Republican lawmakers in Ohio’s House of Representatives are starting the search for a new speaker of the House after ousted longtime leader Larry Householder was removed from office following federal corruption charges.
Rep. Bob Cupp, a Republican from Lima, Ohio, is expected to be named the new speaker of the House when lawmakers vote on it for the first time on Friday evening. Cupp was previously a candidate in the race to replace Speaker Householder who was ousted last month after he was indicted on federal racketeering charges related to a $60 million bribery scheme.
Cupp will face competition from several other Republicans, including former Ohio Senate President Keith Faber, who served as speaker from 2012-2016. The rest of the Republican lawmakers are expected to nominate their own candidates in the coming days.
The new speaker of the House will have the daunting task of leading the Ohio House through a pandemic, while also handling a recently passed state budget through what is expected to be a difficult economic time in Ohio. He or she will also have to work to repair the massive and deep breach of trust that Householder’s alleged corruption caused among his fellow Republican lawmakers.
