In my 25 years of public service, I’ve never taken Ohioans’ trust for granted. Members of this Congress made key promises last year, and Americans — and Ohioans — are trusting their voices in our nation’s capital to keep them.

In just 100 days, I’ve seen up close how much the federal government complicates and delays services that Ohioans rely on. My team and I have been in the trenches establishing a new Senate office that prioritizes customer service to Ohioans. Even though we’ve made tangible strides since I was sworn into office a few months ago, the federal bureaucracy has sometimes made simple tasks — like taking phone calls from our state — impossible.

For example, when I began voting as a senator on Jan. 21, I had no Senate phone number, email address, office or staff. More than two months later, the bureaucracy that oversees all Senate offices still hadn’t turned on the phones in my Ohio offices. Multiple times, the Senate’s voicemail system overflowed, leaving no room for men and women who called my office to share their thoughts or leave call-back information.

While many Ohioans responded to such challenges graciously, the series of setbacks was frustrating. Ohioans should be able to have their voices heard whether they call, write or email our office.

To that end, I’m happy to share that we now have four Ohio offices — in Cleveland, Columbus, Middletown and Toledo (in addition to our Washington office) — open, including all phone lines! While my team has been responding to the questions and concerns of Ohioans daily since January, sometimes our phone lines still get busy. Know that we’re actively answering our phones, listening to your messages, and sending email responses directly to people who reach out to me.

I’m also sharing the work I’m doing with and for Ohioans publicly, on a variety of platforms — because every Ohioan deserves to know how their senator is spending his time on their behalf. Any Ohioan can also hear from me regularly by signing up for my newsletter at www.husted.senate.gov or following me on social media.

One of the opportunities I’ve enjoyed most since joining the Senate has been launching the Husted Huddle, where my staff and I host public conversations over coffee. Some are visiting Washington and want to shake hands with me before they tour the Capitol. A lot of the Ohioans who join these huddles have policy priorities that they want to share with me face-to-face. Sometimes we agree on an issue. On other topics, we land in different places. But I always learn from them.

My approach to serving as a U.S. senator for Ohio isn’t that I think I’m always right — it’s that I value hearing from people directly so that we can get solutions right on the issues that affect our state.

When I learn from Ohioans on the ground, I don’t keep that wisdom a secret. I regularly share those insights with my colleagues in Congress, with this administration, and with the White House directly.

Of course, constructive conversations are part of customer service. So is action. My team and I are committed to coming alongside any Ohioan who needs help navigating a challenge that involves a federal agency. We’ve already helped Ohioans resolve some of these casework issues successfully, and I’ve even personally called the administration to go to bat for individuals who needed immediate assistance.

Where I land on policy always depends on how it affects people in Ohio. I’m working with my colleagues to cut spending; to extend tax breaks for families, workers, and job creators; to secure our borders; to empower American energy; and to strengthen our national security. With the passage of a bicameral budget plan, Republicans have already made more progress on bringing fiscal sanity to the federal budget than a lot of people expected.

I’ve also helped pass a bill, the HALT Fentanyl Act, to give law enforcement better tools to fight the fentanyl crisis, which stole the lives of more than 3,500 Ohioans in 2023 alone. Our work isn’t over, but this step will help save lives.

And I am prioritizing bringing Ohio’s work ethic and common sense to Washington. I began my time in the Capitol by authoring a bill that would leverage AI to streamline the 180,000-page code of federal regulations. My bill takes a page out of Ohio’s playbook to simplify regulations that make life harder for everyday people and the businesses that write their paychecks.

It’s been an honor to have the chance to serve the nearly 11.9 million people who call Ohio home as their voice in the Senate during these last 100 days. Whether it’s organizing tours, delivering flags, or standing alongside Ohioans when they are working with federal agencies, customer service will always be key in my commitment to them. I hope they’ll continue to share with me their hopes, their values, and their insights on how my team can serve them better.

Jon Husted, R-Ohio, was appointed to the U.S. Senate to replace J.D. Vance. He is Ohio’s former lieutenant governor.