Ohio House Speaker Opposes Effort to Impeach Gov. Mike DeWine

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in Bexley, Ohio, on Aug. 6, 2020. (Jay LaPrete/AP Photo)

Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp, a Republican, said he opposed the effort by fellow GOP members to oust Gov. Mike DeWine from office.

“Having now had time to read and consider the draft resolution to impeach the Governor announced by a couple of members, it is clear to me that it is an imprudent attempt to escalate important policy disagreements with the governor into a state constitutional crisis. Even serious policy disagreements do not rise to the level of impeachment under our constitution,” Cupp said in a statement this week, Ohio news outlets reported.

State Rep. John Becker is leading the charge to try to impeach DeWine, joined by Reps. Nino Vitale, Candice Keller, and Paul Zeltwanger. All are Republicans.

Becker, in a statement, said his constituents have been hurting badly because of harsh restrictions put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 flattened, the Governor continues to press his boot on the throat of Ohio’s economy. Due to the unilateral actions of Governor DeWine, a growing number of businesses have failed and continue to fail. Millions of frustrated, exasperated, and suffering Ohioans are relying on the General Assembly to take control and end their government-driven affliction,” he said.

Protesters gather at the Ohio Statehouse to protest the stay-at-home order in Columbus, Ohio, on April 20, 2020. (Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine acknowledges members of the media while entering his residence after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the day in Bexley, Ohio, on Aug. 6, 2020. (Jay LaPrete/AP photo)

Impeaching the governor, who is in his first term, would require a majority, or 50 or more, votes in the Ohio House of Representatives. The Ohio Senate would then need to convict DeWine on at least one article with a two-thirds majority vote.

The articles accuse the governor of violating both the state and U.S. Constitutions by abusing his power through “arbitrarily” forcing certain businesses to close while letting other companies remain open and implementing a statewide mask mandate.

DeWine, a Republican, told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday that he’s focused on dealing with the pandemic.

“My focus as governor is going to continue to be, and my priorities are, to keep people safe, and to get our economy moving faster.” DeWine said.

“If there are others in the legislature that wanted to spend their time on drawing up resolutions and filing articles, look, it’s a free country, if that’s how they want to spend their time. I would just say to them: have at it,” he added.

DeWine encouraged members to work on legislation that would curb shootings and force reforms in police departments.