Catching Our Eye News Roundup, May 20, 2026

Every morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio and around the country and world that is catching our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye, republished here.

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Catching Our Eye

• Income taxes. The Columbus Dispatch’s Jessie Balmert reports, “Vivek Ramaswamy plans to phase out Ohio income taxes.”

Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy plans to phase out Ohio’s income tax over eight to ten years. The plan aims to attract businesses to Ohio, starting with eliminating taxes on capital gains in his first budget.

Critics argue the plan would disproportionately benefit the wealthy and could lead to major cuts in services like education and Medicaid. Ramaswamy has not specified which programs he would cut to offset the estimated $10 billion annual revenue loss.

• Reversing the Voting Rights Act. ABC News reports, “A third of the Congressional Black Caucus could lose seats amid redistricting fight.”

Almost a third of the membership of the Congressional Black Caucus — 19 of its 62 members — are at risk of losing their seats through the 2028 election cycle as Republicans in southern states where they control the legislature move swiftly to redraw congressional maps less than two weeks after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

• Gold rush. Axios reports, “Trumpworld’s presidential gold rush.”

Democrats erupted Monday over President Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for MAGA allies who claim political persecution, vowing to investigate what they called textbook corruption.

Why it matters: With each passing month, Trump is weaving the financial interests of his family, his allies and his political movement more tightly than ever into the fabric of the American presidency.

• Golden ballroom. NOTUS reports, “Trump Is Pressuring John Thune to Fire the Parliamentarian Over Ballroom Funding.”

President Donald Trump pressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune to fire the Senate parliamentarian after she ruled Republicans could not include funding for the president’s ballroom in a budget bill, two sources familiar with the request told NOTUS.