Two months after taking himself out of the running for an Ohio Senate seat, Vivek Ramaswamy is under consideration for the post, according to two people familiar with the matter granted anonymity to discuss ongoing conversations.
Ramaswamy and Gov. Mike DeWine, who is tasked with appointing someone to the job recently vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance, met at the governor’s mansion over the weekend to discuss the post, according to one of the people.
Ramaswamy enters the mix after going dark on social media for almost two weeks, shortly after making controversial comments that upset MAGA activists online. In a discussion of H-1B visas, he said that tech companies hire foreign workers partly because of an American cultural mindset that has “venerated mediocrity over excellence.”
The timing of Ramaswamy’s decision to seek higher office has sparked speculation in GOP circles that he is looking for a lifeline after his contentious comments. Not only had he previously removed himself from consideration for the Senate post, he has also taken on a high-profile job co-leading President-elect Donald Trump’s cost-cutting efforts with Elon Musk in the Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ramaswamy is being considered even as he’s interested in continuing to serve on DOGE and potentially launching a gubernatorial run, according to one of the people.
Billionaire Musk, co-director of DOGE, Ramaswamy and Trump are all said to be in agreement that the group needs an advocate in the Senate.
Appointing Ramaswamy to the Senate would offer Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted a cleaner shot to succeed DeWine by eliminating a potential competitor.“DeWine isn’t incentivized to pick Ramaswamy for Senate, but Vivek is also the one roadblock to Husted,” this person said.
Dewine brought Husted down to Mar-a-Lago last month to visit Trump, Ohio Capital Journal reported.
Dewine has previously said he wants someone who can win the special election in 2026 to fill out the remainder of Vance’s term and hold the Senate seat again in 2028.
One Trump ally, granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, warned that Ramaswamy’s comments about American culture might complicate his chances of being tapped for the Senate nod.
“The problem now is that he is damaged goods,” the person said.
DeWine’s decision may come as early as this week, he told reporters at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago last week, standing alongside other Republican governors.
“Neither Governor DeWine nor our office has commented on any possible candidates for the pending appointment,” Dewine Press Secretary Dan Tierney told POLITICO in a statement.
A Senate appointment would allow Ramaswamy, 39, to work on efforts to cut federal spending from inside Congress while Musk pursues it from the outside, the second person familiar with Ramaswamy’s thinking told POLITICO. It would also provide Ramaswamy a chance to go fight for DOGE priorities against expected pushback from Senate Democrats, given his penchant for debating.
Ramaswamy has been uncharacteristically quiet on social media after being caught up in a heated debate between different MAGA factions over H1-B visas at the start of the year.
His support of the temporary visa program for highly skilled foreign workers, was met with significant pushback from right wing voices including Steve Bannon, Laura Loomer and Jack Posobiec, though Trump ultimately said he supported the program.
“Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG,” wrote Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants, on X. “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ … will not produce the best engineers.”
Ramaswamy ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination during the 2024 cycle, but managed to raise his national profile and break through with some GOP voters by aligning himself with Trump and campaigning on “America First” policies.
As a presidential candidate, Ramaswamy’s proposals ranged from cutting 1 million government jobs to ending birthright citizenship to raising the voting age to 25.
CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this report misstated JD Vance’s future role.
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