The Ohio nuclear bribery scandal was a political scandal in Ohio involving allegations that electric utility company FirstEnergy paid roughly $60 million to Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) organization purportedly controlled by Larry Householder (the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives) in exchange for passing a $1.3 billion bailout for the nuclear power plant operator. [1] It was described as "likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio" by U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers, who charged Householder and four others with racketeering in July 2020. [2] According to prosecutors, FirstEnergy poured millions into the campaigns of 21 candidates during the 2018 Ohio House of Representatives election, which ultimately helped Householder replace Ryan Smith as Republican House speaker and pass House Bill 6, [a] which increased electricity rates and provided that money as a $150 million per year subsidy for the Perry and Davis–Besse nuclear plants. [3] [1] [2]
In 2021, FirstEnergy paid the U.S. Department of Justice a $230 million penalty to settle criminal charges from the bribery. [4] In 2023, Householder was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and sentenced to 20 years in prison. In 2024, FirstEnergy paid the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $100 million to settle charges of fraud, misrepresentation, and inadequate internal controls. [5] In 2025, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ordered FirstEnergy's Ohio utilities to refund $186 million to customers, and pay $64 million in civil forfeiture. [6]
Federal prosecutors alleged that FirstEnergy and related interests used payments routed through Generation Now—a 501(c)(4) nonprofit—as part of a racketeering conspiracy connected to the passage and defense of House Bill 6. [7]
Reporting on the House Bill 6 case described the use of nonprofit and independent-spending mechanisms to finance political advertising and election activity connected to legislative outcomes in Ohio. [8] Analysis published by the Ohio Capital Journal described the case as an example of how untraceable political spending can shape state policymaking. [9]
Investigative reporting during the federal investigation described how former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder recruited and supported a group of Ohio House candidates who became known as "Team Householder." According to reporting by Cleveland.com, the candidates were encouraged to run for office with the understanding that, if elected, they would support Householder's bid to become Speaker of the Ohio House following the 2018 election. [10]
The Ohio House of Representatives has 99 members, and a majority vote of the full chamber is required to elect a Speaker at the beginning of each General Assembly. [11]
The Cleveland.com investigation identified more than 20 Republican candidates associated with the effort. Several of those candidates benefited from political support in the form of independent expenditures and allied campaign spending during the 2018 Ohio House elections. [10]
Federal prosecutors later alleged that the electoral success of candidates aligned with Householder enabled him to secure the speakership. According to court filings, Householder's control of the Ohio House leadership position allowed House Bill 6 to advance through the legislature. [7]
Court filings and contemporaneous reporting described the recruitment of aligned candidates as part of a broader political strategy tied to Householder's leadership ambitions, emphasizing coordinated electoral outcomes ahead of the speaker selection process rather than traditional legislative caucus-building. [10]
Householder was elected Speaker at the start of the 133rd General Assembly, succeeding Ryan Smith, after receiving a majority of votes in the Ohio House. [10]
According to contemporaneous reporting by Cleveland.com, former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder recruited and supported a group of Republican candidates during the 2018 Ohio House of Representatives elections who were collectively referred to as "Team Householder." The report stated that the candidates were encouraged to run for office with the understanding that, if elected, they would support Householder's bid to become Speaker of the Ohio House following the election. [12]
The candidates identified in the report included:
The Cleveland.com report stated that the electoral success of candidates recruited by Householder contributed to his ability to secure enough votes to regain the speakership at the start of the 133rd Ohio General Assembly. [13]
Federal prosecutors stated that Larry Householder exercised control over political spending connected to House Bill 6 through Generation Now and related entities, as described in court records and sentencing filings. [14] The filings also noted that, in addition to independent expenditures described in the federal case, Householder made direct campaign contributions to Ohio House candidates through lawful channels. [14]
Reporting by ABC6 News documented that Householder donated more than $200,000 to Ohio House candidates who later voted in favor of House Bill 6, based on campaign finance records reviewed by the outlet. [15] The report did not allege that the contributions were illegal, but noted their timing in relation to legislative action on the bill.
Reporting during the federal investigation into the Ohio nuclear bribery scandal examined the involvement of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted in discussions surrounding House Bill 6. Text messages released in 2022 showed that Husted communicated with former FirstEnergy executives and lobbyists during the period leading up to the passage of the nuclear bailout legislation. According to WYSO, the messages suggested that Husted pressed for passage of the bailout and discussed legislative strategy related to the bill. [16]
Following publication of the text messages, both DeWine and Husted acknowledged participating in conversations about House Bill 6. Reporting by the Statehouse News Bureau documented that DeWine and Husted stated their communications were part of routine policy discussions, while denying any knowledge of or involvement in the alleged bribery scheme. Neither was charged in the federal case. [17]
Investigative reporting by Floodlight found that FirstEnergy provided approximately $1 million in financial support to organizations backing Husted’s political campaigns prior to the exposure of the bribery scandal. The outlet reported that the funding was not alleged to be illegal, but noted its timing in relation to legislative action on the bailout. [18]
After the text messages became public, Husted publicly denied having knowledge of the corruption scheme described by federal prosecutors. Reporting by News From The States noted that Husted stated he was unaware of any bribery involving FirstEnergy or Generation Now and emphasized that he was not charged in connection with the case. [19]
House Bill 6 was introduced during the 133rd Ohio General Assembly. The bill was sponsored in the Ohio House of Representatives by Jamie Callender. [20] The legislation advanced after the organization of the Ohio House at the start of the General Assembly in January 2019, when Larry Householder was elected Speaker.
The Ohio Senate passed House Bill 6 on July 17, 2019. The Ohio House of Representatives passed the bill on July 23, 2019. Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law on July 23, 2019. [21]
July 23, 2019 — Passed (Yeas: 51; Nays: 38)
According to the official roll-call record of the Ohio Legislature, the following members voted in favor of final passage of House Bill 6: [20]
July 17, 2019 — Passed (Yeas: 19; Nays: 12)
According to the official roll-call record of the Ohio Legislature, the following members voted in favor of final passage of House Bill 6: [20]
Federal prosecutors later alleged that the passage of House Bill 6 was connected to a racketeering conspiracy involving political spending and legislative action, as described in charging documents filed in July 2020. [22]
In July 2020, following federal charges connected to House Bill 6, Ohio House Democrats announced plans to introduce legislation to repeal the law. At that time, House Bill 6 remained in effect, and the proposed repeal was framed by its sponsors as a response to the ongoing federal investigation. [23]
Subsequent reporting by the Ohio Capital Journal documented that repeal measures did not advance to a full vote in the Ohio House. The outlet reported that House leadership employed procedural actions that prevented comprehensive repeal proposals from moving forward during multiple legislative sessions. [24]
Although portions of House Bill 6 were later repealed, investigative reporting noted that the law was not fully repealed and that broader legislative changes addressing campaign finance and ethics rules had not been enacted. A 2025 analysis by Cleveland.com described the House Bill 6 case as the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio history and reported that lawmakers had not passed comprehensive reforms aimed at preventing similar conduct. [25]
Reporting by the Ohio Capital Journal described how proposals to repeal House Bill 6 did not advance in the Ohio House during the speakership of Jason Stephens. According to the outlet, repeal legislation was introduced but did not receive committee hearings or reach the House floor for a vote. [26]
The report stated that House leadership controls whether legislation is scheduled for hearings or floor consideration, and that comprehensive repeal measures did not proceed during that period. As a result, the outlet reported that portions of House Bill 6 remained in effect in subsequent legislative sessions. [26]
After federal charges were filed against Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder in connection with House Bill 6, the Ohio House of Representatives did not immediately vote on whether to expel him. Reporting by the Ohio Capital Journal stated that House leadership did not bring an expulsion resolution forward for several months following the indictment. [27] The outlet reported that House leaders discussed internal caucus considerations and the absence of a prior conviction when addressing the timing of a potential expulsion vote. [27]
On June 16, 2021, the Ohio House of Representatives voted to expel Householder. The resolution passed with broad support, though a minority of members voted against expulsion. The Dayton Daily News reported the roll-call vote on the expulsion resolution. [28]
The following members voted against expelling Householder: [29]
In March 2022, the Ohio Capital Journal reported that attorneys for the Ohio House of Representatives denied a public-records request seeking text messages between State Representative Jay Edwards and former House Speaker Larry Householder. According to the report, House counsel stated that no responsive records could be located. Edwards told the outlet that he deletes text messages as a general practice, while also stating that he would not delete any messages he believed to be public records. [30] The article further described the Ohio House records-retention policy cited in the denial as classifying text messages as “transient records” that may be disposed of under the schedule outlined in that policy. [30]
In 2025, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a decision that was reported as limiting access to certain communications conducted through private accounts. Coverage of the ruling stated that the court held a public official's private messages are not subject to Ohio's public-records law when such communications are not “kept” by a public office under the statutory definition applied in the case. [31] [32]
In July 2019, the House passed House Bill 6, [b] which increased electricity rates and provided that money as a $150 million per year subsidy for the Perry and Davis–Besse nuclear plants, subsidized coal-fired power plants, and reduced subsidies for renewable energy and energy efficiency. [3] [1] Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill the day it passed. [33] This bill was described as the "worst legislation yet" among bills that subsidize fossil fuels by Leah Stokes [33] and the "worst energy bill of the 21st century" by David Roberts of Vox. [3]
Even before the bribery scandal came to light, the financial connections between Larry Householder and FirstEnergy were public knowledge. These ties dated back to during the 2016 United States presidential election, with Cleveland restauranteur Tony George as the intermediary between Householder and FirstEnergy executives. [34] In addition, Householder and his son flew on a corporate jet owned by FirstEnergy to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump. [35]
Consumer advocates and the natural gas industry tried to place a ballot initiative on the 2020 ballot to overturn the law but were unsuccessful due to negative campaigning by Generation Now. [2]
Governor Mike DeWine asked Householder to resign, as did former Governor John Kasich who previously opposed H.B. 6, [36] but Householder refused. [37] Republican legislator Jamie Callender, who had sponsored the bill, claimed no knowledge of the scheme and said that he felt "betrayed". [38]
Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown also joined the prominent voices calling for Householder's resignation and additionally blamed the scandal on Republican one-party rule in Ohio state politics. [39]
DeWine had earlier resisted calls to repeal H.B. 6, but changed his mind on July 23, stating: "No matter how good this policy is, the process by which this bill was passed is simply not acceptable. That process, I believe, has forever tainted the bill and now the law itself." DeWine urged the House to quickly select a new speaker in order to pass a replacement bill. [40]
The scandal, which occurred during a presidential election campaign, led to speculation about whether it could lead Joe Biden to win the state in the 2020 presidential election. [41] Biden ultimately lost Ohio to Donald Trump by 53.3% to 45.2%. [42]
On June 16, 2021, members of the Ohio House of Representatives voted to remove Larry Householder from the House. [43] The seat representing the 72nd House District was filled by Kevin D. Miller, a former State Highway Patrolman. [44]
A year after the news officially broke about the scandal, on July 22, 2021, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio announced that FirstEnergy would be fined $230 million for their part in it. Vipal J. Patel, the acting U.S. Attorney, said that this was the largest criminal fine ever collected by the Southern District. [4] [45] On December 30, 2022, FirstEnergy agreed to pay a civil penalty of $3,860,000 to the United States Treasury. [46] [47]
In 2021, FirstEnergy entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and agreed to pay a $230 million penalty in connection with criminal charges from the investigation. [7] [5]
In March 2023 Householder was convicted of participating in racketeering conspiracy [48] and later that year sentenced to the maximum term of 20 years in prison. [49]
The Cleveland Browns announced on April 13, 2023, that the team and FirstEnergy had come to an agreement to immediately terminate the naming rights deal for the Browns' stadium, known as FirstEnergy Stadium since 2013, restoring the stadium's original moniker of Cleveland Browns Stadium. [50] The naming rights deal would have normally expired in 2029. [51]
Sam Randazzo, the former chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, was awaiting trial for dozens of state and federal charges associated with the scandal, including accepting a $4.3 million bribe, when he died by suicide on April 9, 2024. [52] [53]
In 2024, FirstEnergy paid the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $100 million to settle charges of fraud, misrepresentation, and inadequate internal controls in relation to the bribery. [5]
In 2025, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ordered FirstEnergy's Ohio utilities (Ohio Edison Co., The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. and The Toledo Edison Co.) to refund $186 million to customers, and pay $64 million in civil forfeiture following an investigation tied to the scandal. [54] [6]
In 2025 HBO released a two-part documentary about the scandal called "The Dark Money Game". [55]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)In July 2020, FirstEnergy violated the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act by making misrepresentations about its role in the bribery scheme to investors in an earnings call and in a filing with the SEC, the commission said. Also, FirstEnergy failed to keep accurate books and records and failed to have and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls with respect to payments to third-party organizations, the SEC said.
The PUC ordered Ohio Edison Co., The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. and The Toledo Edison Co. to pay $186.6 million in refunds and restitution to their customers and to pay $64.1 million in civil forfeitures.