Donald Trump selected Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his 2024 running mate, which means there may soon be a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate.
If Trump and Vance win in November, the 39-year-old first-term lawmaker would need to resign from the Senate before taking the oath of office on Inauguration Day. It would then be up to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who is a Republican, to appoint a replacement.
One name in the mix? Vance’s former Yale Law School classmate and fellow Ohioan Vivek Ramaswamy. On Wednesday’s show, Ramaswamy joined Megyn and addressed whether or not he would be interested in the role.
Senator Ramaswamy?
As Megyn put it, the “one downside” of Trump choosing Vance for vice president is that it could open up a Senate seat that the GOP was supposed to control until 2028. Vance won the 2022 election against Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan to succeed retiring incumbent Republican Rob Portman, which means there are still four years left on his term.
Should Trump and Vance win the election, DeWine – who is a former U.S. senator himself – would appoint a temporary replacement for Vance. That individual would serve until the next regular state election, at which point there would be a special election to fill the rest of the term. “The quick 411 is [DeWine is] not going to pick Vivek Ramaswamy,” Megyn noted. “The thinking is he is more of an establishment guy, and he is not going to want an American-first guy there.”
But Megyn said DeWine is going to be hard pressed not to at least consider Ramaswamy given his popularity and relationship with Trump. So, would Ramaswamy be open to the role? “If asked, I would have to consider it,” he told Megyn. “If I imagined being a senator, I would have run for Senate. There were two opportunities I had to do it potentially in Ohio in 2022 and 2024, and I chose not to.”
Even so, he believes this is “a historic moment to really revive the country” and serving in the Senate could represent a way for him to do so. “I’m reflecting on keeping a really open mind to what is the right way to drive impact in the country and the next chapter,” he said. “[My] top passion is to dismantle bureaucracy, dismantle the administrative state. There is definitely an executive angle there foremost, but there is also a legislative angle to be able to really pave the way for that.”
In fact, Ramaswamy believes Vance provides a blueprint for how to effectively legislate. “One of the things I thought was outstanding about J.D. in the Senate is he did have a clear-eyed view and vision for the country,” he explained. “He was smart and energetic and willing to engage with people who disagreed with him on some things but… still find common ground on others. We need more people like that.”
The Real J.D. Vance
That willingness to reach across the aisle is something Ramaswamy has long known about Vance. While he said the two grew up about 15 minutes apart from one another in southwest Ohio, they didn’t meet until they were students at Yale Law School.
“I didn’t know he was a conservative and he, I don’t think, knew quite the same about me,” Ramaswamy said. “We used to watch Bengals games because we were both from there… so we were toiling in dive bars in New Haven watching a pretty terrible football team at the time.”
As he recalled, Vance was “smart” but also “earnest” and “sincere.” Ramaswamy said that while the pair agree on “most things,” they spend more time discussing their differences. “What I love about my relationship with him is he is really intellectually interested and open-minded,” he explained. “I think he has pushed me to think about things differently than I would have, and I’d like to say the same in return.”
Ultimately, Ramaswamy thinks it speaks to the kind of vice president Vance would be. “And I think that says something about him and the kind of leader he is going to be,” he concluded. “He doesn’t care so much about these silly partisan boundaries versus actually having an independent vision for America.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Ramaswamy by tuning in to episode 840 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.