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Jon Husted, a Dayton-area politician, enters the U.S. Senate

• The story: Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, a former Dayton-area state representative, senator, speaker of the House and Ohio Secretary of State, was sworn into the U.S. Senate this Monday to fill a vacant seat left by Vice President JD Vance.

• The context: Husted was priming to run for governor in 2026 to replace term-limited Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, but his decision to take the U.S. Senate appointment takes him out of contention.

• Grind: Husted, 57, is guaranteed to have a spot in the Senate until at least December 2026. After that, he’ll face a grueling grind to maintain his place in the chamber, as law mandates a special election to be held in November 2026 to determine who will serve out the remainder of the original six-year Senate term ending December 2028, and another general election in November 2028 for a new term.

• Priorities: The University of Dayton graduate and former Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce exec said his plan is to return power to the states and make the country a better place to live, but he was mum on some of his specific stances, including foreign policy, and his plans to take on social media giants, as he has as LG.

• Achievements: Husted’s career highlights include creating Ohio’s first private school voucher program, which has since ballooned into a billion-dollar-per-year venture to get more kids in private schools; he’s slashed income taxes and eliminated certain business taxes; and “set a national standard for maintaining the voter rolls” during his time as secretary of state, he recalled.

• Here’s the full story on the appointment from me and Josh Sweigart.

• And, here’s another story on everything to know about Husted from Daniel Susco.

Day one: Trump’s executive orders and what they mean

• The story: On his first day in office, Trump signed a barrage of executive orders, which this newspaper is in the process of reviewing. You can read summaries (and each of the orders) in a round-up story we’ve compiled. Here’s a few highlights.

• Pardon me: Trump fully pardoned or commuted the sentences of everyone convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, including those who violently attacked law enforcement officers.

• WHO? Not us: One executive order announced the United States’ intent to withdraw from the World Health Organization and pause the future of any and all funds and support to the organization.

• Southern invasion: In another, Trump wrote that he has “determined that the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion” under the U.S. Constitution and will be “suspending the physical entry of aliens involved in an invasion into the United States across the southern border until I determine that the invasion has concluded.”

• Here’s the round-up story, with many more orders, from our reporters.

Local political news of the week

• Local pardons: Over a dozen of the 1,500 people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack have connections to Southwest Ohio. We took a look at their cases. Here’s the story.

• Once in a lifetime: The Middletown High School band and cheerleading squad became part of history Monday after performing at an inauguration where JD Vance, a native Butler County, became the 50th vice president of the United States. Michael D. Pitman has the story.

• Restroom debate: A single-user or unisex restroom concept currently proposed for Tipp City’s new preschool through eighth-grade building drew some angry comments from residents at this week’s school board meeting. Nancy Bowman has the story.

State political news of the week

• DEI ban?: The GOP-controlled Ohio legislature is prepping to fast-track a sweeping higher education reform bill that would, among other things, attempt to combat perceived liberal bias on college campuses by blocking universities from offering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Here’s my story.

• Governor race: Republican Attorney General Dave Yost announced Thursday his 2026 candidacy to replace term-limited Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and lead the state’s executive branch. While others are sure to join in, Yost enters a field that so far only has former Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton, a Democrat, in it. Here’s my story.

• SoS: Former Dayton-area lawmaker Niraj Antani also threw his name in the ring for an executive position, kicking off his campaign Thursday to run for Ohio Secretary of State in 2026. Others, again, are expected to join the fray, but so far only Warren County Democrat Bryan Hambley, a cancer doctor, is in the race. Here’s my story.

• Chamber priorities: The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce has finalized its biannual legislative and regulatory agenda, offering insight on the areas the business advocacy organization will focus on on behalf of its more than 2,000 members over the next two years. Here’s my story.

National political news of the week

• Bucket list: Dayton-area residents went to Washington, D.C. this week to witness history as Donald Trump was sworn in as the nation’s 47th president and JD Vance was sworn in as its 50th vice president. Here are some of their stories from Eric Schwartzberg.

• Tick-tock: Popular video social media app TikTok was briefly offline in the U.S. following a federal law required gave its China-based parent company ByteDance an ultimatum: sell the platform to an approved buyer by Sunday or face a nationwide ban. Trump gave the site a reprieve until early April, though its long term future is unclear. The Associated Press has the story.