INDIANAPOLIS — Last week saw two diametrically opposed Indiana politicians go to great lengths to ensure the state wins large sums of federal money without the strings that are normally attached.

Last Monday, Schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz, a Democrat, filed a request with the U.S. Department of Education to continue using federal “Title I” education money with flexibility. A day later, Republican Gov. Mike Pence asked the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to grant the state an exemption — and about $16.5 billion — to expand Medicaid using a version of the Healthy Indiana Plan.