What happens to JD Vance’s Senate seat and others in Congress selected to join the Trump administration

Washington — President-elect Donald Trump is returning to the White House next year after a decisive victory in the 2024 election. And he’s slated to bring with him a number of lawmakers to round out his administration — from Sen. JD Vance as vice president-elect to Rep. Elise Stefanik as his pick for ambassador to the U.N.

With the moves, the lawmakers will have to vacate their seats after the start of the new Congress in January, teeing up the process to replace them. The process differs between the two chambers, and between states. 

Here’s how the vacancies will be filled:

Filling vacancies in the Senate

Rules differ across states for how to fill a Senate vacancy. In 45 states, governors appoint replacements to serve until the next election, while in just five states — Kentucky, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin — vacancies are filled by expedited special elections.

Trump tapped Vance, an Ohio Republican first elected to the Senate in 2022, as his running mate in July, prompting him to depart from the Senate to serve as vice president following the election. And Trump is expected to name Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state, a Cabinet position that requires confirmation by the Senate. 

In both Florida and Ohio, the governor appoints a replacement to serve until the next statewide election. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will appoint someone to fill the respective seats until a special election can be held in 2026. The winner of the 2026 election would serve the remainder of Vance and Rubio’s terms, meaning that person would have to run for election again in 2028.

Both DeWine and DeSantis have long histories with Trump, with the Ohio governor being one of the few prominent Republicans who declined to endorse Trump’s 2024  bid. And DeSantis’ relationship with Trump had been similarly frosty, after the two men faced off in the GOP presidential primaries earlier this year. But both Republican governors are expected to work in the best interest of the party, especially after Trump’s decisive victory.

Who the governors will appoint to replace Vance and Rubio remains to be seen. In Ohio, names like Secretary of State Frank LaRose, state Sen. Matt Dolan and former Ohio GOP chair Jane Timken have circulated, as have a number of lawmakers who represent Ohio in the House. 

In Florida, a number of possibilities have emerged for DeSantis to appoint, including Trump’s daughter in-law, Lara Trump, a co-chair of the Republican National Committee. DeSantis’s chief of staff James Utheier and Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez have also been among names floated, as have Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and former Florida House Speaker Jose Olivia. 

Filling vacancies in the House

In the House, vacancies are filled by special elections. But the timing of those elections can vary. 

Trump selected Stefanik, the current Republican conference chair, to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations, teeing up a special election to fill her seat representing New York’s 21st congressional district. The district, which Stefanik won by more than 20 points in her reelection bid last week, is solidly red, making it a safe seat for Republicans in a special election. But it will remain vacant until a special election is held — a timeframe that is set by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and could take up to 90 days — taking away from what is expected to be a narrow Republican majority in the House. 

Rep. Michael Waltz, who Trump selected to serve as his National Security adviser, also represents a solidly red district in Florida. His seat will also be filled by a special election, and DeSantis is expected to work to quickly set a timeframe to replace him.