Republicans are targeting U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan's seat in 2018. Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he's against sanctuary cities. He also said he would support Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor if she ran for Ohio governor.

Read more in today's Ohio Politics Roundup.

Hit list:  The Republican Party is targeting Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan's seat in 2018. Ryan represents Niles in Trumbull County, which turned out for President Donald Trump last fall, cleveland.com reporter Sabrina Eaton writes.

"You might think Ohio Republicans would be satisfied with a 3-1 majority in U.S. House of Representatives seats after a partisan redistricting process in 2011 helped them stack the deck against Democrats," Eaton writes. "But Columbus-area Republican Rep. Steve Stivers, the newly elected chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is targeting the Niles-area district of Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan as one of 36 seats nationally that could switch from blue to red."

"The success of our government depends on Republicans maintaining a strong majority in the House," said a statement from Stivers. "Our strategy will allow us to be competitive in races throughout the country and achieve our overall goal of keeping Republicans in control of the House."

A spokesman for Ryan pledged that he would "continue to be an independent voice for his district," no matter how much money Republicans spend against him.

Rare event: Ohio Gov. John Kasich agrees with President Donald Trump on one thing: sanctuary cities. Kasich came out against sanctuary cities on Wednesday, reports Toledo Blade Columbus Bureau Chief Jim Provance. The term sanctuary city refers to local governments that choose not to help the federal government enforce immigration law.

"I think the President is right on this," Kasich told the Ohio Newspaper Association. "It think this is a bad, bad thing. When people break the law, they need to be held accountable for something like coming here illegally."

Cincinnati recently declared itself a sanctuary city.

More news: Kasich also said at the same event that he would support Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor if she runs for Ohio governor in 2018, according to the Associated Press.

Photos for food stamps: "Many Ohioans receiving food stamps would have their photos on the program's electronic benefit transfer cards under legislation backed by Ohio House and Senate Republicans," cleveland.com reporter Jackie Borchardt writes. "The legislation, which has not yet been introduced in the General Assembly, would exempt adults who have a disability, are age 60 or older, are a victim of domestic violence or have religious exemptions to being photographed."

The Democrats look for a leader: Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper on Tuesday endorsed former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez's bid to become the Democratic National Committee chairman, cleveland.com reporter Henry J. Gomez writes.

"To win states like Ohio, Democrats must have a leader who can rebuild our party, reach out to our big tent and refocus our message on creating real economic opportunity for Americans in rural counties, small cities and our urban centers," Pepper said in his endorsement.

"Perez is one of seven contenders for the DNC chairmanship," Gomez writes. "Pepper said he chose Perez from a 'a strong group of candidates' and plans to lobby support among other state party chairs and DNC members. But Pepper's backing is not an official endorsement by the Ohio Democratic Party. He is one of 11 Buckeye State activists who will cast a vote at the DNC meeting this month in Atlanta."

Deciphering Trump's tweets: "President Donald Trump's aggressive use of Twitter to criticize federal judges is unprecedented. And troubling, legal experts say," cleveland.com reporter Stephen Koff writes. "Or is it wickedly smart, some wonder?"

Here's one argument that legal scholars are throwing around:

"Trump signed an executive order barring visas from people in seven Muslim-majority countries and now knows it was botched, not only in the way it was rolled out -- with even current visa holders including doctors kept away -- but also in its very drafting. He knows he stands to lose in court challenges now at the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals or eventually at the Supreme Court," Koff writes. "By openly and hostilely attacking judges, he helps tilt the outcome. So, if in the future a foreign-born terrorist attacks, Trump can say with his customary certainty that he tried -- blame the judges."

A senator is silenced: U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, was politely told to sit down and be quiet on Tuesday after she attempted to read a letter criticizing Trump's pick for Attorney General, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, on the floor of the Senate, New York Times reporter Matt Flegenheimer reported. The letter, written by civil rights icon Coretta Scott King in 1986, accused Alabama's Sessions of using his power as a federal prosecutor to intimidate elderly black voters.

House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, invoked a rare rule that prevents senators from speaking ill of each other on the floor.

"She was warned," McConnell said of Warren. "She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted."

The social media outrage was swift. Take a look at some of the reaction in my report.

The rule McConnell used to silence Warren is arcane and rarely used, cleveland.com reporter Andrew J. Tobias writes. He found only one example of it in the last 50 years. Check out his report on its backstory. And be sure to watch the video by cleveland.com's Sara Dorn.

"The rule's origins are in a fistfight that erupted in February 1902 on the Senate floor between two Democratic senators from South Carolina, according to the U.S. Senate Historical Office," Tobias writes.

Sen. Sherrod Brown's stand: Warren was not able to read Coretta Scott King's 1986 letter in full criticizing Sessions, but Brown later did.

"It's a sad day for democracy when the words of Coretta Scott King are not allowed on the floor of the U.S. Senate," Brown said in a news release. "If we allow open, honest debate to be silenced, we are not doing our jobs."

A Kennedy runs for office:  Chris Kennedy -- who helped develop Cleveland's medical mart, the Global Center for Health Innovation -- plans to run for Illinois governor, the Associated Press reports.

"I moved to Illinois thirty years ago with an enthusiasm for business and a commitment to serve. Today, I am announcing my run for Governor because I love Illinois, but we have never been in worse shape," Kennedy said. said. "We don't need incremental improvement -- we need fundamental change in state government."

Kennedy, 53, is the son of the late Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy, and the nephew of the late President John Kennedy.

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