Republicans leave office over Trump posts. How are the vacancies filled?
President-elect Donald J. Trump is packing his administration with Republican officeholders who will leave a trail of vacancies stretching from Capitol Hill to at least one governor’s seat.
These openings are unlikely to shift the balance of power in Congress or at the state level. Yet not every vacancy will be filled in the same way, with a hodgepodge of arcane rules governing the processes.
It can be downright confusing. This is what you can expect:
J.D. Vance: Vice President
How Vance’s Senate seat in Ohio will be filled
When Mr. Trump named Ohio’s junior senator as his running mate, he did so with the knowledge that the state’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, would be allowed to name Mr. Vance’s temporary replacement if the pair were elected.
Ohio is one of 45 states to do so give that power to the governor. That means Republicans, who flipped control of the Senate in the Nov. 5 election, will almost certainly hold the seat until at least 2026, when a special election will be held to determine who will fill the remaining two years of Trump’s term. Mr. Vance will serve time.
The next regular elections for the seat will take place in 2028. The state has become increasingly red, with Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown losing re-election in November.
Marco Rubio: Secretary of State
How Rubio’s Senate seat in Florida will be filled
Should the Senate confirm Florida’s senior senator to the prestigious Cabinet role, the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, would choose his replacement.
Mr. DeSantis, who endorsed Mr. Trump after dropping his own Republican presidential bid, would appoint someone to the seat, and then a special election would be held in 2026 to fill the remaining two years of Mr. Rubio’s term. The seat would be up for re-election in 2028. Florida hasn’t elected a Democratic senator in more than a decade.
Matt Gaetz: Attorney General
How Gaetz’s seat in Florida will be filled
Mr. Gaetz, selected as attorney general, is one of Mr. Trump’s most polarizing Cabinet picks. Gaetz, a far-right provocateur, won a fifth term this month in his safe Republican House district on the edge of Florida. Vacancies in the House of Representatives – where Republicans retained a slim majority in the elections – are filled differently than those in the Senate.
A Florida state law says the governor, in consultation with the Florida Secretary of State, should select the dates for special primaries and special elections.
Mr. DeSantis said he instructed Cord Byrd, the Secretary of State and a Republican, to immediately schedule a special election to fill the seat, and Mr. Byrd said he would soon. But a date has not yet been announced.
Mr. DeSantis’ urgency to fill the vacancy was in stark contrast to the timing of a special election following the death of Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Democrat, in April 2021. Mr. DeSantis scheduled a special primary seven months later, and there special general elections were held in January 2022.
Mike Waltz: National Security Advisor
How Waltz’s House seat in Florida will be filled
The former Green Beret, who received four Bronze Stars and is known for his hawkish views on national security, was re-elected in east-central Florida in November with more than 65 percent of the vote. His district, Florida’s Sixth, is one of the most Republican areas in the country.
The seat will be filled through a special election, which Mr. DeSantis has also said he wants to schedule immediately. No date has been announced yet.
Elise Stefanik: United Nations Ambassador
How Stefanik’s seat in the New York House of Representatives will be filled
The No. 4 Republican leader in the House of Representatives was rewarded for her unwavering loyalty to Mr Trump, who offered her the role of UN ambassador. She will leave what is seen as a safe GOP district in upstate New York.
Below state lawGov. Kathy Hochul of New York, a Democrat, will have 10 days after Ms. Stefanik steps down to call for a special election, to be held between 70 and 80 days afterward.
Ms. Stefanik has not yet resigned; It is common for nominees to wait until after Senate confirmation before doing so. That process will begin after Mr. Trump comes to power.
Kristi Noem: Secretary of Homeland Security
How Noem’s job as governor of South Dakota will be accomplished
In filling all the vacancies Trump’s nominees would create, the process of installing South Dakota’s next governor might be the simplest.
The office would be taken over by the lieutenant governorLarry Rhoden, a Republican who has been Ms. Noem’s running mate for two election cycles.
At one point during the 2024 presidential election, Ms. Noem was mentioned as a possible candidate to become Trump’s running mate. Then the publication of her memoir brought negative attention to her story about shooting her dog in a gravel pit and her false claims about meeting with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader.
Her Cabinet post requires Senate confirmation.
