Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) on Oct. 6 indicated he'll accept a position at the University of Florida after reports that he would resign from the Senate.
Sasse, 50, said that the University of Florida “is uniquely positioned to lead this country through an era of disruption” and that the “partisanship” in Washington “isn’t going to solve” workforce challenges.
He also said he was delighted to be under consideration to be president of the university.
Reports emerged earlier Thursday that Sasse is going to resign from the Senate to take the potential job offer. They were primarily based on anonymous sources, though former Sasse aide Ian Swanson, who now hosts a radio show on KFAB, also said Sasse would step down.
Sasse’s office declined to comment.
The University of Florida said its committee charged with finding its next president only recommended one name to its Board of Trustees: Ben Sasse.
“This is right for the University of Florida, right for the state of Florida and right for the Sasse family,” Rahul Patel, chair of the Presidential Search Committee, said in a statement. “Ben brings intellectual curiosity, a belief in the power and potential of American universities, and an unmatched track record of leadership spanning higher education, government and the private sector.”
Sasse previously served as president for Midland University in Nebraska. He won election to the Senate in 2014.
Sasse was re-elected to the Senate in 2020. Senate terms are six years.
Under Nebraska law, the governor of the state would appoint a replacement if either Senate seat representing Nebraska becomes vacant. A special election would be held down the road for voters to choose who serves the remainder of the term.
Pete Ricketts, a Republican, is the governor of Nebraska.
The Senate is currently composed of 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats or nominal independents who regularly vote with the Democrats. The Democrats hold control of the upper chamber since Vice President Kamala Harris is a Democrat. In her role as president of the Senate, she can cast tiebreaking votes.
Sasse was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict former President Donald Trump after Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives in 2021. Sasse was later censured by the Lincoln County Republican Party for the vote and criticized by the Nebraska Republican Party.
“The Nebraska Republican Party Central Committee expresses its deep disappointment and sadness with respect to the service of Senator Ben Sasse and calls for an immediate readjustment whereby he represents the people of Nebraska to Washington and not Washington to the people of Nebraska,” the party said in a resolution.
Trump supported Sasse in the 2020 election, but Sasse said at the time he “must vote to convict” because he believed Trump lied about voter fraud and that Trump’s acts led to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
