The US should end per country caps and government caps on employment visas, said Ohio Libertarian Senate candidate Bill Redpath in an exclusive interview with HT.com.
Under his second term, President Donald Trump initiated a comprehensive immigration enforcement campaign. The administration has intensified oversight of lawful immigration pathways, including the cancellation of student visas, while simultaneously removing legal status protections from hundreds of thousands of people who had migrated to the country.
According to the revised regulatory framework, student and exchange visa authorizations would be capped at a maximum duration of four years.
Ohio Senate special election 2026
Redpath is contesting against Republican Senator Jon Husted, Democrat Sherrod Brown, and independent Greg Levy in the November 3 special election. The successful candidate will serve out the remainder of JD Vance’s term, which extends through January 2029.
During his interview with HT.com, Redpath gave his take on several issues, including unilateral free trade, social security, elimination of federal agencies, Middle East crisis, healthcare reforms and free immigration.
Q&A with Bill Redpath
Q1. You support ending all tariffs unilaterally, arguing it lowers costs for consumers. How do you address domestic manufacturers and agricultural producers who argue this leaves American workers vulnerable to foreign state-subsidized industries?
Redpath: Many domestic manufacturers, particularly the auto industry, have been hurt by tariffs. Sugar in the United States is very expensive due to import quotas and high tariffs. That is also true with other agricultural products. Protectionism allows domestic businesses to not be as competitive as they should be. It is time to put consumers first in the United States, and we are all consumers. Nations are hurting their own economies with state subsidization of industries and are helping US consumers by selling us less expensive goods. Free trade is also important in the cause of international peace.
Q2. You’ve called for eliminating the federal Departments of Education and Housing & Urban Development. What immediate mechanisms or state-level transitions would you propose to ensure low-income students and households don’t face sudden loss of support?
Redpath: Cutting these two departments is among the easier decisions to reduce federal spending, which badly needs to occur. Education and housing policies are properly within the domain of state and local governments and private charities.
Q3. You’ve previously highlighted the Cato Institute’s plan allowing younger workers to opt out of Social Security into private investment accounts. Given market volatility, how would a Libertarian framework protect retirees from economic downturns right as they prepare to exit the workforce?
Redpath: That should not be a concern of the Federal government. First of all, government policies can add volatility in the financial markets. Donald Trump’s whim driven management of tariffs is a prime example of that. But, there are many thousands of financial planners and firms to help people with their financial planning. Individuals need to ultimately be responsible for their financial affairs. Studies have shown empirically that people would be better investing in the stock market over the long run than paying Social Security taxes and hoping there’s something left in that program for them when they retire. Remember, there are no personal property rights in Social Security. Congress can change the program at any time.
Q4. You propose converting Medicare into direct cash payments or insurance premium supplements rather than paying providers directly. How do you guarantee that elderly or sicker patients wouldn’t get priced out by private insurance markets?
Redpath: Private insurance should be able to be sold across state lines. This would increase consumers’ insurance plan choices. Medicare payments can be adjusted for poorer or sicker individuals.
Q5. You have stated that the US should treat the Middle East with ‘benign neglect’ and end the ‘special relationship’ with Israel to treat it like any other ally. What does that transition look like in terms of foreign aid, intelligence sharing, and current defense treaties? And how would you use your seat in the Senate to push back against executive overreach regarding military strikes and undeclared foreign engagements?
Redpath: I think all US government foreign aid to Israel should be ended immediately. We should live up to any defense treaties until they are repealed by the US Senate. Intelligence should be shared only if doing so benefits the United States. If I were elected, I would vote to end funding for unapproved, non-defensive military actions by the President, and I would vote to remove such a President from office, if he or she were impeached by the US House of Representatives.
Q6: You advocate for free immigration, viewing it as a driver of global economic production. How do you respond to concerns regarding local infrastructure, wage competition for entry-level workers, and border security management?
Redpath: We have a border security problem because it is essentially impossible for people around the world to legally immigrate to the United States. If we want border security, legal immigration needs to be increased, so that the people who want to come to the US will be properly vetted. Immigration is the best poverty fighting tool known to man. The economist Michael Clemens of George Mason University has researched this issue and estimates that free movement of people for work around the globe would increase Gross World Product by 50-150% per year. It is hard to imagine how much better off mankind, including entry level workers, would be with that increase in annual income.
Q7. Libertarians generally advocate for the total abolition of immigration quotas in favor of free-market supply and demand. However, under the current system, hundreds of thousands of Indian high-skilled professionals on H-1B visas are trapped in a decades-long green card backlog, vulnerable to layoffs and visa restrictions. If you oppose federal economic management, why not immediately scrap per-country caps and government caps on employment visas as an interim fix?
Redpath: I agree that the US should end per country caps and government caps on employment visas. Such a change should be permanent.
Q8. What is your immediate message to an Indian software engineer in Silicon Valley who is one layoff away from deportation after waiting 12 years for a green card?
Redpath: I apologize for the United States’ unfairly restrictive and inhumane immigration policies. Additionally, there is no excuse for the bureaucratic backlogs in the system.