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Vermont Senate leader Phil Baruth prepares for retirement

Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth speaks to Sen. Anne Watson during Senate proceedings on June 16, 2025.
Brian Stevenson
/
Vermont Public
Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, seen here in June, 2025, announced his retirement last month.

The Vermont Legislature has hit the midway point of the legislative session. The end of the session will close out the biennium, as well as the legislative career of Senate leader Phil Baruth.

Baruth, an eight-term Democrat from Burlington, announced last month that he will retire from public office when his term formally expires next January. He became pro tem in 2023.

He joined Vermont Edition to reflect on his years in public service and his legislative priorities for the second half of this session.

Broadcast live on Tuesday, March 16, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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Mikaela Lefrak is the host and senior producer of Vermont Edition. Her stories have aired nationally on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Marketplace, The World and Here and Now. A seasoned local reporter, Mikaela has won two regional Edward R. Murrow awards and a Public Media Journalists Association award for her work.
Andrea Laurion joined Vermont Public as a news producer for Vermont Edition in December 2022. She is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., and a graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. Before getting into audio, Andrea worked as an obituary writer, a lunch lady, a wedding photographer assistant, a children’s birthday party hostess, a haunted house actor, and an admin assistant many times over.