Sasse confirms Senate exit plan, says decision 'has exactly zero to do' with Trump impeachment vote

Nebraska GOP Sen. Ben Sasse has confirmed his intentions to leave the Senate to become the next University of Florida president.

Sasse told the National Review on Thursday, after news reports of his plan, that the university deal has yet to be finalized but that he's now the school’s only candidate.

"On Sunday night, [the university’s] board chair flew up and walked me through how they had had a search committee meeting that ended last week and that there was a 15–0 vote on the search committee to deputize him to pursue just me" to serve as president, Sasse said.

Sasse, who won a second term in 2020, was president of Midland University in Nebraska before being elected to the Senate in 2014.

Sasse was one of only seven GOP senators to vote in February 2021 to convict then-President Trump during his second impeachment trial, which was related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The senator told the National Review his vote "has exactly zero to do" with his his impeachment vote and that his decision to again become a university president was largely based on the timing of the university’s search process.

However, he suggested members of Congress "ought to only be here for a time and then get back to building stuff."

Sasse intends to announce in mid-November that he will resign 30 days later, giving the state’s governor time to select a replacement, the National Review also reports.

Trump endorsed Sasse's reelection bid but later said he regretted the decision. And he has continues to be a sharp
Sasse critic, saying he's among the most ineffective GOP senators and "bad news."