Vice President JD Vance returned to Ohio on July 28 to tout President Donald Trump’s agenda in a congressional district that Republicans hope to flip in 2026.
Vance visited the Metallus Faircrest Steel Plant in suburban Canton as part of the administration’s efforts to promote the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The law eliminated taxes on tips and allocated money to rural hospitals, but it could also threaten food assistance and boot thousands of Ohioans off Medicaid.
“I want the story of this country to be building great things,” Vance told a group of steelworkers. “I want the story of this country, whether you’re a college-educated worker or a non-college-educated worker, I want you to be able to have a dignified job in your community.”
Vance took his sales pitch to Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, which covers Summit County and half of Stark County and is represented by Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes. Sykes is a top target for Republicans in the 2026 midterms, particularly as Ohio lawmakers prepare to redraw the state’s congressional map.
Vance made no secret of the politics behind his visit. During his remarks, he accused Sykes and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo — another vulnerable Democrat — of refusing to work with the White House. Both Sykes and Kaptur voted against the federal legislation.
“Let’s have Democrats and Republicans doing their jobs for a change and not just a Democratic congresswoman who would rather attack the president of the United States than build something great for this community,” Vance said.
A spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Democrats’ campaign arm, called Vance’s visit a “desperate attempt to lie to Ohioans about the devastating impact the big, ugly law will have on working families.”
Sykes said she’s consistently worked across the aisle, and that Vance’s charge that she was uninterested in working with Republicans is a lie, pointing to the numerous bipartisan bills she has introduced. She said she spoke with Vance when he was still a senator, on his way to becoming vice president, about working with the administration for the benefit of the district.
“I just wish (Vance) had come to our district and told the truth,” Sykes said, “and I find it highly disrespectful that he would come lie to my constituents.”
The White House didn’t want Democratic input into Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, said Sykes, which is why they used the reconciliation process to push it through. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said in a meeting with Democrats that reconciliation is a partisan process, Sykes said.
“The reason why they do it is to avoid the filibuster in the Senate,” said Sykes, “They’re not looking for Democratic votes, so the suggestion from the vice president that I somehow did not make an attempt is not true. The entire reason people use the reconciliation process is so they don’t have to work with the minority party. If they thought they could get votes from the Democrats, they would not have done it.”
Kaptur also issued a statement via X, saying she had reached out to Vance “to discuss helping Ohio — he knows that.”
Vance’s trip came as Trump faces renewed scrutiny over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in prison after federal prosecutors charged him with sex trafficking minors. Protesters gathered outside Metallus with a banner accusing Vance of protecting pedophiles.
Trump also came under fire after the Department of Justice said it wouldn’t release Epstein-related files — something his supporters wanted to see happen. Longtime Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell recently met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as Trump tries to manage the fallout, USA TODAY reported.
Trump has also attempted to pin the Epstein controversy on former president Barack Obama — a strategy Vance echoed during his stop in Canton.
“Donald J. Trump, I’m telling you, he’s got nothing to hide,” Vance said. “His administration has got nothing to hide, and that’s why he’s been an advocate for full transparency in this case. He’s going to keep on being an advocate for full transparency.”
(This story was updated with additional information.)
State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@gannett.com or @haleybemiller on X.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Vice President JD Vance blasts Ohio Democrats in visit to tout Big Beautiful Bill
Reporting by Haley BeMiller and Derek Kreider, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
