Ohio’s military police, along with hundreds of troops from a growing number Republican-controlled states, will be tasked with reinforcing the D.C. National Guard after President Donald Trump mobilized some 800 troops in D.C., which he claims “has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.”
A spokesperson for the governor’s office said the state expects Ohio troops to be “protecting federal buildings as well as doing visible patrols.” The initial mission is for 30 days.
Critics in Ohio’s capital on Wednesday raised concerns with the precedent created by both Trump’s call to action and DeWine’s decision to lend troops, calling what’s happening in D.C. “bogus” and “manufactured.”
Also happening in southwest Ohio:
• Medicaid and health centers: National organizations that advocate for community health centers say federal changes to Medicaid will see patients losing their insurance coverage, and they expect an uptick in uninsured patients seeking care at their local centers. One group estimates that at least 1,800 community health centers nationwide could close due to the federal budget reconciliation legislation. Dayton’s federally qualified health center said the major changes to Medicaid won’t truly impact health centers until 2027. But anxiety exists about patients falling behind on needed health care due to confusion about their benefits.
• Infant, maternal mortality: Maternal and infant death rates in Montgomery County remain high compared to state and national averages, and a local program that’s geared toward preventing infant deaths and supporting the wellness of mothers could lose its federal funding next year. There are 115 Healthy Start projects administered throughout the nation — five of those are in Ohio, with Dayton’s Healthy Start program running through Five Rivers Health Centers.
• Food banks: Montgomery County officials say their $1 million award to Foodbank Inc. is coming at a time when local food pantries are reporting high and consistent need in the communities they serve. County leaders opted to provide the funding to the food bank instead of a fall round of funding for an economic development program, citing state and federal budget uncertainty.
• Congressmen’s income: The area’s federal lawmakers span the spectrum of congressional wealth, ranging from tip-top one percenter to decidedly middle class, a Dayton Daily News analysis of new financial disclosures found. This ranges from Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, who made what’s likely a nine-figure fortune in the auto dealership business that he parlayed into vast land and investment holdings, to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, whose modest family assets are concentrated in retirement funds and Park National Bank checking and savings accounts.
Other federal updates:
• Ukraine: Trump said he’s begun arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a pathway to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Trump said that the U.S. would back European security guarantees but didn’t commit U.S. troops to a collective effort to prevent Moscow from reinvading its neighbor.
• Epstein: First lady Melania Trump demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and threatened to sue if he does not. A federal judge this week, too, denied the government’s request to unseal grand jury testimony about Epstein. The ruling came after the judge presiding over the case against convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell also turned down the government’s request. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her conviction on sex trafficking charges for helping Epstein sexually abuse girls and young women.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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