Ohio’s Gop Governor Sidesteps Defending Kristi Noem

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine would not immediately endorse his fellow Buckeye, Vice President JD Vance, for his party’s 2028 presidential nomination and would not express confidence in Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem amid reports that ICE could target Springfield.

Asked whether Vance should be the Republican party’s nominee, DeWine said Thursday that “he’s a favorite son of ours, and we’ll see how this whole thing plays out.”

At POLITICO’s 2026 Governors Summit, the Ohio Republican said he has not heard further news following reports that Springfield could face an ICE crackdown on its large population of Haitian immigrants: “We've not been told at all if they're going to come in.” And while DeWine said that state and local law enforcement would work to keep the peace if there was a crackdown, he warned that federal officers also need to perform professionally.

“Frankly, we expect ICE, if they come in, to follow good police protocols. If they do that, we’re going to be able to work our way through it,” he said.

DeWine sidestepped multiple opportunities to express confidence in Noem’s handling of DHS’ stepped up interior enforcement.

“Look, I think that what happened in Minnesota was a signal to a lot of people — they didn’t like what they saw,” DeWine said when asked about Noem.

DeWine did defend Les Wexner, the billionaire businessman and former client of Jeffrey Epstein whose name is blazoned across many central Ohio institutions, including the The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. DeWine said Thursday that no evidence has emerged of his wrongdoing.

“Barring some new information of something that he has done illegal, I don’t see that as a problem,” said DeWine.

The governor, who has frequently tangled with Trump and Vance — including over their baseless attacks of Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield — would not say whether the president has been a “force for good” for the GOP and country.

Instead, he praised Trump’s actions on border enforcement.

“He has done something that has not been done before, and that is he has basically sealed the southern border,” DeWine said. “And you can talk to Democrats, talk to Republicans. I think everybody is happy about that.”