Trump Reportedly Urges Vivek Ramaswamy To Fill Open Ohio Senate Seat

President-elect Donald Trump wants entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to fill the Senate seat left open by Vice President-elect JD Vance, according to a report published Wednesday by The Washington Post.

The Post cited “two people with knowledge of the matter” who said that Trump encouraged Ramaswamy to take the job in the Senate if Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine offers it to him. Ramaswamy is also reportedly discussing the position with GOP leaders. Vance’s resignation from the Senate was made official last Friday, and now, DeWine has the responsibility to appoint a replacement until a special election is held in 2026.

After Trump’s 2024 election victory, Ramaswamy was tapped by the president-elect to run the Department of Government Efficiency alongside billionaire Elon Musk. Following his appointment to DOGE, Ramaswamy said he was “withdrawing” himself “from consideration for the pending Senate appointment in Ohio.”

Since DOGE is not an official government agency, it’s unclear if Ramaswamy would continue to help lead DOGE if he is tapped to replace Vance in the Senate.

DeWine met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week and told reporters that he will make a final decision on the Senate seat in the coming days, “I’ll have an announcement probably next week.”

“I want someone who understands Ohio, who has a deep knowledge of our state. We need a strong advocate there,” the governor added.

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Multiple contenders for the open Senate seat have been floated, including Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Ohio Lieutenant Gov. Jon Husted, and former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, among others. Ramaswamy, a native of Cincinnati, has also reportedly considered running for Ohio governor in 2026. Musk and Ramaswamy have said that they hope to end DOGE by July 4, 2026, after accomplishing all of its goals to cut government waste.

Both Musk and Ramaswamy have been criticized in recent weeks by some of Trump’s supporters for supporting the H-1B foreign worker visa program. A long debate over the visas was started by an X post from Ramaswamy, who argued that American culture “has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.”

Trump also commented on the debate, siding with Musk and Ramaswamy. “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” he told the New York Post. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”