WASHINGTON — Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who frequently clashed with former President Donald Trump but won a second term in 2020, is expected to resign from office before the end of the year, a source familiar with the move confirmed to NBC News on Thursday.
Sasse is expected to exit the Senate to take a new job leading the University of Florida, the source said.
Sasse won reelection in 2020, and his term was not set to expire until 2026. But Sasse has been at odds with Trump and his own party for years. After the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Sasse was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump for his role in inciting the deadly riot.
Senate Republican leadership has been alerted of the news, a leadership aide told NBC News.
The source said the University of Florida will soon announce that their presidential search committee has unanimously selected Sasse as the “sole finalist” to lead the university. That will kick off a process, spelled out in state law, that includes meetings between Sasse and officials in Gainesville.
After three weeks, the college’s board of directors will vote on the search panel’s recommendation, then the Florida board of governors will vote to approve the pick.
“We anticipate that will be accepted by the end of the year, and then he would resign before the end of the year and the Nebraska governor would select the replacement,” the source said.
Sasse, 50, the former president of Midland University, was first elected to the Senate in 2014.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Julie Tsirkin contributed.