We’re nearing the end of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, so Cincy Jewfolk is publishing interviews with two Jewish Cincinnati elected leaders – State Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, and Congressman Greg Landsman — as they speak about this controversial and tumultuous time. You can read the interview with Isaacsohn here, and Landsman here. These interviews were done in February and March.
“Fix this economy, get prices down” – right now that’s the core focus for Rep. Greg Landsman, who represents Ohio’s 1st congressional district, which includes Cincinnati, in Washington, D.C.
But that focus isn’t being matched by the Trump administration, he said. Instead, Trump is destabilizing global trade with tariffs while his officials fire masses of federal government workers, potentially leading to an economic recession.
Some of those workers live in Ohio, including in Cincinnati. While Ohio Republicans are largely silent, Landsman, a Democrat, has pushed back on the cuts.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a president contribute to unemployment in such a dramatic way,” Landsman said. The administration is “intentionally creating job loss, and they are also intentionally creating higher prices.”
Like many others, Landsman is watching the distance between Trump’s campaign promises to ease costs for Americans, and his current priorities.
In a way, Landsman is flipping the script Republicans long used to criticise Democrats.
“Unfortunately we’re seeing from this new president a focus on [things other than affordability] and I think that’s leading to an enormous amount of frustration, that there’s too much focus for him and others on political retribution, on cultural war stuff,” Landsman said.
But the criticism can seem futile when Congress, controlled by Republicans, is unwilling to reign in the Trump administration – despite many decisions likely being unconstitutional because Trump is claiming power he may not have.
Still, Landsman is keyed in on the nuts and bolts of American governance. He openly called today’s situation a “constitutional crisis.”
Even though Democrats are in the minority, he sees his role as pushing Congress to fulfill its duty as a check on presidential power.
“A Republican controlled Congress, which is expected to oversee and hold the executive branch accountable – they have refused to do that,” Landsman said.
“It’s very important for those of us who aren’t in the majority to be honest with the American people and to hold the majority accountable,” he said. “To stand up, to step in, and to require the executive branch to follow the laws. To release the money, to stop indiscriminately firing people.”
Landsman also sees the need for Congress to step in so that billionaires like Elon Musk, a key figure in Trump’s slash-and-burn reduction of government agencies, don’t profit off of “the backs of working people.”
The Jewish community has an important role to play in holding the government accountable, Landsman said, in line with the historic advocacy American Jews have done.
“Everyone’s going to have to step up, and certainly, the Jewish community has led on a lot of the things that have made this country better,” he said. “And done so in a way that lifts people up outside of the Jewish community, folks that have been marginalized and have struggled.”
In a moment that has some people feeling helpless and demoralized, Landsman is sustained by his sense of responsibility.
He feels his family and the southwest Ohio community are counting on him to work for their needs.
“The history of this country is that we face, oftentimes, what seem like insurmountable challenges, and we ultimately find a way forward,” he said. “We’ll do it again.”
