Vice President-elect JD Vance will resign from his seat in the US Senate at midnight, a spokesperson for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said.
Vance said in a statement: 鈥淭o the people of Ohio, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for the privilege of representing you in the United States Senate. When I was elected to this office, I promised to never forget where I came from, and I鈥檝e made sure to live by that promise every single day.鈥�
DeWine, who appoints Vance's successor, has said he was waiting on Vance鈥檚 official resignation to announce his choice to fill Vance鈥檚 seat. Vance didn鈥檛 have to resign until his inauguration in about two weeks, on Jan. 20鈥攚hen he and President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in.
DeWine has offered no hints about who he might appoint, but most political observers believe Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is at the top of the list.
Many Republicans have expressed interest in the seat, including former Ohio Republican Party chair Jane Timken. Another possibility is tech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, but he was appointed to head the new federal Department of Government Efficiency along with Elon Musk by Trump, and said in November he was not interested in the position.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
