Dayton Reporter

Ohio Sec. of State Frank LaRose (R), who also is running for U.S. Senate, said a U.S. Senate border bill released yesterday is a "Trojan horse" that leaves the border "wide open."

“I saw this mess firsthand in the U.S. Army when I was deployed to the border," LaRose told Dayton Reporter. "The crisis has turned into an invasion and the Democrats' so-called 'border security' bill is really just mass-amnesty that leaves our border wide open."

"Republicans must reject this Trojan horse of a bill and send a message that there is no room to compromise when it comes to protecting our country from an invasion," said LaRose. 

The proposed bill language, released today by U.S. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), proposes $60 million in military aid for Ukraine, and only $14 billion for U.S. border security. It also proposes $14 billion in military aid to Israel.

The military aid for Ukraine would total more than the "U.S. Marine Corps budget in FY23," U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) posted on X. 

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) posted on X that he "cannot imagine why any Republican supports this atrocious proposal."

The bill is "dead on arrival" in the House, said U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday. 

“I’ve seen enough,” Johnson posted on X. “This bill is even worse than we expected, and won’t come close to ending the border catastrophe the President has created.” 

LaRose released his own border security plan last month that includes sending three U.S. military divisions to the U.S.-Mexico border.

He said the U.S. government should label Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations and re-institute a travel ban “from nations who have no security apparatus or ability to verify the background of the travelers.” He also said there should be “no amnesty for those who come illegally” and deportation for those illegal aliens who came into he U.S. since the Biden Administration came to office.

LaRose is running in Ohio’s March 19, 2024 Republican primary for U.S. Senate. The winner will challenge Democrat Sherrod Brown, who is running for his fourth term.

His opponents are State Sen. Matt Dolan (R-Chardon) and former auto dealer Bernie Moreno of Westlake.

LaRose represented Summit County in the Ohio State Senate (2011-2018) before being elected Ohio Secretary of State in 2019. He previously served in the U.S. Army, where he was a member of U.S. Special Forces as a Green Beret, and earned a B.S. from the Ohio State University.

An Akron native, LaRose, 44, lives in Columbus with his wife and three daughters.