Ohio Lawmaker Calls For Gov. DeWine Impeachment

State Rep. John Becker has drafted 10 articles of impeachment and is asking House colleagues to join him in "ending the madness".

(Columbus, Oh.) – An Ohio lawmaker is leading impeachment efforts against Governor Mike DeWine.

State Representative John Becker (R-Union Township, Clermont County) announced Monday that he has drafted 10 articles of impeachment against DeWine and is asking all 98 of his House colleagues to join him in “ending the madness”.

According to Becker, Governor DeWine has violated the Ohio and United States Constitutions, as well as many sections of the Ohio Revised Code.

Becker has taken issue with how the governor has handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a release Monday, Becker outlined DeWine’s abuses of power, which included meddling in the conduct of a presidential primary and arbitrarily closing certain businesses, while others remained open; instituting a statewide mask mandate; and implementing that requirement as a condition of employment, causing a hostile working environment.

Becker add that the mask mandate extended to congregations at places of worship, forcing citizens to choose between worshipping their God and worshipping “at the altar of unbridled government”.

“Many Ohioans find the mask mandate offensive, degrading, humiliating, and insulting,” said Becker. “There is also evidence that masks can be hazardous to one’s health.  Gov. DeWine doubled down when he expanded the mandate to our school-age children, who are less susceptible to COVID-19.”

Becker went on to say that many Ohioans have been suffering for months, citing unemployment, drug abuse and suicide as reasons to make a change.

Below is Becker's full statement: 

“I kept holding out hope that we wouldn’t get to this place. For months and months, I’ve been hearing the cries of my constituents and of suffering people from every corner of Ohio. They keep screaming, “DO SOMETHING!” They are hurting. Their businesses are declining and depreciating. Their jobs have vanished. The communities that have sustained their lives are collapsing, and becoming shells of what they once were. Living in fear, many have turned to drugs and yes, even suicide, to end or tolerate the unbearable pain inflicted by the governor upon their livelihoods, and the damage caused by his unraveling of the fabric of Ohio. It is long past time to put an end to government gone wild. With deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 flattened, the Governor continues to press his boot on the throat of Ohio’s economy. Due to the unilateral actions of Governor DeWine, a growing number of businesses have failed and continue to fail. Millions of frustrated, exasperated, and suffering Ohioans are relying on the General Assembly to take control and end their government-driven affliction. Gubernatorial recall elections are not permitted in Ohio and removal by complaint is too arduous and impractical for the citizenry to navigate as a process for taking back their government. The only other option is impeachment.”

Articles of impeachment cannot be vetoed and require a majority (50 votes) in the House of Representatives then a two-thirds majority (22 votes) in the Ohio Senate for conviction and removal from office.