The University of Florida Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to unanimously approve the appointment of Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse as the university’s next president. He is expected to step down from his Senate seat in December.
Sasse told the board he has big plans for the university. “I’m here rather than at some other school, or rather than trying to claw to stay in the United States Senate for decades, because I believe that this is the most interesting institution in the state that has the most happening right now, and is therefore the best positioned to help lead our country through a time of unprecedented change,” he said.
Sasse was the sole finalist to emerge in early October after what officials called an “exhaustive” process. The university’s search committee said it considered over 700 individuals before voting for Sasse as its first choice.
Rahul Patel, who chaired the committee, said that Sasse’s name came up often as one who could help the university achieve its goals of becoming a national leader in academia. “We need a visionary, an innovator and big thinker who would differentiate us from others — a leader who is transformational,” Patel said. “The committee unanimously felt Ben Sasse is a transformational leader.”
But some students are unhappy about Sasse’s appointment because of his views on LGBTQ+ issues. Loud student protests recently shut down a university event with Sasse, forcing it to be moved online. After the protest, the university announced that moving forward it would enforce a prohibition on indoor protests, according to NBC News.
Before Tuesday’s vote, Sasse told the board of trustees he would practice “political celibacy” in the position, and said he was “not a partisan figure in this role,” according to CNN.
The Florida Board of Governors is expected to approve Sasse’s selection at their meeting scheduled for next week.
The University of Florida is one of the largest public universities in the country. Although Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn’t have a formal role in naming a new university president, the governor’s deputy press secretary told the press last month that he approves of the pick. DeSantis’ chief of staff, James Uthmeier, is reported to have shepherded Sasse through the university search process.
Sasse, who is 50 years old, holds five academic degrees and was president of a small university in Nebraska before being elected to the Senate in 2014.
Sasse is in the second year of his second term representing the state of Nebraska in the Senate. During his time in office, he often complained that Congress doesn’t legislate anymore. In recent years he kept a low profile, occasionally debating colleagues in committee or on the Senate floor, but didn’t craft much legislation himself.
While he was a solid conservative voice in the Senate, he had a complicated relationship with former President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans. He voted with Trump’s policy positions over 80% of the time, but often lambasted the former president for his rough rhetoric.
Sasse voted to acquit Trump in his first impeachment trial, but he was one of seven Republican senators who ultimately voted to convict Trump after his second impeachment trial, saying Trump had violated his oath of office.
The Nebraska Republican Party deliberated on whether to censure Sasse for his lack of support for Trump. He quipped in response that “politics isn’t about the weird worship of one dude.”
Sasse has long warned that heightened vitriol in national politics is a recipe for disaster. In an op-ed for Deseret Magazine last year he encouraged neighbors to confront societal problems as a community and not rely on the government.
“We’ve got to think about how to love our neighbor,” he said. “Part of that is I need to understand my neighbor’s view. … That’s what principled pluralism really is. Government is not going to solve all our problems.”
Nebraska state law gives the governor power to appoint a replacement if a vacancy occurs in a Senate seat. Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska is the son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and part owner of the Chicago Cubs. Some local news outlets have speculated that Ricketts might consider appointing himself to replace Sasse.