President-elect Donald Trump is urging his former campaign rival, Vivek Ramaswamy, to consider an appointment to Ohio’s vacant U.S. Senate seat, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Gov. Mike DeWine must pick someone to replace Vice President-elect JD Vance, who resigned his Senate seat last week. The appointee will serve with Sen. Bernie Moreno for two years and must run in November 2026 if he or she wants to keep the seat. The winner of that election will serve the remainder of Vance’s term, which ends in 2028.
The Washington Post first reported that Ramaswamy is back in the running months after withdrawing his name for consideration. A source familiar with the discussions confirmed to this newspaper’s statehouse bureau that Ramaswamy is considering the position and recently met with DeWine.
Ramaswamy’s reemergence came weeks after he faced blowback for a social media post decrying American “mediocrity” and a culture that reveres sitcom characters like Zach and Slater from “Saved By the Bell.”
Several Ohio Republicans have expressed interest in the Senate seat, including Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and former Ohio Republican Party chair Jane Timken. Sources have said Husted is the frontrunner, but he’s weighing whether to accept the appointment or pursue a run for governor in 2026.
A spokesperson for DeWine declined to comment.
Ramaswamy is a suburban Columbus resident who grew up in the Cincinnati area. After graduating from Harvard and Yale Law School − where he studied with Vance − Ramaswamy founded a pharmaceutical company and asset management firm. After an unsuccessful bid for president, he became a staunch Trump ally who many view as the future of the Republican Party.
The president-elect tapped Ramaswamy to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, with Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk. Ramaswamy is also rumored as a potential candidate for Ohio governor.
It’s unclear what would happen to Ramaswamy’s role in DOGE if he becomes a senator. The group is not an official government agency.
Haley BeMiller covers state government and politics for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
