U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) claims that his predecessor left him with “a mess.”
“By the way,” Mr. Moreno said of former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, “he never called me, never conceded, closed all of his offices, closed all of his constituent cases, and left a total mess for us to clean up.”
Mr. Moreno went to Tuscarawas County on Saturday to support Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Mr. Moreno said it was his first opportunity to attend a public event in Ohio since being sworn in in January.
In November, Mr. Moreno defeated Mr. Brown, a long-time senator, in one of the most expensive Senate races in US history. Mr. Moreno’s remarks come during a period of uncertainty about Mr. Brown’s political future.
Ohioans will vote for a governor and a senator next year, and Mr. Brown has not ruled out either race, but he has also not confirmed his candidacy for either.
On Monday, Mr. Brown announced his next venture: the Dignity of Work Institute, an economic think tank that will study the current state of the American economy and influence federal policy changes.
“I’m not here to get involved in political attacks, period,” Mr. Brown said Monday in response to Mr. Moreno’s remarks. “I think if you talk to people around Ohio for the last 15 years, you will hear them say that they had never seen the quality of constituent services that we had in the way we did outreach.”
Mr. Moreno’s remarks come at a time when Ohio senators, like senators across the country, are receiving an influx of constituent communications.
In the last month, constituents have expressed dissatisfaction with Ohio senators’ full voicemail inboxes and delayed responses. A spokesman for Mr. Moreno’s office stated that Mr. Brown closing his constituent cases is unrelated to the increase in calls to his office.
Not every call or email that a congressman’s office receives is considered casework. According to the Congressional Research Service, casework frequently refers to constituent requests for assistance from federal agencies; however, congressional offices may have different definitions of what constitutes casework. The primary recipients of casework services are typically constituents in a senator’s state.
Liaison activities between the federal government and local governments and businesses concerned about the consequences of federal legislation may be considered casework by congressional offices. Other examples include assisting communities and nonprofit organizations in their efforts to obtain grants or other assistance.
Carrie Hartman, a Democrat and Toledo City Council president, attended the National League of Cities conference in Washington earlier this month. Attendees can use the conference portal to schedule meetings with their legislators.
Ms. Hartman stated that she had requested to meet with both senators and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo). She stated that she received no confirmation of the meeting with the senators until the council’s lobbyist contacted their offices.
“Our meeting was on Tuesday in the morning, and we found out about it Monday afternoon,” she said. “We were told we had a meeting with Senator Jon Husted (R., Ohio) at 10 a.m. It was a meet-and-greet, and then we were told we would be meeting with Moreno’s staff at 11 a.m.
Ms. Hartman stated that Mr. Moreno attended the meeting, which included councilmen from Cleveland, Cincinnati, and other Ohio cities.
Ms. Hartman stated that the Toledo representatives had only a few minutes to express their concerns to Mr. Husted during the meet-and-greet. Mr. Husted’s office did not immediately respond to the Blade’s request for comment.
Ms. Hartman stated that her primary concern was whether the city would receive the federal funding awarded under previous presidential administrations. Many federal grants have been frozen by the Trump administration as part of its efforts to reduce waste and government spending.
Ms. Hartman stated that Ms. Kaptur responded quickly with a request for a meeting and thoroughly discussed what she could do to assist.
“It was so easy to get a meeting with her, and it was in her office,” Ms. Hartman said. “And we sat down at a real table with the congresswoman and her staff.” She even gave us water, and we talked extensively about Toledo and what she could do to assist us.”
Ms. Hartman attended the National League of Cities conference last year and stated that she met with Mr. Brown and his staff in a conference room. Last year, she did not meet with former Ohio Senator and current Vice President JD Vance, but his staff did.
Ms. Hartman stated that last year’s meetings were very productive. The city was able to secure a grant to assist in the establishment of a Coast Guard training center in Toledo, though funding for the project is still uncertain. According to Ms. Hartman, Mr. Brown was also able to allocate funds for city projects.
Mr. Moreno’s website lists offices in Washington, Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Mr. Husted’s website says he has an office in Washington. Unlike Mr. Moreno, Mr. Husted was appointed to the Senate in January to fill the vacancy left by Mr. Vance.
Both senators’ websites include phone numbers for each office, as well as contact forms for each senator.
