The former president of the University of Florida, retired Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, directed millions in university dollars to Republican allies, the Independent Florida Alligator reported.
Sasse, who was university president for 17 months, tripled his office’s spending from $5.6 million to $17.3 million, The Alligator reported. Sasse represented Nebraska in the U.S. Senate before he took the position, which was offered to him by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The majority of Sasse’s spending was used for contracts with consulting firms and for hiring six of his former Senate staffers and two former Republican officials to remote jobs at the university.
When Sasse took the position in the fall of 2022, he promised a non-partisan presidency amid protests over his GOP past, claiming he would engage in “political celibacy,” reported WUSF Public Media.
Sasse hired Raymond Sass, his former Senate chief of staff, as the vice president for innovation and partnerships at a starting salary of $396,000. The position did not exist before Sasse became UF president.
James Wegmann, Sasse’s former Senate communications director, was hired as UF’s vice president of communications and makes $432,000 a year, The Alligator reported. Both men work remotely from their homes in Washington, D.C.
These hires contributed to a $4.3 million increase in salary expenses compared to UF’s former president Kent Fuchs’ spending.
Sasse also spent nearly $7.2 million in university funds on contracts with consulting firms for advice on how to run a university. The majority of that money was paid to McKinsey & Company, though it’s unclear what specific services the firm provided.
The former senator resigned from his post at UF in July after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy.