WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Capitol Hill was attacked by supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Ohio lawmakers were ordered to hide in their offices or other secure locations to stay safe.
“I was fine, I was locked in my office,” Rep. Tim Ryan (D, 13th Congressional District) said in a virtual interview Thursday. “But anytime you get a text that says lock your door, stay away from the windows and go find where the gas masks are, you’re on guard.”
“I could actually see when they broke through the first barriers and the police running down to try to stop them, to when they just totally enveloped the entire west front of the Capitol,” Rep. Bob Latta (R, 5th Congressional District) said in an interview on the Hill on Thursday.
The violent protest and riot led to bipartisan condemnation from Ohio’s members of Congress.
Rep. Warren Davidson (R, 8th Congressional District) said in a statement, “there is no excuse.”
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D, 9th Congressional District) called it “an assault on democracy.”
Ryan, who chairs the subcommittee that funds U.S. Capitol Police, said the House Appropriations Committee will review the law enforcement response and hold hearings after a woman was shot and killed by an officer, three more people died from medical emergencies during the chaos, and more than 50 officers were injured.
“I’m livid about the whole thing because I had conversations with the Sergeant at Arms and the chief of the Capitol Police — assurances that every precaution was being taken, that we had enough manpower, that we were going to keep people completely away from the Capitol,” Ryan said.
President Trump’s encouragement of the initial demonstration and failure to condemn the violence outright has led at least four Ohio Democrats — Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ryan, Kaptur and Rep. Joyce Beatty (D, 3rd Congressional District) — to call for the 25th Amendment to be invoked to remove Trump from office.
“Just put Mike Pence in and let’s have a peaceful transition of power without all the violence and lawlessness and fear that were injected yesterday into the Capitol,” Ryan said.
In a statement, Brown said, “We must hold the president accountable for inciting this attack on our country.”
Kaptur, the longest serving woman in House history, said in her own statement that “Trump presents a clear and present danger to the safety and security of this country.”
And Beatty, who is the new chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, told me in a phone interview on Thursday that the influential group is backing removal too.
“He has placed this nation and people in harm’s way. I think he is dangerous,” Beatty said.
Ohio Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (R, 15th Congressional District) broke with many in his party when he told me on Thursday that he was “disappointed” with Trump and wouldn’t be against cabinet members removing him.
“If the cabinet decided to do that, I would not oppose it, I will tell you,” Stivers said in a Skype interview.
New:
— Taylor Popielarz (@TaylorPopielarz) January 7, 2021
Ohio Republican @RepSteveStivers tells me, “If the cabinet decided to [invoke 25th Amendment], I would not oppose it, I will tell you.”
Stivers said he "was disappointed at the president...he helped create the situation."
Said impeachment by Jan. 20 isn't realistic. pic.twitter.com/JpTxrM6K0E
All of this was unfolding as Congress set out to count the electoral votes and certify Joe Biden’s win.
Though the numbers always indicated a majority of lawmakers would vote to certify, five Ohio Republican U.S. House members did end up objecting, even after the violence on Capitol Hill.
Representatives Jim Jordan (R, 4th Congressional District), Bill Johnson (R, 6th Congressional District), Bob Gibbs (R, 7th Congressional District) and Warren Davidson (R, 8th Congressional District) objected to Arizona’s electoral votes.
Rep. Steve Chabot (R, 1st Congressional District) joined them in objecting to Pennsylvania’s.
They insisted, along with dozens of other Republicans, that there was widespread fraud and unconstitutional rule-making during the election, though bipartisan experts have said that’s not true.
“We’re the final check and balance. The authority rests with us,” Jordan said on the House floor Wednesday.
But more Ohio Republicans disagreed with Jordan and the group than agreed.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) voted to certify.
“My oath to the Constitution and my reverence for our Democratic principles make it easy for me to confirm these state certifications,” Portman said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
Rep. Bob Latta (R, 5th Congressional District) did the same.
“You open those ballots, it doesn’t say you have any leeway, that you accept what the states have done, you accept the will of the people, and you go forward,” Latta said Thursday.
All 18 Ohio lawmakers said they and their staffers were safe after Wednesday’s violence.
Congress has left D.C. and will return to session on January 20, which is Inauguration Day.
To read each statement released by Ohio’s members of Congress, click on their name below: