'If you want to cut taxes, you got to cut spending,' Ohio Lt Gov Jon Husted told Fox News Digital
Next Ohio senator, a 'fiscal conservative', wants to bring state gov chops to DC to shrink the swamp
Ohio Senator-designate, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, is planning to bring his fiscally conservative philosophy to Washington, D.C., with the goal of shrinking the federal government.
FIRST ON FOX: Ohio's new Senator-designate, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, wants to get the country "to a more fiscally responsible path" and is bringing his years of state government experience to the upper chamber.
"Look, as a fiscal conservative, I always want to move America on to a more fiscally responsible path, and I want to get government out of people's lives," he told Fox News Digital in an exclusive first interview after being appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, to be the next senator.
Husted will take over Vice President-elect JD Vance's vacated Senate seat and run in a special election in 2026 to determine who will serve the remainder of his term.
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Husted was appointed to be the next Ohio senator on Friday. (Getty Images)
The lieutenant governor said he plans to run both in 2026 and again when Vance's seat is up for re-election in 2028.
As a "fiscal conservative," one issue sure to test Husted upon arriving at the Senate is President-elect Trump's desire to raise the debt ceiling.
"Look, I'll get into all of those issues once I take the oath," he said.
"In state government, we have to balance our budget," Husted explained.
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U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) walks into the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill on April 23, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
"If you want to cut taxes, you got to cut spending. And that's what I'm accustomed to. And that's the attitude I'll take into the process of being a U.S. senator."
He acknowledged that America's debt and spending problem can't be remedied with a "magic wand," but added, "you got to start somewhere."
Husted's appointment comes as the Trump transition team is currently pressing forward with key nominees for his Cabinet. Many of them have been meeting with senators for months ahead of their confirmation hearings and committee votes.
Asked about coming in right in the middle of this process, he told Fox News Digital, "I think it's a good list of nominees."
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Gov. Mike DeWine announced Husted as his pick for Senate. (Reuters)
"Remember, you know, I'm taking Vance's seat. I'm an ally of the Trump administration, and I'm going to help support those nominees and get them confirmed as quickly as we can," the senator-designate emphasized.
The first confirmation votes for Trump nominees are expected to take place on Monday evening following the inauguration.
It's unclear who will run against Husted in the 2026 special election, but the seat is expected to be one of the Democrats' top targets after losing former Sen. Sherrod Brown's seat in November.
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Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, walks through the U.S. Capitol in July. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Brown has been speculated as a candidate for Vance's seat, and he previously dismissed questions from Fox News Digital about whether he'd launch a campaign for it.
Following the news of Husted's appointment on Friday, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spokesman David Bergstein said in a statement, "The start of the 2026 cycle has quickly been defined by new weak spots emerging in Senate Republicans’ already challenging map. Ohio’s special election adds another seat and another controversial candidate the GOP will have to protect - and it means Senate Republicans are starting the cycle having to play even more defense."
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
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