The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin denounced Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., after years of previously praising him, for planning to step down and accept a position as President of the University of Florida.
Rubin slammed Sasse Wednesday in an opinion piece calling him “an affirmative-action hire if ever there was one” by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) to “install” his place.
“Sasse, the quintessential affirmative-action hire, is what Republicans love to hate. It is clear that his selection was based on political identity and not merit. Sasse is not the best candidate for this position in the country, and that’s something no one can argue with. DeSantis might as well have put in the job description: ‘Compliant Republican hostile to liberal ideas,’” Rubin wrote.
Rubin also attacked Sasse as not being up for the task of leading a major university.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R.-Neb. speaks during a confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020 at Capitol Hill in Washington.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)
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“If DeSantis was looking for a slippery right-wing politician for this job, he chose well. Rubin stated that while Sasse is considered brilliant by the U.S. Senate standards, it does not necessarily indicate that he can handle the intellectual rigors of a major university.
This contrasted with Rubin’s position years before, when she regularly praised Rubin’s senator and even pushed for him to run in the presidential election. 2016 against Donald TrumpBased on his experiences as a university president.
He is a highly accomplished man. He was a university president and a Hill staffer. He also held several executive positions. He’s actually qualified and knows a lot about health care, to name one topic, from his time working at the Department of Health and Human Services. She wrote at the time that he also had private-sector experiences.
Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post columnist in 2016, praised Ben Sasse for being an alternative to Donald Trump.
((Photo by: William B. Plowman/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images))
She also praised him on Twitter, with many tweets and articles in support of Sasse.
“Ben Sasse on [San Bernardino shooting]Rubin tweeted this in 2015: “[B]Brilliant and more presidential than anything Obama has done. “The best of the GOP.”
Fox News confirmed Thursday that Sasse will resign from his Senate seat. This was after the University of Florida declared that he was one of the finalist for consideration by its presidential search panel. Sasse will be re-elected if he accepts the nomination. However, the discussion about his nomination will continue in November.
Although Sasse was applauded by the chair of this committee, Rubin maintained that Sasse represented a way to allow DeSantis control over state universities.
“DeSantis almost certainly will get his pick. Students, donors, and faculties do have options. If they choose to shun an institution that is becoming a pliant accessory to the governor’s political ambitions, chalk one victory up for the free market,” Rubin concluded. “Conservative critics of politicized highereducation can be tested: Do they support academic freedom or only academic freedom for those who think like them?”
Students at the University of Florida protested against the nomination of a Republican senator as their school’s president.
(Fox News/Ophelie Jacobson)
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Students at the University of Florida have since attacked their school’s decision to nominate Sasse, with several groups protesting his appearance on campus Monday.
