Senator Bernie Moreno isn’t mincing words, and frankly, it’s about time someone said it out loud. The Ohio Republican just sent a scorching letter to Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, demanding answers about why the city is spending taxpayer money to recruit nurses from Ghana when American nursing students are drowning in debt and struggling to find training opportunities right here at home.
The numbers tell a story that should make every Ohioan’s blood boil. According to Moreno’s letter, Columbus has burned through roughly $8.3 million in taxpayer funds on programs benefiting noncitizens and foreign governments since Ginther took office. The latest insult? A $225,000 grant approved for 2026 to fund the Ghana-Columbus Nursing Partnership Programme, a memorandum of understanding signed in September that creates pathways for Ghanaian nurses to enter Ohio’s healthcare workforce.
You know what’s missing from this equation? Investment in actual Ohio residents who want nursing careers.
Moreno put it plainly in his letter. “You were elected to serve the citizens of Columbus, not the citizens of Ghana.” It’s the kind of blunt assessment that cuts through the usual political fog. Why are we subsidizing foreign recruitment when nursing programs at Ohio universities are turning away qualified applicants because they lack capacity? The logic doesn’t just fail. It collapses entirely under the weight of its own absurdity.
The healthcare industry keeps crying about nurse shortages, and sure, the demand is real. But here’s the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to discuss at polite dinner parties. When you flood the market with lower-cost foreign labor, you’re not just filling gaps. You’re suppressing wages for American nurses who’ve invested years and tens of thousands of dollars in their education. It’s basic economics dressed up in humanitarian language.
The conservative backlash on social media has been swift and justified. GOP strategist Mehek Cooke asked the obvious question that apparently eluded Columbus city officials. “Why aren’t our tax dollars funding nursing scholarships and careers for Ohioans instead?” Sometimes the simplest questions reveal the deepest failures of leadership.
And let’s talk about the Ghana connection specifically, because this gets even more troubling. Policy analyst Parker Thayer pointed out that earlier this year, a homecare nurse from Ghana named Roberta Achampong allegedly stole millions from Medicaid, bought herself a fancy house and a Porsche, then fled back to Ghana. Now Columbus wants to roll out the welcome mat for more of the same pipeline? That’s not compassion. That’s willful negligence.
The timing of Moreno’s criticism aligns perfectly with broader concerns about how America’s immigration system actively replaces domestic workers. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas recently discussed Instacart’s $5 million settlement over allegations the company favored temporary visa holders over U.S. citizens. She warned other employers about the legal consequences of prioritizing foreign workers over domestic applicants. The pattern repeats across industries, and healthcare is no exception.
Columbus city leaders will likely defend this program with all the usual talking points about diversity, global partnerships, and addressing workforce shortages. They’ll say we need to think bigger, act globally, embrace the interconnected economy. It sounds sophisticated until you remember that sophistication doesn’t pay the rent for nursing students in Canton or Dayton who can’t get into programs because the slots don’t exist.
Moreno’s recommendation is straightforward and grounded in common sense. Use those public funds to expand enrollment and training capacity at Ohio colleges and universities. Invest directly in Ohio nursing students. Create more seats in nursing programs so Americans who want these careers can actually pursue them. It’s not complicated policy. It’s basic prioritization of citizens over foreign nationals.
The mayor’s office will need to answer for this, and the answers better be more convincing than vague platitudes about global cooperation. Ohioans deserve to know why their tax dollars are funding job pipelines for foreign workers when their own kids can’t get the training they need at home. That’s not xenophobia. That’s accountability.
At its core, this fight represents something larger than one city’s memorandum of understanding with an African nation. It’s about whether American leaders still believe their first obligation is to American citizens. Every dollar spent recruiting foreign workers is a dollar not spent training domestic ones. Every slot given to an imported nurse is a slot denied to an Ohio resident. The tradeoffs are real, and pretending they don’t exist doesn’t make them disappear.
Senator Moreno is doing what elected officials should do. He’s asking hard questions and demanding that leaders justify their spending priorities. Columbus can either course correct or continue down this path, but they can’t claim ignorance anymore about what they’re choosing and who they’re leaving behind.
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