Ben Sasse Is Living His Best Life

When Ben Sasse announced his retirement in January of 2023, a mere two years into his second term as U.S. senator from Nebraska, few were surprised. Even had he not voted to convict Donald Trump in his impeachment for January 6 — a death-penalty offense for most Republican politicians, particularly one facing a primary in an ultra-red state midway through what could well be Donald Trump’s second term — he simply lacked the temperament for the job. I mean this in the best possible way. He was not cut out for the Senate because, intellectually, he was too good for it. The man was president of a small school (Midland University) before winning his first race in 2014, and he has always been more comfortable discussing political philosophy than engaging in the actual practice of politics.

The surprise was where he announced he was going next: to the presidency of the University of Florida, home of the Gators. The position was open, the school’s academic reputation less than stellar — great party school, though — and guess who just so happened to control the appointment? None other than a certain ideologically reform-inclined governor then planning a presidential run in Ron DeSantis.

Honestly, I remember thinking Sasse had pulled a Willy Wonka–like miracle out of his candy-bar wrapper with this career move. His reward for suffering through seven thankless years of Washington sclerosis during the age of Trump was an escape from a life of misery and near-certain defeat in the 2026 primary, a golden ticket back to the sort of academic executive position he once thrived in and enjoyed, but this time at a school with far greater resources and a much higher profile. (Assuming his true calling has always been as a reforming school president, Sasse’s Senate career can now read like a curiously roundabout way of getting a promotion.) If anyone had it in them to be the next Mitch Daniels — taking over a moribund state school and revitalizing its reputation while keeping it sane and holding costs down — then why not Ben Sasse? It was nice to see a soft landing for a man who, aside from his sterling conservative record and his courage in voting his conscience after January 6, seemed deeply unhappy in his job. At Florida, he would have a chance to truly prove himself, not sit around and take meaningless procedural votes.

It is too soon to draw any conclusions — academic reputations typically turn around with all the speed and agility of early 20th-century Russian battleships — but the signs are good so far. Sasse notably delivered the single most dignified public statement given by any university president on the events of October 7. The University of Florida campus does not seem to be a notable hotbed of antisemitic agitation either, though perhaps those in Gainesville have experience with obnoxious activists. And then today? Today he fired the school’s entire DEI staff and closed their office permanently.

I suppose it’s bad taste to celebrate all of these people losing their jobs, but what you must understand is that all of these people needed to lose their jobs. The arguments against DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) have been so endlessly and well rehearsed here in the pages of National Review that restating them in a quick Corner piece verges on patronizing; suffice it to say we are talking about the purest deadweight in the entire university administrative complex here, a component without which most schools would run more, not less, efficiently. So with a sharp stroke of Ben Sasse’s pen, the entire festering sore is gone now, neatly and painlessly excised.

Ron DeSantis deserves thanks. Sasse’s move was done in reaction to new regulations passed by the Florida Board of Education prohibiting public funding from going to DEI in state schools. That meant the University of Florida had to zero out the $5 million budget allocated to DEI salaries and services. I suppose UF could have appealed to donors for private funding to keep the school’s DEI offices going, but I suspect it was a tough sell for people who more typically think of themselves as Gators sports boosters.

So Sasse can claim that “his hand was forced” if he so desires. I doubt he minds. The Left will either be stunned when the University of Florida magically manages not to descend into Klan racism even without DEI to keep the kids in line, or they will pretend not to notice how completely unnecessary it turned out to be. Either way, it’s a fine day for any university president when he can cut costs by spontaneously laying off a bunch of the most useless administrators (as opposed to faculty) while also making his school a happier and more productive place. When you remember how miserable he was as a senator little over a year ago, the contrast is clear now: Ben Sasse is living his best life.