Ohio U.S. Sen. Rob Portman leaves Congress at the end of this month with his dignity intact and a record of important work.
Mr. Portman came up through the ranks of a different era for Republicans, when it wasn’t all sharp elbows. A different mentality governs the party now.
The party is at war with the progressive culture embraced by the Democratic Party over sexual and gender issues, race and reparations, immigration, climate, energy, and “big tech” censorship — none of it particularly Mr. Portman’s wheelhouse.
Mr. Portman never warmed up to former President Donald Trump. His support for Mr. Trump in the 2016 election, tepid at best, was withdrawn after the leaking of an audio tape in which Mr. Trump boasted about the liberties that he, as a celebrity, could take with women. Republicans who openly disagreed with President Trump found themselves on the outs, and one of them was Mr. Portman.
When it came to recognizing same-sex marriage, Mr. Portman parted with many of his fellow conservatives.
His longtime commitment to free-trade was old Republican policy, but it was reversed by Mr. Trump — and rightly so.
Free trade with Mexico and China hurt Ohio and undermined the state’s manufacturing economy. Mr. Portman saw the light on free trade and pulled his support of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2016, and as a senator he has been a fighter for fair trade enforcement against China.
Despite backing off his support of Mr. Trump in 2016, he defended the then-president over Mr. Trump’s attempt to get Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and he co-chaired the Trump 2020 re-election campaign in Ohio.
But at the end of Mr. Trump’s term, Mr. Portman again parted company with the MAGA wing of the party, courageously refusing to endorse the lie that the election had been stolen. That likely ensured he would get a Trump-backed primary opponent if he ran for re-election.
Rather than get in the mud with others seeking to take his job, or maybe because he realized the party base was more interested in a culture warrior than bipartisanship, Mr. Portman opted in 2021 to step aside when his second term was up.
Replacing him is Republican J.D. Vance, whom Mr. Portman endorsed after the primary, though Mr. Vance’s victory was really assured by the endorsement of Mr. Trump.
In his farewell remarks in the Senate last week, Mr. Portman emphasized his commitment to servant leadership — again, not something high up in the priorities of MAGA politicians.
He was proud of his ability to craft bipartisan legislation. He reports that over his 12 years, he authored or co-authored 195 bills.
Mr. Portman had 82 bills signed into law by President Trump, 68 by President Obama, and more than 40 so far under President Biden.
A bill signed by Mr. Trump was Mr. Portman’s 2020 legislation “Preserve the Parks” to address a $12 billion repair backlog in the national parks, including Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial at Put-in-Bay.
Mr. Portman co-sponsored the “CHIPS Act” which helped pave the way for Ohio to be selected by Intel for a semiconductor plant outside of Columbus — the largest investment in the history of Ohio.
Despite being bipartisan as much as possible, Mr. Portman is no closet liberal. The statement of his endorsement of Mr. Vance for the Senate (although he supported Jane Timken in the primary) voiced plenty of Republican talking points. Those included criticism of “reckless spending” by Democrats and insufficient border enforcement under President Biden. He didn’t mention the need to curtail the availability of the semiautomatic weapons favored by mass shooters.
He expressed worry about the level of political rhetoric, especially when it undermines the public’s faith in their institutions.
“We’ve been successful because our approach has been one that is focused on delivering results for our constituents. There is no question that it has gotten harder to break through the partisan gridlock and make progress on important issues. We live in an increasingly polarized country where members of both parties are being pushed further to the right and left,” he said.
Mr. Portman hails from the Cincinnati area. He got his law degree from the University of Michigan. His political career started with 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, which he then left to serve in the George W. Bush administration as budget director and trade representative.
Mr. Portman returned to politics in 2010 when he won the first of his two terms in the Senate.
He has been a frequent visitor to northwest Ohio, visiting factories and the Air National Guard 180th Fighter Wing.
Some think Mr. Portman should have spoken out more boldly against Mr. Trump, as was done by U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming who lost the GOP nomination because of her attacks on the former president.
Even without saying much, we all have a pretty good idea of where Senator Portman stands on the kind of behavior favored by Mr. Trump.
Mr. Portman’s departure from Congress, at the relatively young age of 67 when his term officially ends on Jan. 3, says it all.
In his final remarks, Mr. Portman said, “we can rise above the cynicism and the dysfunction.”
We thank Senator Portman for his effective representation of Ohio and wish him well in whatever comes next.
First Published December 18, 2022, 5:00 a.m.
