Ohio’s GOP Governor Mike DeWine Faces Impeachment over COVID-19 Restrictions
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who took his oath of office by swearing on nine Bibles, is facing possible impeachment.
According to The Christian Post, Republican members of the Ohio House of Representatives filed 12 Articles of Impeachment against DeWine this week over the governor’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I guess they have a right to go and file anything they want to, but you know, we’re going to stay focused on what we have to,” DeWine said Tuesday in a CBS News interview.
The lawmakers, DeWine said, “want to criticize measures like wearing mask and basic things that we know — absolutely know — work.”
State Rep. John Becker is leading the impeachment effort.
“DeWine’s mismanagement, malfeasance, misfeasance, abuse of power, and other crimes include, but are not limited to, meddling in the conduct of a presidential primary election, arbitrarily closing and placing curfews on certain businesses, while allowing other businesses to remain open,” read the statement in part.
“He weaponized the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to bully and harass businesses and the people; to enforce a statewide mask mandate and other controversial measures of dubious ‘value,’ making Ohio a hostile work environment.”
Becker said the governor also closed places of worship, “forcing citizens to choose between worshiping their God and worshiping at the altar of unbridled government.”
For impeachment to happen, the House Resolution must receive a simple majority in the House of Representatives and a two-thirds majority in the State Senate.
In August, when Becker first mentioned possibly impeaching DeWine, the governor said he wasn’t worried.
“If there are others in the legislature that want to spend their time drawing up resolutions, it’s a free country, that’s how they can spend their time. I say have at it,” he said at the time.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, there have been about 430,000 COVID-19 cases in the state since the pandemic started. More than 6,500 people have died.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Justin Merriman/Stringer
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
