Rotunda Rumblings
Faith and defiance
: U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli wants to mark the yearly anniversary of the day an assassin tried to shoot President Trump as a national “Faith and Defiance Day,”
Sabrina Eaton reports
. The Salem Republican announced Friday that he’s introduced a resolution to designate the yearly anniversary of the 2024 attempt on Trump’s life on July 13 as “Faith and Defiance Day” to honor Trump and those who were killed and injured at the political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Five for fighting:
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat Fischer’s unexpected announcement last month that he’ll run next year to unseat the court’s lone Democrat, Justice Jennifer Brunner, so far hasn’t scared off any of the four other Republicans already in the race. In fact,
as Jeremy Pelzer reports
, at least one more Republican – a prominent ex-lawmaker – is thinking about jumping in what would be the first contested GOP primary for Ohio Supreme Court in a decade. Pelzer has more on the five declared Republican candidates, as well as how an upcoming Ohio GOP endorsement process could shake up the race.
Read more Ohio politics stories
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Cleveland federal building sale: U.S. Rep. Brown demands proof of $149M savings
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LGBTQ advocates warn of consequences from Ohio’s new definition of sexes
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Ohio budget bright spot – a one-year child care fix, but more is needed: editorial
College try:
Ohio college and university diversity, equity and inclusion offices have shuttered in compliance of SB 1, the controversial higher education bill that went into effect late last month. They are passing new policies, creating new webpages and evaluating degrees for potential elimination. U. Toledo has identified degrees to be axed. Kent State estimates compliance with the law could cost up to $2 million a year,
Laura Hancock reports
.
Stopping traffic:
U.S. Sen. Jon Husted has introduced bipartisan legislation that would direct the Department of Labor to train its employees to identify human trafficking and refer suspected crimes to law enforcement,
Eaton writes
. The Columbus-area Republican teamed up with Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin to introduce legislation they call the
Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act
. “We must rescue victims from abuse and stop traffickers from preying on vulnerable teens, children, women and men‚” said Husted.
Gender policy fallout
: Advocates for the LGBTQ community fear a provision in the new state budget signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine that recognizes only two sexes, male and female, as state policy could have far-reaching consequences on the lives of transgender and gender-nonconforming Ohioans,
Mary Frances McGowan reports
. While the full impact is still unknown, the new policy has the potential to be applied to the entirety of the Ohio Revised Code and have ripple effects across state agencies, programs and services. Advocates are encouraging transgender Ohioans who use state services to begin making contingency plans now.
Sanctuary funding fight
: Columbus is suing the Trump administration for putting the city on a “sanctuary jurisdictions” list and threatening to withhold $11 million in federal funding.
The Columbus Dispatch reports
the city never declared itself a sanctuary city, and it uses the funding to help reduce violence. Columbus joins Chicago, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle in this lawsuit.
Full Disclosure
Here are five things we learned from the
May 14, 2025, ethics disclosure form
filed by Republican Sen. Bill Reineke.
On the Move
On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, Vice President JD Vance will visit West Pittston, Pennsylvania, to deliver remarks celebrating the passage of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Birthdays
Dan Baker, Ohio House Democrats’ finance director; Ex-state Rep. Anthony DeVitis; Robert Gray, legislative aide to state Rep. Bill Roemer; Ex-state Rep. John Rogers
Straight from the Source
“480 days until Vivek Ramaswamy carries all 88 counties and becomes Ohio’s next Governor.”
– The Ohio Republican Party, making
an ambitious prediction on X
that GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy will win every Ohio county in the November 2026 general election.
No candidate for Ohio governor has won all 88 counties in a general election since Ohio’s 88th county — Noble County — was created in 1851. The closest anyone has gotten is Republican Jim Rhodes, who won reelection in 1966 over Democratic nominee Fraizer Reams Jr. with every county but Pike County.
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