Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has confirmed that he's resigning, eight months before his term ends in January. Yost can't run for reelection to that office, and ended his campaign for governor last year.
Yost confirmed in a text to the Statehouse News Bureau his last day as AG is June 7. He’s going to the Christian conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. His resignation letter to Gov. Mike DeWine is brief, noting his last day in office and that he's leaving to "pursue another employment opportunity".
In a statement, DeWine wishes him the best. He doesn't give any hints about who he'll appoint, but says he "will give the appointment of someone to serve as Attorney General thoughtful and deliberate consideration." He could appoint someone to hold the office till January or perhaps auditor Keith Faber, who's running for AG. But that could set off a chain reaction of vacancies and appointments among the other Republicans in statewide executive offices. Secretary of State Frank LaRose is running for auditor and Treasurer Robert Sprague is running for secretary of state after winning Tuesday's primary. And former Rep. Jay Edwards won the GOP primary for treasurer.
Yost will join the Alliance Defending Freedom as its Vice President of Strategic Research and Innovation. The ADF said in a statement that Yost has been "leading one of the most active and consequential state AG offices in the nation. Before that, he served two terms as Ohio Auditor of State, where he exposed corruption and identified hundreds of millions of dollars in government savings."
Yost took legal actions over issues that are aligned with the ADF. He sued the Biden administration over changes to federal regulations under Title IX on schools and gender identity. He joined other Republican AGs in speaking out for laws that ban trans athletes in girls' sports, and has defended Ohio's law banning gender-affirming care for minors. Yost argued for Ohio's law banning abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, and campaigned against the constitutional amendment guaranteeing reproductive rights and abortion access in 2023.
Yost was quoted in the ADF statement: "I’ve been passionate about religious liberty, free speech, parental rights, and human dignity for a long time, and to now bring my legal and advocacy skills to bear alongside the best constitutional lawyers in the world is an extraordinary opportunity. I’m honored to join this renowned organization.”
