After a lengthy delay by Republicans, who control the Ohio House, the legislative body finally expelled former Speaker Larry Householder from its ranks.

Months earlier, Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, was asked numerous times why he didn’t move forward with the process. He repeatedly refused to give an explanation.

Democrats, who are in the clear minority with only 35 of the 99 House members, pressured Republicans to move ahead with expulsion, and enough in the majority finally agreed.

Householder is facing federal felony charges in a bribery scheme to bail out the state’s two nuclear power plants in exchange for money.

The House voted last week 75-21 to expel Householder, a Glenford Republican. At least 66 votes were needed for the resolution to pass.

It just made it to the floor for consideration. At least two-thirds of the House needed to approve moving the debate to the House for a vote. It passed 66-31.

Among those voting against debate were local state Reps. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, and Mike Loychik, R-Bazetta.

When the time came for the expulsion vote, Cutrona was among the 21 members — 20 Republicans and one Democrat — to vote against it. Loychik was among nine who voted against debate and then approved expelling Householder.

Cutrona explained his votes to me. As usual, Loychik chose to hide.

Loychik has refused to talk to reporters and several of his constituents since his November election. Loychik is more interested in naming Mosquito Lake State Park after former President Donald Trump, turning Ohio into a Second Amendment sanctuary state (which is likely unenforceable) and opposing vaccine passports (which aren’t coming to Ohio) than speaking with constituents.

I get emails from people in Loychik’s district frustrated with him. I don’t know how to respond as he’s failed to respond to my numerous calls, emails and text messages.

Sometimes Loychik will send a prepared statement or tweet something. But on Householder, Loychik was silent.

One alarming part of Loychik’s votes is he received $54,542.35 from House members who opposed Householder’s expulsion during his 2020 campaign. That’s about half the $111,307.35 his campaign received in contributions last year.

Loychik received another $5,000 from a House member who voted as he did: no on debate and yes on expulsion.

That’s a lot of influence and pressure on someone in office for less than six months.

Cutrona received $41,292.35 from House members who voted against Householder’s expulsion. That’s about 29 percent of his donors. He also received $5,000 from a House member who voted no on debate and yes on expulsion.

However, Cutrona also received $239,150.41 in in-kind contributions from the Ohio Republican Party, which took over fundraising of GOP House races after Householder’s indictment, and he loaned $50,000 of his own money to his campaign — something he promised to do during the selection process to fill the House seat that became open after the death of Don Manning.

Cutrona said he voted against expulsion because it sets a bad precedent and would have done the same for any member.

If the House wanted to get rid of Householder, Cutrona said its members should have sought to impeach him.

The expulsion vote “opens up the process where members can overturn elections,” he said. “I was passionate about letting the process play out. It’s an allegation. It doesn’t mean it’s true.”

Cutrona is correct. But the allegations against Householder are staggering, and the case has been called the biggest bribery scandal in Ohio history.

The July 2020 federal indictment accuses Householder and four other men of pushing passage of House Bill 6, a $1 billion bailout for Ohio’s two nuclear power plants signed July 2019 into law. In exchange, the indictment alleges $61 million was given to the men and a dark-money group.

Householder and Matt Borges, a former Ohio Republican Party chairman and co-defendant, pleaded not guilty. Two other co-defendants and Generation Now, the dark-money group, pleaded guilty. A third man indicted died of a suicide.

Householder is gone, but don’t be shocked if he’s on the ballot for his seat next year. This complicated case is going to take a long time to get to court if he chooses to see it through. It’s possible it will still be pending when the February 2022 deadline to file for the seat comes around.