Rotunda rumblings
60% Solution? The latest Republican plan to curb Ohio’s rising property taxes is to raise the threshold for passing local levies from a simple majority of 50% plus one vote to 60%. Anna Staver reports that House Bill 355 is the latest legislation from Ashtabula County’s Rep. Dave Thomas. He says taxes impact everyone, so the threshold should be higher. But schools and municipalities say it’s a violation of one person, one vote.
Wish lists: As the U.S. Senate crafts its version of the tax cut and spending package that President Donald Trump calls the “big, beautiful” bill, Ohio’s U.S. Senators are scrambling to ensure it includes their priorities, Sabrina Eaton writes. For Sen. Jon Husted, a Columbus-area Republican, that means seeking more spending cuts and enhanced work requirements for Medicaid recipients. For Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Westlake Republican who formerly owned a chain of luxury car dealerships, that means including a half-dozen provisions related to cars and trucks.
Read more Ohio politics stories
Nomination advances: The U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved Ohio Solicitor General T. Elliot Gaiser’s nomination to head the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, Eaton writes. His nomination was supported by all 12 of the committee’s Republicans and opposed by its 10 Democrats. The office the Cleveland native would head as an Assistant Attorney General provides legal advice to the president and all executive branch agencies, drafts the Attorney General’s legal opinions and provides its own written opinions and advice in response to executive branch requests. President Donald Trump announced his nomination in April.
Intelligent students: Ohio State University announced that incoming freshmen this fall will take artificial intelligence workshops as part of their core requirements. By 2029, the first class will graduate with “fluency” with how AI applications will work in their major fields and the responsibilities that come with that, Laura Hancock reports.
Green light on Greenland? Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday refused to take up U.S. Rep. Mike Turner’s offer to clarify U.S. intentions in Greenland at a House Armed Services Committee hearing, offering a cryptic response when the Dayton Republican asked him: ““You are not confirming in your testimony today that at the Pentagon, there are plans for invading or taking by force Greenland, correct? Because I sure as hell hope that that is not your testimony.” Hegseth said the Pentagon “has plans for any number of contingencies” and looks forward to “working with Greenland to ensure that it is secured from any potential threats.”
Protest arrests: Protesters occupied the U.S. Capitol offices of Republican U.S Senators Jon Husted of Ohio, Jim Justice of West Virginia, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on Wednesday, demanding they reject Republican-led efforts to cut Medicaid, WJLA.com reports. The non-violent protest concluded with Capitol Police arresting nine demonstrators, who were charged with DC 22-1307: Crowding, Obstructing, & Incommoding.
The other JD Vance: A man named James Donald Vance, Jr., was arraigned Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan after he allegedly threatened to kill Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump, mlive writes. “If tRump, Vance, or Musk ever come to my city again, they will leave it in a body bag,” the suspect allegedly wrote on the social media platform Bluesky. He has been charged with one count of threatening to kill and injure the president and vice president, a felony that is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Buckeye Brain Tease
Question: Ohio cities have passed some strange laws over the years. Which city made it illegal to hunt mice without a license?
Email your response to capitolletter@cleveland.com. The first correct respondent will be mentioned in next week’s newsletter.
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s trivia question: This year marks the 75th anniversary of two towns combining to form the city of Fairborn, Ohio. What were the two towns called?
Answer: Fairfield and Osborn
Capitol Letter reader Michael Newkirk was the first to email with the correct response.
On the Move
U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, a Warrensville Heights Democrat, filed a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to recognize June as Black Music Month.
Birthdays
Friday, June 13: John M. Pattison, Ohio’s 43rd governor (1847-1906)
Saturday, June 14: Ex-U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs
Sunday, June 15: no birthdays
Straight from the Source
“About to see Les Miserables with POTUS at the Kennedy Center.
Me to Usha: so what’s this about? A barber who kills people?
Usha; [hysterical laughter]”
--Vice President JD Vance posted this message on X Thursday evening, indicating he didn’t know the plot to the play he was about to see. Les Miserables is musical about people rising up against the monarchy in 19th-century France.
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