another round of internal drama at the U.S. Capitol, the House on Thursday approved a GOP budget outline which paves the way for Republicans to start work on President Donald Trump’s agenda, anchored by plans to extend individual tax cuts which expire at the end of this year. Here’s Jamie Dupree with the story.
• Heat turned off: The Trump administration has laid off the entire staff of a $4.1 billion program that helps millions of low-income households pay for heat during the winter and cooling in the summer, concerning community action agencies tasked with administering these funds to people in need. Here’s Sydney Dawes.
• Pushback: Cincinnati Democrat and U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman is among those pushing for the Trump administration to reinstate more than 1,500 workers terminated last week from the Cincinnati-based National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Here’s a story from Josh Sweigart and the Associated Press.
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