Sen. Andrew Brenner: ‘We need to make sure every single nickel is accountable to the taxpayers’
State Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, appeared on the recent episode of the Ohio Senate Republicans’ podcast to discuss preventing childcare fraud in Ohio, cutting funding for anti-ICE sanctuary cities, and the negative consequences of abolishing property taxes.
According to the lawmaker, the Minnesota scandal has raised alarm among Ohio lawmakers, even though the Buckeye State uses a different funding model.
“It appears to be massive money laundering going on in Minnesota, where their system is different than here in Ohio,” he said, adding that he and his colleagues talked with Gov. Mike DeWine’s office officials to make sure that DeWine is doing something to prevent fraud in the state.
Brenner also praised a whistleblower case involving the Somali Education Resource Center.
“It looks like millions of dollars probably need to be clawed back, but they’re probably not going to be able to be because they were probably laundered,” he said.
Brenner then argued that the state must strengthen oversight without violating Ohioans’ privacy.
“We need to make sure every single nickel is accountable to the taxpayers and that it is getting from point A to B and is being used on what it’s supposed to be,” he said.
After that, Brenner talked about immigration enforcement and opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, claiming that the anti-ICE protesters in Ohio and Minnesota are funded by left-wing multibillionaires, like George Soros, and suggesting that the big cities in Ohio should be defunded for opposing ICE by implementing sanctuary city policies.
“Many of our major cities are run by Democrats, and they’re trying to run like sanctuary cities, and they’re trying to do some things there to try to stop ICE,” he said, adding that the state should withhold funds from jurisdictions that do not cooperate with law enforcement.
Brenner also rejected comparisons of ICE agents to Nazis.
“Nobody’s being sent to a concentration camp. They’re going through a due process. They’re going to be then deported to their country of origin,” he said. “What Trump’s doing is he’s actually enforcing the law.”
The lawmaker also pointed out that, while new property tax reforms should be introduced, abolishing property taxes is a bad idea because it would negatively affect Ohio communities, stripping funding from the state’s public schools and libraries, for example.
Brenner also praised Ohio Republican 2026 gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s selection of Senate President Rob McColley as his lieutenant governor running mate.
“He’s a straight shooter with upper management written all over him,” he said. “He’s a conservative. He’s solid. He’s there.”
Brenner added that McColley’s ability to work across the General Assembly makes him a strategic choice because Ramaswamy would need someone “who will be willing to work with the General Assembly” if he wants “to move an agenda.”
