Democrat Ohio Gov Candidate Defends Closing Schools During Pandemic

Democrat Ohio gubernatorial candidate and former Health Director Dr. Amy Acton defended her and Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordering school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Daily Caller Senior Editor Amber Duke asked Dr. Amy Acton to respond to the backlash she has faced over Ohio’s Covid response while she served as the state’s director of public health in an interview with The Hill’s “Rising.”

“All right, let’s address the elephant in the room, which is that you’ve been getting a lot of criticism over your time helping to direct the state’s COVID response. Vivek Ramaswamy has specifically attacked you for closing schools during the final semester of 2020 during the pandemic. Do you have any regrets about how you handled that situation?” Duke said to Acton. (RELATED: FDA Vaccine Advisor Calls For COVID Victims To Sue Trump Admin)

Acton said she and DeWine prioritized “saving lives and getting us open earlier, which in fact we did.”

“I’m very proud of the leadership of Ohio. I’m very proud of the actions everyday Ohioans took to save one another. And I take issue with calling me the ‘Dr. Fauci of Ohio.’ I was the Dr. Amy Acton of Ohio, working alongside a Republican governor in every sector of this state to save lives,” she continued, calling out Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who called her “a cheap Anthony Fauci knockoff” in February.

.@VivekGRamaswamy talks about the chronic absentee problem at schools in Ohio.

Vivek: “Never again will we bend the knee to a fake Anthony Fauci knock off (Amy Acton) who allowed our public schools to be shuttered.” pic.twitter.com/6tRilyoA80

— Ryan Byrd (@byrdman220) May 18, 2025

“And what we did was in an unprecedented time. And I hear everywhere I go there is a bond with Ohioans — it does know party,” Acton added. (RELATED: CLICK AND ROEGNER: Why Vivek Ramaswamy Should Be Next Governor Of Ohio)

She added that both independents and Republicans have been showing up, emphasizing the “deep” bond they formed while working together during the pandemic.

DeWine shut down schools across Ohio in March 2020 under Acton’s advice, becoming the first governor to issue such an order, The Guardian reported. The governor issued the order March 12, 2020, and extended it on Mach 30 and again on April 20 of that year, according to Ballotpedia. Acton issued an order dated April 29 maintaining school closures through June 30, according to documents obtained by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Duke pressed Acton more directly on her decision to close schools.

“But fast forward to 2025, there has been a lot of research and more research still coming out on the really damaging effects on kids of school closures,” she continued. “And at that time there were at least 12 states that allowed schools to stay open, and allowed kids to have in-person learning.”

“Did you make a mistake by closing schools?” Duke asked.

“No, actually, what we were following was the pandemic playbook,” Acton answered.

“What is being missed in looking at four years of data is my order was in the first weeks. We couldn’t keep anything open because it was collapsing of its own,” she continued. “The superintendents were asking us for help because at most risk right then were all the bus drivers and the cafeteria workers and the teachers.”

“Our focus was actually on how to keep kids learning, which was an impressive effort done by all the schools working alongside our governor — a Republican governor.”

She went on to note that many states — as well as the federal government — made the same closures at the beginning of the pandemic. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s Broad Ban On Risky Gain-Of-Function Research Nears Completion)

Among the many things wrong with the state budget are the continued attacks on public education, teachers and retirees. Just a travesty, and something I will stand up to as Governor. pic.twitter.com/lU6CI03mh3

— Dr. Amy Acton (@amyactonoh) July 2, 2025

“I think there’s a lot of confusion. We actually reopened earlier in Ohio because we took decisive action, and our schools were able to open — and the locals had control to make that decision from that fall onward.”

“But in those early days, it was, I believe, the right decision we made.”

DeWine announced that the state’s schools would reopen in the fall on June 2, according to Ballotpedia. Acton stepped down as director of Ohio Department of Health after facing a backlash that included legal challenges, an attempt by lawmakers to limit her power an protesters reportedly showing up outside her residence, according to The Guardian.