Sasse, Ben (1972-…), served as a United States senator from 2015 to 2023. Sasse, a Republican, represented Nebraska. Prior to his election to the Senate, Sasse held a variety of positions in business, government, and education.
Benjamin Eric Sasse was born on Feb. 22, 1972, in Plainview, Nebraska. He received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1994. He also studied at Oxford University; St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland; and Yale University, where he earned a doctorate in history in 2004. Sasse began working as a business consultant and held a number of government posts. From 2007 to 2009, he served as assistant secretary of health and human services in the administration of President George W. Bush. Sasse became president of Midland University, near Omaha, Nebraska, in 2010. He was credited with leading the school through a period of growth.
Sasse was elected to the Senate in 2014. He was an outspoken critic of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health care law nicknamed “Obamacare.” He later became known as one of the few Republican critics of President Donald J. Trump. Sasse won reelection in 2020. In 2023, he resigned from the Senate to become president of the University of Florida.
Sasse is the author of the books The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis—and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance (2017) and Them: Why We Hate Each Other—and How to Heal (2018).
