Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine met with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy last weekend, returning him as a prospect for the coveted U.S. Senate appointment. The governor says he is close to finalizing the pick but won't say when the announcement will be made.President-elect Donald Trump is recommending Ramaswamy, the chair of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, to seek the now-vacant seat in Congress, according to The Washington Post. This comes as Trump joined forces with former U.S. Senator JD Vance to be his vice president."I met with him last weekend," DeWine said. "I've met with a lot of people; We have a lot of good people."Ramaswamy's team did not respond to comment.Although the 39-year-old wasn't on my most recent lists of frontrunners, he was on the first few iterations. He was also an early contender but dropped off once he was appointed to DOGE.Find our most recent frontrunners below. Here is who Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine may appoint to U.S. Senate seat next weekRELATED: Here is who Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine may appoint to U.S. Senate seat next weekI spoke to Ramaswamy right before his appointment to Trumps administration was announced."Have you considered anything about the US Senate seat that's now just opened?" I asked him in November."Trump's decisive victory on Tuesday opens up a lot of possibilities to change the country," he responded. "We're obviously having discussions, and they're not going to be sorted out in the press."Ramaswamy then dodged several other reporters' attempts to nail down whether he wanted to run for governor. He brought up his background as an entrepreneur who started a pharmaceutical company and investment firm."I want to reflect on the biggest and best possible way that we can use that skill set as an outsider to hopefully transform this country," he said. "I obviously care immensely about the state. The future of Ohio is important to me as well."Once Ramaswamy headed to D.C., new names emerged. Most recently, the frontrunner was Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.Click here to read more about Husted's journey to frontrunner.I was the first to report that the governor and Husted visited Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump and Vance at the end of 2024.Both DeWine and Husted have had to deal with me bombarding them with questions. Ohio Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov Husted visit Trump, Vance ahead of U.S. Senate appointmentRELATED: Ohio Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov Husted visit Trump, Vance ahead of U.S. Senate appointmentHusted has always been expected to run for governor against Attorney General Dave Yost in 2026.But Ramaswamy also recently seemed interested in being governor and strategists believe he would be a threat to Husted, considering he is a well-known multi-millionaire who could fund his own campaign.By appointing Ramaswamy, Husted would have a thinner primary battle. DeWine has already endorsed his second-in-command for governor.TimelineLast week, DeWine said we would know his pick this week. That isn't very clear anymore.When asked about the role of having two senators with no seniority in Congress, DeWine defended U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno and his new pick, saying they will both be advocates for the state."The reason that we've not made an announcement yet we're getting close is just the gravity of this decision, the importance of this decision," DeWine said. "The person that I pick may be there for a long time. They're going to be one of only two Ohioans who represent us in the U.S. Senate. They're only one of 100. This is a huge job."Other than Husted and Ramaswamy, these are the other names being floated at this late in the game.In short: RNC Committeewoman for Ohio Jane Timken, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, former state Rep. Jay Edwards, Sec. of State Frank LaRose and former state Sen. Matt Dolan.The governor is so done with reporters, including myself, relentlessly asking him about the U.S. Senate pick that he has resigned to just playfully repeating the same few words. https://x.com/MorganTrau/status/1880014992822735008Either way this will be announced on DeWine's terms. In one final attempt, I asked Husted if he would miss acquiring projects such as Intel and Anduril if he moved to the Senate, but he just looked at me while walking away.Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.