The precarious situation Midwest Republicans are in in the midst of the UAW strike is highlighted by Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s stance.
On the one hand, Vance has stated that he supports the UAW workers’ struggle for greater wages as a member of the more populist branch of the GOP who represents a state with a sizable union presence, referring to himself as “among the most pro-labor Republicans in the U.S. Senate.” He is also attempting to blame President Joe Biden for the strike and its potential negative effects on the economy.
Gene Sperling, a key Biden adviser, received a letter from Vance today in which he claimed that, now that discussions have broken down, Sperling’s role as the White House’s primary contact to the talks needed “scrutiny.”
Additionally, Vance charged Sperling and the White House with directing the strikes towards blue states like Ohio, implying without providing any proof that it was the administration and not the UAW employees who decided where to strike for political reasons. “Michigan, where the majority of UAW members live and work, is only impacted by one strike. This pattern is hardly coincidence, implying that more attacks in Michigan “could be costly” to Democratic governor and Biden ally Gretchen Whitmer as well as to Biden personally in a state that Trump won in 2016.
Vance replied to Sterling, “I worry that you have taken advantage of the UAW to defend your boss at the expense of American workers.”
A request for comment on Vance’s assertion was not immediately met with a response from a UAW official.