Who pays for troopers on Kasich trip?
After we posted details about Gov. John Kasich’s coastto-coast book tour scheduled for the next couple of weeks, a reader emailed to ask who would pick up the tab.
Kasich political spokesman Chris Schrimpf said the book publisher is footing the bill for the tour.
But what about the State Highway Patrol troopers who accompany the governor?
On past trips, such as during Kasich’s 2016 presidential campaign, the administration has acknowledged that Ohio taxpayers pay those costs because the protection is mandated by state law. But officials refused to share details and many of the costs, arguing that releasing the information would be a security risk for the governor.
Now, neither Schrimpf nor the governor’s press secretary, Emmalee Kalmbach, will even say whether the public is paying the bill for security on the book tour, which stretches from New Hampshire and Boston to Seattle and Los Angeles.
“For the safety of the governor, his family and those with him, we simply never discuss security procedures or resources,” Kalmbach said.
Portman tried to stop deportation of mother
Numerous news accounts last week detailed the deportation to Mexico of Maribel Trujillo Diaz, a Cincinnati-area mother of four American-born children.
But few chronicled the intense efforts to stop the deportation by GOP Sen. Rob Portman, whose office contacted President Donald Trump’s administration about two dozen times in two weeks.
Trujillo, 41, who came to the United States in 2002 and has no criminal record, has said she fled Mexico after drug cartels targeted her family.
For example, Portman — working with Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown — asked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review to quickly review her request for an emergency stay. Portman also contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Board of Immigration Appeals on Diaz’s behalf.
“We presented medical evidence ... to those federal authorities, emphasizing the hardship to the children if she was removed, as well as verified rules and procedures with her attorneys,” said Portman spokesman Kevin Smith. “Senator Portman spoke directly with the Archbishop of Cincinnati, as well.”
While Portman is all for securing the border, “he wants a system that provides legal status (but not citizenship) to those who do not have a criminal record and agree to register, pay a fine and back taxes, and learn English, etc.,” Smith said.
Kasich also opposed the deportation.
Resignation could open door for Ohioan
Jessica Wehrman of our Washington bureau noted that the news last week that U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah is retiring sparked, as reporters say, the quick follow-up question: Who would replace him at the helm of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee?
Chaffetz, you might recall, beat out three competitors to take the reins of the committee in 2014. One was Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. The other two were Ohioans from neighboring districts: Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, and Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton. Mica and Turner are no longer on the committee.
A spokesmen for Jordan did not immediately respond to questions about whether he’ll seek the slot again when it opens up. But Capitol Hill publications are already speculating about whether Jordan, a frequent thorn in the side of GOP leaders, might have a chance at winning the gavel. He is third among Republicans in seniority — lagging only former Chairman Darrell Issa of California and John Duncan of Tennessee.