Ohio Republican Lawmakers Prepare to Impeach GOP Governor

TRUNEWS with RICK WILES Three Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives launched a bid to impeach GOP Gov. Mike DeWine Monday, alleging that the coronavirus restrictions he put in place violated Ohioans’ civil liberties. The resolution, written by Reps. John Becker, Nino Vitale and Paul Zeltwanger, includes 10 articles of impeachment, Cleveland.com reported. DeWine “has repeatedly proven his incompetence by providing wildly inaccurate forecasts and repeatedly misleading COVID-19 data,” the resolution said, alleging that his policies were “far worse than the virus itself.” The resolution also accused DeWine of executive overreach, saying that his directing the Ohio Department of Health to issue restrictions aimed at containing the coronavirus was equivalent to “creating new laws.” The articles alleged that DeWine “conspired” with Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to delay the state’s primary, originally scheduled for March 17, and illegally reschedule it for June 2 without having legislative approval. The state legislature passed a bill on April 28 requiring any primary to be conducted by mail due to the virus, Cleveland.com reported. The lawmakers’ resolution was rejected by the far majority of Ohio Republican officials. A spokesman for DeWine told Cleveland.com that the governor “is focused on saving lives during the pandemic… not this,” while the Ohio Republican Party chair called the resolution a “baseless, feeble attempt at creating attention for themselves.” At a press conference Tuesday, DeWine said: “My priorities are to keep people safe and get our economy moving faster. If there are others in the legislature who want to spend their time drawing up and resolutions and filing articles … I’d just say to them, have at it.” Despite the articles of impeachment introduced, DeWine’s actions, including a stay-at-home order and a statewide mask mandate, have been similar to both Republican and Democratic governors in other states. The lawmakers said that the orders violated the civil liberties of Ohioans, claiming that the mask mandate “promotes fear, turns neighbors against neighbors, and contracts the economy by making people fearful to leave their homes.” The articles also allege that “people are more likely to infect themselves with COVID-19” with a mask on, which epidemiologists and public health experts have said is false, according to PolitiFact. The Ohio outlet reported that the impeachment effort is unlikely to be successful. It would need to pass with a simple majority in the state House and then receive a two-thirds majority in the state Senate to remove DeWine. On Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., three Republican senators – Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah, and Ted Cruz of Texas – have written a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn. They’re demanding an explanation for the FDA’s position on hydroxychloroquine as a therapeutic treatment for COVID-19 given growing evidence it is effective: “On May 29th, you emphasized the importance of utilizing every possible treatment option to best address the needs of individual patients – including off-label prescribing of HCQ (hydroxychloroquine) and CQ (chloroquine) to treat or prevent COVID-19. You state that the FDA does not regulate the practice of medicine and that prescribing off-label medicines like HCQ and CQ to treat COVID-19 is based on an individual assessment for the patient. “However, we have heard from licensed physicians that have had a far different experience with the FDA’s approach. The physicians are concerned about the FDA’s decision to revoke the March 28th EUA (emergency use authorization) for HCQ and CQ for treatment of COVID-19. They have described the clear differences between inpatient and outpatient treatments and how this decision has affected their ability to treat patients in different settings. The physicians have warned that the FDA’s EUA revocation of HCQ and CQ has led to misinformation and confusion across the country. Some states have restricted the ability of physicians to write and pharmacies to fill HCQ and CQ prescriptions under the longstanding and well-established authority to prescribe FDA approved drugs off-label with a patient’s informed consent and according to their clinical judgment. “The licensed physicians we have heard from have stressed the potential benefits of early outpatient treatment of HCQ for individuals infected with COVID-19. These physicians have pointed to the low mortality rates in other countries – like India, Turkey, South Korea, and Morocco – that are using HCQ widely on outpatient COVID-19 populations before the disease progresses to more lethal stages of the virus that require hospitalization. However, the physicians are concerned that the FDA’s actions regarding HCQ may be directly costing lives by limiting outpatient access to this potentially beneficial treatment. Physicians taking care of patients in our communities across the country must be free to make the best medical and treatment decisions for their patients, use their ‘off label’ prescription rights, and have full access to FDA approved drugs.” The senators demand a number of documents and data related to the FDA’s decision-making process. They also want to see evidence the FDA has attempted to clarify that it does not regulate the sale or prohibit the sale of prescription medications. Finally, they also want a list of COVID-19 treatments that are being used around the world and their approval status with the FDA. The letter was written last week and flew under the radar until today. Tuesday was the deadline the senators gave Hahn in order to respond to their request for information. (The Daily Caller contributed to this report) (Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force) www.trunews.com