6/30/26 - Ballard's signature total, Supremes rule on election integrity, Rokita's threats

Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with Rob reacting to Governor Mike Braun’s latest comments on whether he will extend Indiana’s gas tax suspension. Rob argues the entire debate proves his long-running point that Indiana is overtaxing people, because if the state can suspend the gas tax while still funding road projects through surplus money, then the tax was not truly necessary in the first place. He says “surplus” is just another word for overtaxation when government collects more than it needs to operate. Rob says Braun should not base the gas tax decision on the current price of fuel, the Middle East, or political concerns about Trump and Republicans. His argument is simpler: either the tax is needed or it is not. Rob says the state has spent years warning that roads would suffer without automatic gas tax increases, but Braun’s suspension has shown projects can continue without that money because the state already has too much taxpayer cash. The discussion also ties gas prices to the conflict with Iran and instability around the Strait of Hormuz. Rob says the tax suspension is masking the effect of higher fuel prices rather than giving Hoosiers the real benefit they should be seeing. He argues that if Indiana permanently eliminated unnecessary gas taxes during a normal price environment, drivers could see meaningful savings instead of merely being shielded from the cost of bad foreign policy decisions. Another segment focuses on Attorney General Todd Rokita threatening to sue Merrillville over its opposition to a potential ICE detention facility in local warehouses. Rob says he strongly supports immigration enforcement and deportation efforts, but believes local officials still have a legitimate duty to ask how a major detention operation would affect water, sewer, police, fire, emergency services, roads, land use, and taxpayers. He argues that raising those questions is not automatically the same thing as obstructing ICE. Rob says Rokita may have a case if Merrillville officials are actually blocking federal enforcement or retaliating against property owners, but based on what has been presented, the town appears to be expressing opposition and asking for protections before any facility moves forward. He compares it to other major land-use fights, arguing that local officials should not simply roll over for the federal government when their community may bear the costs. Rob says the key question is whether Merrillville has truly violated the law or whether Rokita is grabbing a headline before anything concrete has happened. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices