GOP congressman ‘stands up’ to Trump

WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. David Joyce of Mentor boasts in a TV commercial that he stood up to President Donald Trump to protect Lake Erie, one of the first commercials in the country in which a GOP lawmaker breaks with Trump.

In a 30-second advertisement airing on cable TV and the web, Joyce said he “won the fight” to finance what is known as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, “and when President Trump tried to take it away, I said no again.”

“I’ll do what’s right for northeast Ohio even if means standing up to my own party,” said Joyce. The commercial then declares, “Dave Joyce Stood Up to President Trump.”

The commercial, which has been airing this month, is a sign that some Republicans are trying to distance themselves from Trump, whose national job approval rating dropped to 41 percent in a Quinnipiac University survey released Tuesday.

“If Republicans have any chance of keeping their majority in the House, members are going to have to be free to demonstrate loyalty not to a politician, but to their district,” said Jeff Sadosky, a Republican consultant in Washington.

The past two years, the Trump administration tried to kill all federal dollars for what is known as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. But Joyce joined Republican Sen. Rob Portman, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and other Ohio lawmakers from both parties to restore the $300 million to save the program, which helps keep Lake Erie clean.

Joyce is seeking re-election against Democrat Betsy Radar.