SANDUSKY — A senior staffer in U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno’s office hung up on a reporter Wednesday after the reporter asked to record an interview with him.
Tim Schneider, Moreno’s regional director in Northwest Ohio, has not responded to calls, questions or emails about whether the senator intends to attend a public forum in Sandusky in June on Social Security and the financial cliff the Trust Fund faces in six short years.
Moreno won’t say if he will agree to participate or send a representative. The forum is sponsored by Serving Our Seniors and StayTunedSandusky.com. It’s an audience participation driven Q&A with panel of experts. It’s designed to pin down what lawmakers can do to stop forecasted benefit cuts—up to 28% of what is being paid to beneficiaries today—if Congress fails to act.
In the brief phone call with me Schneider became confused when I asked about the invite and if the senator planned to attend the forum, participate remotely or send a representative to it. He became verbally aggressive and when I asked if I could record the call he said, “No!” I turned on the iPhone record button. Schneider hung up when the phone signaled the call was being recorded.
It’s a familiar pattern for Moreno’s office, which has largely ignored the local press since the 2024 election. In March 2025, Moreno voted for a resolution that left billions in VA benefits vulnerable to budget cuts—funding intended for military members suffering from service-related illnesses. When confronted about the vote, Moreno’s Chief of Staff, Philip Letsou, attempted to dismiss the move as irrelevant.
To listen to the entire call go here:
In the recording, Letsou can be heard to claim the resolution “had nothing” to do with actual cuts, insisting the vote didn’t matter because it was non-binding. Letsou’s dismissive tone was a clear attempt, however, to control the narrative and shield the Senator from the consequences of a vote that signaled a willingness to put veterans’ benefits on the chopping block.
“It was a non binding resolution that has nothing,” Letsou claimed, insisting there had been no cuts. Letsou was being disingenuous, however, and was attempting to keep a tight grip on any reporting about the resolution.
That vote—joined by U.S. Senator John Husted—revealed a shared priority: protecting tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations while leaving Medicaid and veterans’ programs exposed. Just weeks after the “non-binding” vote Letsou dismissed, both Moreno and Husted moved to cut $26 billion from the PACT Act’s 2026 funding, a direct hit to toxic-exposure healthcare for veterans.
Following those votes, both Senators’ offices went dark. Letsou, who previously made demonstrably false complaints against a reporter, insisted he would only speak off-the-record. He even went as far as suggesting Senator Moreno be allowed to “pre-approve” news copy before publication—a blatant attempt to censor independent journalism. When that failed, Letsou resorted to repeatedly calling the Sandusky Register’s publisher, Jeremy Speer, in a desperate bid to kill the story.
Letsou, Reagan McCarthy, Moreno’s communications director, the senator and Schneider continue blocking the local news media and ignoring inquiries. It remains to be seen if they will also continue ignoring the invitations for the forum.
Plan to attend
The Future of Social Security & Medicare forum, OVER THE CLIFF: What happens when Social Security starts running out of money in 2032? is from 3-4:30 p.m. June 25, 2026, at the UAW Hall, 3114 Hayes Ave., Sandusky.
Make reservations by calling Serving Our Seniors reservation line, 419-504-0585.
The Social Security Trust Fund is heading toward the proverbial cliff—the point at which payout exceeds revenue—which spells disaster for older residents who rely on their benefits to pay their bills. Monthly benefits could be automatically cut by as much as 23%, $230 for every $1,000 recipients collect today. Instead of going up to match inflation, the revenue shortfall will force beneficiaries to accept a household-budget busting, promises-breaking reverse COLA.
The sponsors:
Serving Our Seniors is a local non-profit organization dedicated to helping Erie County residents age 60 and older maintain their independence by providing essential services like transportation, home-delivered meals and advocacy. StayTunedSandusky.com is a daily digital newspapers founded in June 2025 by former Sandusky Register/Ogden Newspapers executive editor Matt Westerhold.
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