The Senate Ethics Committee found no issue with a top staffer for Sen. Jon Husted moonlighting as a state-level lobbying consultant, Husted’s office told The Washington Sun.
The finding, which the committee did not publicly confirm, comes after The Sun reported in June that Husted senior adviser and state director Sean Dunn continued to do consulting for an Ohio government affairs firm while working in Husted’s office.
Dunn’s 2025 personal financial disclosure showed $22,652 in payments from the firm, Statehouse Impact Group.
Dunn still works for the Columbus lobbying firm, according to Husted’s office, but only in a business capacity and not for lobbying or client services. Husted’s office did not provide details on the specific nature of Dunn’s business work. Dunn owned the firm from 2003 until 2025.
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The Senate Ethics Committee reviewed the matter in part because Ohio attorney Anne Griffin asked the committee to investigate whether the arrangement violated Senate Rule 37.
Under Senate Rule 37, members and Senate staff are barred from leveraging their official influence or positions for personal financial benefit. The rule further restricts staff members from providing professional services, such as consulting, that involve fiduciary duties to outside clients and imposes additional obligations on senior staff.
The Senate Ethics Committee didn’t formally sanction anyone in 2025, continuing a streak of nearly two decades without issuing a formal sanction. Before Husted’s appointment in 2025 to fill the Senate seat of now-Vice President JD Vance, he served as Ohio’s secretary of state from 2011 to 2019 and as lieutenant governor under Gov. Mike DeWine from 2019 to 2025.
Husted lost reelection last week to Democrat Sherrod Brown, a former U.S. senator. President Donald Trump campaigned heavily on Husted’s behalf, making headlines for his repeated comments about Husted’s muscular physique.
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