Politics
JUST IN: JD Vance’s Expected Senate Replacement Is Revealed
Ahead of an expected announcement about whom will fill Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s former U.S. Senate seat, word is leaking out that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has settled on his selection.
Local reports indicate that DeWine, a Republican, will nominate his top deputy and closest confidant to serve out the remainder of Vance’s term, which runs through 2029. Vance was just elected in 2022 before being tapped two years later by President-elect Donald Trump to join his ticket.
The field of contenders, which at one point included former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has been narrowed down to one: Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who Gov. DeWine is expected to appoint at a 1 p.m. EST news conference on Friday.
Although the governor’s office advised an announcement to the press, aides didn’t indicate what the topic would be. However, sources told Signal Statewide that DeWine is ready to announce Husted’s appointment, giving Senate Republicans a powerful 53rd vote days before Trump takes office.
“Later,” DeWine told reporters on Thursday when asked if his pick would be named. “Not too much later.” Apart from such brief remarks, DeWine has only said that he recently met with Ramaswamy about the Senate vacancy.
Husted, a Republican, was expected by local observers to run for the governor’s office in 2026 because DeWine is term-limited. However, allies believe he would likely have failed to advance in a crowded primary: Ohio, once a bellwether state, has grown increasingly red, and red-meat conservatives like Ramaswamy and Vance have gained the edge in Republican elections since the days of former state treasurer Josh Mandel losing to more moderate challengers.
Once Husted is seated, Senate Republicans will have a primary opportunity to advance current legislation like the Laken Riley Act, which was taken up after the U.S. House voted to advance the measurer stepping up deportations of illegal immigrants arrested for certain nonviolent crimes.
Additionally, Husted will likely vote to advance some of Trump’s cabinet nominees, including Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel, who are facing close votes.
Although he will be gone, Vance won’t be absent from the Senate. As vice president, he will preside over the chamber’s votes and cast his own in the event of a 50-50 tie. Republicans currently hold 52 seats while Democrats hold 45, though two independents — Angus King (I-ME) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — caucus and vote with them, giving Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a reliable 47 opposition votes.
Since the abolishment of the Senate filibuster for most confirmations, Republicans can expect to move Hegseth, Patel, and other national security confirmations through before Trump takes office as long as they can count on support from Husted and several holdouts such as Joni Ernst (R-IA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Susan Collins (R-ME).
