Former Republican Senator Ben Sasse Turned the University of Florida into a Spoils System
Plus, updates in Utah and Georgia, RFK Jr. in NY and NC, Missouri ballot measures, and Tulsi Gabbard on TSA surveillance watch list
Former Republican Senator Ben Sasse Turned the University of Florida into a Spoils System
Republican officials claim to be fiscal hawks as they increase spending under their leadership. According to Republican math, it’s not irresponsible spending if the money goes to paying party members more and to expanding revolving-door business connections, even at the expense of the entity they’re embezzling it from.
New reporting shows that former Republican Senator from Nebraska, Ben Sasse, used his position as president of the University of Florida to financially bankrupt one of the nation’s top public colleges. Under his 17-month leadership beginning in February 2023, Sasse ballooned his office’s spending by more than 3X, directing tens of millions in funds into consulting contracts and high-paying, remote positions for 6 former Senate staffers and 2 former employees of GOP officials in Washington, D.C.
Before Sasse took the helm at UF, the office’s budget was $5.6M. In Sasse’s first year, spending increased to $17.3M and the university still refuses to disclose the work done by the contracted consulting firms or the duties performed by Sasse’s hired Senate staffers who received generous remote salary compensation.
The university’s student newspaper, the Alligator, has tried to get answers from UF about where Sasse got the funding from or who authorized his office’s excessive spending, but the university only shared that the increased budget went through the “appropriate approval process.”
The shady $7.2M contract with Sasse’s former employer, McKinsey & Company
As UF president, Sasse paid consulting firms $7.2M to advise on strategic planning and leadership development—more than 40X what his predecessor Kent Fuchs spent during his 8 year tenure.
Of note, nearly two-thirds of that spending, $4.7M, was paid to McKinsey & Company, the highly secretive management consulting firm that Sasse served as a contract adviser. McKinsey abuses public records laws to shield its contracted services from public knowledge. This means there is no transparency about what Sasse’s office paid McKinsey to do.
What has been disclosed through public records requests is that McKinsey’s contract includes a provision for payment of additional fees for consulting services until February 2025.
In addition to the conflict of interest that is Sasse’s contract with his former employer, Sasse hired 3 of the firm’s former consultants and offered university salaries ranging from $150K to $200K.
The Alligator could not confirm which firm(s) or individuals the remaining $2.5M in consulting expenses was paid to. The student paper did dig up information on more university funds being approved for Sasse to also use his power as a former U.S. Senator for his own personal gain, as well as those within the Republican Party.
From Washington to Higher Education Cronyism
Of Sasse’s 6 hired former Senate staffers, only 1 relocated to work on campus. This is unusual as out-of-state positions have been budgeted to the Office of Federal Relations (UFFR), which is the university’s lobbyist department based in the nation’s capital.
It’s noteworthy that the fiscal hawk former Senator also boosted salary pay for his former staffers, which increased the UF presidential salary budget by $4.3M. Moreover, the budget for travel expenses surged under Sasse to $633K in his first year as UF president—more than 20X larger than previous UF president Ken Fuchs’ annual average of $28K in travel expenses.
The Alligator requested the complete log of Sasse’s travel expenses from his tenure, but the university has not turned over the records. This means there remains no transparency about how much of the office’s travel budget was spent on Sasse’s remote staff.
All remote staffers billed the university for travel expenses, which were more costly than previous staffers’ expenses. A recent partial report highlights that Sasse’s office spent $20K between April 29 and July 29 on travel expenses for his remote staffers. Overall, in his 17 months at UF, Sasse spent more on travel expenses for his staff than his predecessor’s entire 8-year tenure. Sasse resigned in July and Fuchs took over as interim president.
It’s not just high-end travel expenses Sasse approved for his chosen team. The former senator created extremely lucrative positions for his former chief of staff, Raymond Sass, and former press secretary, Taylor Sliva.
Sass was brought on board as the university’s president for innovation and partnerships, which was salaried at $396K. Sass’s salary as the Senator’s COS was $181,677. Sliva was hired as UF’s Assistant Vice President of Presidential Communications and Public Affairs with a $232K salary. He received a $15K relocation stipend to move to Gainesville, Florida for the job.
He also created a position for former Republican Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn as UF’s inaugural vice president of PK-12 and pre-bachelors programs, which came with a $367,500 salary.
Sasse also nearly doubled salaries for existing positions. His former communications director, James Wegmann, made $432K as the university’s vice president of communications, a position that was previously salaried at $270K. Wegmann’s predecessor was demoted as his deputy.
The other 3 former staffers Sasse hired are Raven Shirley, Sasse’s “confidential assistant,” Kari Ridder, Sasse’s former State Policy Director, and Kelicia Rice, Sasse’s former scheduler. All are listed as presidential advisers to Sasse, but their official roles and responsibilities are secretive.
Speaking of assistants, Sasse hired Senator Lindsay Graham’s (R-SC) former scheduler Alice James Burns as Director of Presidential Relations and Major Events, which comes with a $205K salary.
Utah Supreme Court dismisses cases brought by MAGA candidates
On Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court dismissed Colby Jenkins’ case in which he challenged his loss to incumbent Rep. Celeste Maloy in the GOP primary. He argued that the state’s postmark deadline for mail-in ballots was unconstitutional and requested that the court order county clerks to count ballots that were disqualified for missing the deadline. In oral arguments on Friday, the justices appeared unconvinced that there was a constitutional violation or that the number of ballots that Jenkins claimed were unduly disqualified was accurate. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice Matthew Durrant wrote that Jenkins’ petition to the court “fails to identify any instance where election officials failed to comply with any statutory mandate” and that it “falls well short of establishing that he is entitled to the relief he seeks.”
Also on Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court dismissed Phil Lyman’s case that asked the court to remove Republican Gov. Spencer Cox and Republican Lt. Gov. Dierdre Henderson from office and from the November ballot because he had won at the state GOP convention. Lyman argued that, under Utah GOP bylaws, he should not have had to face a primary opponent. In a 6-page order, Chief Justice Matthew Durrant wrote that Lyman’s “request is based on a view that the Republican Party’s internal rules trump Utah’s election laws, a claim we rejected.” The ruling adds that Lyman “has offered no viable factual or legal basis for the remedy he requests.”
Lyman posted on X on Monday that if his appeal to the state Supreme Court failed, he plans to run as a write-in candidate, which he has until September 3 to file. This is likely why he filed another motion with the state high court on Monday requesting they block the state from printing ballots until it rules on his case. Utah’s November ballots are scheduled to be printed at the end of August. Lyman running as a write-in could split the Republican vote and flip the Governor’s office. Cox faces Democratic candidate and state Rep. for Utah’s 23rd District, Brian King.
MAGA Georgia Election Board member eyes position in Trump administration
The Guardian reported on Tuesday that one of the 3 MAGA members on the Georgia State Election Board (SEB) asked for a Trump administration position. Rick Jeffares told the outlet that he discussed being considered for regional director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a former senior Trump campaign advisor. Jeffares ran J&T Environmental Services Inc., a now-defunct operations and management company that oversees sewage and wastewater facilities. He serves as a project manager for G. Ben Turnipseed Engineers, a company that specializes in water and wastewater treatment systems for local governments in Georgia and South Carolina.
He acknowledged that that former campaign official is Brian Jack, Trump’s former White House political advisor who is running for Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District. Jeffares also stated that he is helping Jack with his congressional campaign—Jack faces Democratic candidate Maura Keller, a retired lieutenant Colonel and nuclear medicine specialist at the Atlanta VA.
RFK Jr. disqualified from New York ballot, allowed on North Carolina ballot
On Monday, a New York judge ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is disqualified from appearing on New York’s ballot. In her 34-page decision, Judge Christina Ryba concluded that the Independent presidential candidate falsely claimed a rented bedroom as his New York residence on nominating petitions, noting it was “merely a ‘sham’ address that he assumed for the purpose of maintaining his voter registration” and to advance his political candidacy. She also wrote that evidence submitted at trial illustrated that RFK Jr. has a “long-standing pattern” of borrowing addresses from friends and relatives even though he lives in California.
Also on Monday, a North Carolina judge affirmed the state Board of Elections’ decision that RFK Jr.’s party, We the People Party, qualifies for the state’s ballot. The state Democratic Party appealed the decision arguing that Kennedy’s campaign used the We the People Party as a vehicle to get around the requirement of reaching over 80K signatures. North Carolina state law sets this standard for independent candidates to get on the ballot. Wake County Superior Court Judge Keith Gregory rejected the appeal, ruling that he agreed that the state board didn’t violate state law.
Constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion approved for Missouri ballot
Abortion will be on Missouri’s November ballot. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Office certified all ballot measures that received enough verified signatures to qualify, which include a state constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to abortion up to 24 weeks, legalizing sports betting, and raising the minimum wage to $15 with guaranteed paid sick leave. Missouri was the first state to ban abortion after the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. If Missourians pass the measure by a simple majority—more than 50% of the vote—the state could become the first to overturn a reactionary abortion ban.
Former Marion County Police Chief charged with 1 felony count
On Monday, former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody was officially charged with a single felony count of obstruction of justice. Prosecutors allege that Cody knowingly or intentionally influenced a potential witness to withhold information about the raid on the Marion County Record from authorities. In a report released last week, prosecutors claimed Cody nor other officers involved in the raid could be charged for the death of the local newspaper’s publisher, Joan Meyer. They determined there was no evidence the raid posed a risk to the 98-year-old’s life.
Former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard added to TSA’s surveillance list
Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard was allegedly placed on the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Quiet Skies program. On Sunday, Republican representatives Gene Ward (District 18), Diamond Garcia (District 42), Davis Alcos (District 41), and Elijah Pierick (District 39) sent a joint letter to TSA director David Pekoske demanding answers and calling it “harassment.” Hawaii’s Island News reported that whistleblowers told the Air Marshal National Council that Gabbard is on the surveillance list.
According to the TSA website, the Quiet Skies program, which was established in 2012, enables the Federal Air Marshal Service to monitor “elevated risks to aviation security.” It explains that the TSA identifies passengers “deemed to be higher risk according to certain travel patterns and other intelligence-based factors” and that individuals included in the program “may require additional scrutiny for a certain period of time.”
Gabbard insinuated that she was placed on the list because of her commentary about Vice President Kamala Harris in a TV interview on July 22. She claimed in a statement, “This is clearly an act of political retaliation. It’s no accident that I was placed on the Quiet Skies list the day after I did a prime-time interview warning the American people about how why Kamala Harris would be bad for our country if elected as President and Commander in Chief.”