COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted will succeed Vice President-elect JD Vance in the U.S. Senate, the state's governor announced Friday.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted will replace Vice President-elect J.D. Vance in the Senate, ending weeks of speculation as Washington, D.C., prepares to inaugurate Donald Trump for a second time as president.

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Friday that he selected Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, tapping a like-minded fiscal and defense hawk to replace one of the Republican Party’s leading populist voices.

Husted will join freshman Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno in Washington to fill out the next two years of Vance’s term before running in a special election in 2026. The Senate flipped to a Republican majority in the 2024 election cycle and now stands at 53-47 with the appointment.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is Gov. Mike DeWine's choice to replace Vice President-elect J.D. Vance in the U.S. Senate.

Current Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was chosen by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Friday afternoon to fill Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s U.S. Senate seat. Husted, who has served as the 66th lieutenant governor of Ohio since 2019 and was Ohio’s 50th Secretary of State from 2011-2019,

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine appointed Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.

NBC News is citing an anonymous source who said the announcement is scheduled to come at a 1 p.m. press conference from DeWine.