Red state commissioner hit with set of demands from GOP senator over ‘disgusting’ ICE ‘terrorist’ declaration
Ohio Sen Bernie Moreno warns the commissioner's comments could lead to more violence against ICE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FIRST ON FOX: Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno is demanding answers from a Toledo county commissioner after the official compared ICE officers to terrorists, which Moreno suggested could violate his oath of office.
"Since December 2025, these agencies have changed from a legitimate agency to a terrorist group," Commissioner Pete Gerken said earlier this week as the Lucas County Board of Commissioners voted against enforcing a grant providing funding to DHS.
In a letter to Gerken, obtained by Fox News Digital, Moreno called the vote "incoherent and perilous" and labeled Gerken’s comments as antithetical to the oath he swore as commissioner.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Your irresponsible rhetoric and decisions are wholly inconsistent with the duties that you swore a constitutional oath to uphold," Moreno wrote. "In fact, it is your legal responsibility, for example, to ‘work with all county elected officials and with judges to assure that they are properly funded to perform their statutory duties.’ Ohio Revised Code 3.07 states that ‘any person holding office… in this county… who refuses or willfully neglects to enforce the law or to perform any official duty imposed on him by law… is guilty of misconduct in office.’"
Federal law enforcement agents detain a demonstrator during a raid in south Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to the letter, Toledo Public Schools are facing an estimated $70 million budget deficit, while the Lucas County sheriff has requested a $6.57 million budget increase to address staffing shortages. Moreno argued that rejecting federal assistance under those circumstances was "particularly confounding" and harmful to county residents.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Moreno, elected to the U.S. Senate in 2024, also accused Gerken of doubling down on his remarks rather than apologizing, citing the commissioner’s public statement that he did not believe the county should accept money from "an organization that has delegitimized itself."
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Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In the letter, Moreno warned that rhetoric labeling federal law enforcement officers as "terrorists" contributes to real-world violence, pointing to attacks on ICE and Border Patrol personnel and a surge in assaults against federal agents nationwide.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Your disgusting declaration and decision not to fund critical criminal justice and safety infrastructure in Lucas County is not only an embarrassment," Moreno wrote, "but will likely lead to more violence against law enforcement personnel."
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The senator also accused Gerken of hypocrisy, noting that the commissioner had previously urged then-President Trump to be "respectful toward the local community," while now publicly disparaging federal officers who "sacrifice so much to uphold our laws and keep our communities safe."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ultimately, Moreno asked Gerken to respond to a series of questions in the next five days that include how much of Lucas County’s budget comes from federal funds, whether calling federal law enforcement "terrorists" is consistent with his duties, and whether county residents benefit from refusing federal assistance.
Fox News Digital reached out to Gerken for comment.
As elected Democrats across the country continue to lash out against ICE agents in the aftermath of the shooting death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, DHS told Fox News Digital this week there has been a 1,300% increase in assaults against agents and an 8,000% increase in death threats.