DeWine Says He'll Call Special House Session To Replace Speaker If Necessary

The Statehouse News Bureau | By Karen Kasler,

Karen Kasler

Published July 22, 2020 at 4:57 PM EDT

Gov. Mike DeWine was flanked by Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) when he delivered his first State of the State speech in March 2019.

After Larry Householder’s arrest on racketeering charges, his future as Ohio House Speaker may be cloudy – though he hasn’t said clearly if he will resign. Gov. Mike DeWine has called for Householder to quit, and says he’ll consider taking action if his fellow Republicans in the House do not.

The criminal complaint against Householder includes what DeWine calls a horrible set of events, and DeWine said it’s clear that Householder (R-Glenford) can’t function as speaker.

DeWine said he’s talking to House members and that it’s their obligation to deal with this.

“But if it’s necessary for us to call the legislature into session, give them a specific topic which would be the speakership, I certainly would not hesitate to do that at all," DeWine said.

It would take a two-thirds majority to remove Householder – 52 Republicans and Democrats voted for him as Speaker, and some have said he should step down.

There were similar questions about House protocol in early 2018, when it was revealed that Speaker Cliff Rosenberger was under FBI scrutiny. Rosenberger resigned and while his home and office were raided, no charges were filed.

But DeWine said he does not support a repeal of the nuclear power plant bailout that federal prosecutors say Householder got passed with a $61 million corruption scheme.