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Columbus, Ohio- This afternoon, Governor Mike DeWine delivered his annual State of the State address. Here’s what you didn’t hear: Ohio’s working families have been left behind while billionaires in the federal government threaten investments in our state.

DeWine bragged about Intel’s nearly $8 billion investment in Central Ohio that is expected to create as many as 10,000 jobs but he didn’t directly address the danger that Donald Trump and Elon Musk pose to the project. Ohio isn’t immune to the chaos and confusion in the federal government, and it weighs heavily on the state of the state.

As Ohioans face a federal government that already wants to take away their Medicaid access, the DeWine-Tressel administration is asking the federal government to allow them to impose work requirements, ripping healthcare away up to 61,000 Ohioans. 700,000 more Ohioans could lose access to Medicaid due to Republican state and federal budgeting.

Of course, DeWine didn’t mention that after a federal judge ordered his administration to pay more than $900 million in federal pandemic funds owed to Ohioans, he asked Attorney General Dave Yost to appeal the ruling. 

“Ohio families are struggling to make ends meet, and instead their state leadership is focused on making it harder to access healthcare and literally going to court to prevent Ohioans from getting payments owed to them,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ohioans deserve better from the DeWine-Tressel administration” 

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Columbus, Ohio– Last week, NBC 4 reported on Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramswamy’s little-known nonprofit that aims to educate the public about the “truth” on a long list of topics and promote extreme conspiracy theories. 

Beyond the laundry list on his website, he also suggested that the “truth” behind 9/11 was still unknown and said conspiracy theories about government involvement on 9/11 were “legitimate” questions to ask. He even doubled down on his remarks during an event at Ground Zero, then went on to claim he was misquoted. A full tape of his interview would later prove he was not.

Despite a history of engaging with extreme conspiracy theories, Ramaswamy has dodged the topic on the campaign trail in the gubernatorial race. He doesn’t want Ohioans to know instead of actually helping them, he’d rather engage with extremists and call them “lazy” 

READ more about Vivek Ramaswamy’s history of extreme conspiracy theories that he doesn’t mention on the campaign trail:

NBC4: Vivek Ramaswamy’s nonprofit is barely known, but it makes big claims

NBC News: Vivek Ramaswamy suggests ‘the truth’ about 9/11 is still unknown

NBC News: Vivek Ramaswamy at Ground Zero defends his controversial 9/11 comments

CNN: Fact check: Audio debunks Vivek Ramaswamy’s false claim that he was misquoted about 9/11

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Columbus, Ohio- Yesterday, during Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress, he praised unelected billionaires while showing exactly how he isn’t working for Ohio. He called the bipartisan CHIPS Act, which largely funded Central Ohio’s planned Intel plant, a “horrible, horrible thing” and called on Congress to “get rid” of the legislation entirely.

The CHIPS Act drove Intel’s multibillion dollar investment in Central Ohio and the project is estimated to receive over one billion dollars directly from the legislation. Intel has estimated the project will create over 3000 permanent jobs, 7000 construction jobs, and the potential for as many 10,000 local, long-term jobs in related fields. Now, Donald Trump wants to take that all away and Ohio’s Senators are nowhere to be seen.

“Last night, Donald Trump called legislation that creates thousands of jobs and invested billions in our state a “horrible, horrible thing,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “While Donald Trump threatens our jobs, Elon Musk and fellow billionaires are only getting richer and our senators are too weak to stand up for us. Ohio Democrats will always stand up to billionaires who would sacrifice Ohio’s economy for their personal gain.”

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Columbus, Ohio- This evening, Donald Trump will give a joint address to Congress and undoubtedly attempt to spin the chaos, confusion, and cruelty of the past six weeks. The truth is his administration only works for billionaires and special interests, while Ohioans have been left behind.

Instead of bringing costs down, Donald Trump raised prices for Ohio families at the grocery store, the gas pump and more.

• Trump’s tax on Ohio families will raise prices at the grocery store on a wide variety of products. Some of the top products imported from Canada include vegetable oil, beef products, and cookies. The United States gets many fruits and vegetables from Mexico, as well as beer and tequila.
• Ohioans also expect a higher bill the next time they fill up at the pump. The vast majority of gasoline the United States imports comes from Mexico and Canada. Ohio’s proximity to Canada means Ohioans may be disproportionately affected by Trump’s new tax on working families.

Millions of Ohio families are at risk of losing critical healthcare access so Donald Trump and Elon Musk can fund tax handouts for fellow billionaires.

• Over 771,000 Ohioans are at risk of losing access to Medicaid if Republicans in the state and federal government don’t include enough funding in their budget.
• Layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs are forcing Ohio veterans to wait longer for critical appointments or even skip them entirely. Employees cut include providers of mental health services, leading to cancelled appointments and doubts about where care will come from.

Thousands of Ohio public servants have lost their jobs, with more likely on the way. 

• The Trump administration directed federal agencies in a memo to prepare for more mass layoffs of federal workers.  Ohio is home to 49,450 federal civilian employees, and many are now facing a potential job loss.
• Among those cut by Elon Musk include staff at Ohio VA offices. While Musk gets richer, Ohio veterans will pay the price.

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Columbus, Ohio- After a temporary pause, today Donald Trump reinstated tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Senators Husted and Moreno have previously expressed support for the tariffs while ignoring the working families in Ohio that will disproportionately pay the price.

Across the state, Ohioans should expect to pay more at the pump, as tariffs on Canadian gas pushes prices sky high. Ohio relies on Canada for critical construction materials- making building and buying a home even more difficult. Finally, after already paying more on their energy bills that are already higher than they should be due to Republican corruption at the state level, Ohioans can expect their energy bills to increase again.

Ohio’s proximity to Canada means the state’s economy will disproportionately feel the effects of these tariffs. Ohio imports over $17 billion in goods and services from Canada annually. Meanwhile,  Ohio sells more goods to Canada than the next eight largest foreign markets combined. Now, Donald Trump wants to take that all away to cut taxes for his fellow billionaires, and Ohio’s Senators are nowhere to be found.

“Ohio will be uniquely affected by Donald Trump’s tax on working families,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Normally, that’s when one of our senators would advocate for his constituents, but instead Husted & Moreno continue to hide from their constituents while rubber stamping policies they know will harm our state.”

READ MORE about how Ohioans will be disproportionally affected by Donald Trump’s tax on working families:

The Columbus Dispatch:What would a trade war with Canada mean for Ohio?

WBNS: Trump’s proposed tariffs could result in higher prices for Ohio consumers,

CBS News: Trump tariffs on Canada and Mexico could drive up the cost of these products, 

WTOL: Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China cause concern in Toledo