Youngstown is off for President Donald Trump. Sandusky is on for Gov. John Kasich. And Cliff Rosenberger finds a not-so-subtle way to show there's only one Ohio House speaker at a time. Read more in Ohio Politics Roundup.
President Trump cancels Ohio visit: Plans for Trump to travel to the Youngstown area Thursday for the signing of a coal industry-friendly bill that reverses the Obama administration's "stream protection rule" are off, cleveland.com's Sabrina Eaton reports.
Ohio wedding bells at Mar-a-Lago: Trump might not be coming to the Buckeye State, but the Buckeye State came to him -- kind of -- over the weekend at his private Palm Beach resort.
"On Saturday evening, as the U.S. reacted to a missile firing by North Korea, President Donald Trump stopped by a wedding -- the nuptials of Carl Lindner IV" and Vanessa Falk, the Cincinnati Enquirer's Chrissie Thompson and Jessie Balmert write. Lindner is the son of Carl Lindner III, a prominent Cincinnati businessman and prolific Republican donor.
"I know both families very, very well," Trump said in a toast captured on video and circulated on social media. "They've been members of this club for a long time. They pay me a fortune."
Federal campaign finance documents show that "Lindner's father contributed $100,000 to two Trump super PACs," reports Yashar Ali of New York magazine's Daily Intelligencer.
As Axios' Stef W. Kight puts it: "In one evening, Trump off-handedly dealt with a possible international crisis, while raising both security concerns and conflicts of interest concerns."
Shake off the rust: "Gov. John Kasich wants Ohio to move forward in technology and shake being part of the 'Rust Belt,' he said Monday at Case Western Reserve University," cleveland.com's Emily Bamforth writes. The event at CWRU's think(box) entrepreneurship resource center "was designed to show how the governor's budget proposal would help Ohio use innovation in everything from rush-hour traffic to health services. That includes lower speed limits at high-traffic times and centralizing non-emergency medical transport."
This year's Capital City for a day: Sandusky! Kasich, pending approval of the Ohio House and Senate, will deliver his second-to-last State of the State speech April 4 in the shadows of Cedar Point rollercoasters and the Lake Erie shoreline. It will be the sixth time that Kasich offers his annual report card outside Columbus. My full story on the announcement is here.
No spoilers: "When asked about what he would emphasize in his speech, Kasich said he didn't have a clue yet what that would be," writes the Sandusky Register's Matt Westerhold, whose newspaper splashed news of Kasich's decision across its Monday front page.
Meanwhile, back in real Capital City: There's drama brewing between Ohio House speakers past and present (and maybe future). State Rep. Larry Householder, who held the post a decade ago and is angling to win the gavel back in 2019, wants to resign from two committees. And current Speaker Cliff Rosenberger "is not happy about it," the Columbus Dispatch's Jim Siegel reports. "Such a request is unusual, and Brad Miller, spokesman for Rosenberger, said he thinks Householder so far is the only member to ask to be removed from committee assignments."
Householder spokeswoman Anna Lippincott says the request for a reduced workload has to do with Householder's desire to free up time for more specific policy interests.
The Josh Mandel Machine: The Republican state treasurer, "who continues to assemble an early-developing campaign operation for U.S. Senate in 2018, on Monday announced the names of campaign leaders in all 88 Ohio counties," cleveland.com's Andrew J. Tobias writes.
It's a strong show of force for Mandel, who could face a primary challenge from the more-moderate wing of the GOP, namely U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi of the Columbus area.
Deja vu? Mandel's move also had Ohio Republican operatives recalling Kasich's early lockdown of 88 county leaders in February 2009 -- before he officially launched his first campaign for governor. Kasich ultimately avoided a primary challenge.
Deja vu, Part 2: "Legislation that would make Ohio a 'right-to-work' state is back, but it's unclear how far the controversial measure will go after voters rejected a prior effort to scale back public union bargaining rights," cleveland.com's Jackie Borchardt reports.
"Rep. John Becker, a Clermont County Republican, introduced the latest iteration on Monday with the support of 12 House Republicans. Under House Bill 53, public sector employees could opt out of joining a union or paying dues. Conversely, unions could opt out from representing employees who don't join. ... Kasich, a Republican, has said right to work not on his agenda" and has shown little interest in reopening the wounds of Senate Bill 5, the measure voters overwhelmingly dumped in a 2011 referendum that hurt the governor politically.
Through the revolving door: Former U.S. Rep. Steve Austria, former Ohio Tax Commissioner Tom Zaino and former State Rep. Ron Amstutz (now serving as a Wayne County commissioner) have joined forces at ZHF Consulting, a new lobbying firm, per the Dispatch's Siegel.
Worlds colliding: I joined cleveland.com's Doug Lesmerises and Zack Meisel recently to talk about the increasing overlap between sports and politics, fueled in large part by Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James' criticisms of Trump. Beyond that, should sportswriters like Doug and Zack talk politics? Does anyone want to read my hot sports takes? You can listen to the podcast -- taped before Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer's pro-Trump tweets -- here.
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