WASHINGTON - Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. A source familiar with the move said on Thursday that the former president Donald Trump, who won a second term in 2020, is expected to resign from office by the end of the year.
Sasse is expected to leave the Senate to take a new job at the University of Florida, the source said.
Sasse won't re-elect in 2020, and his term was not set to expire until 2026. Sasse has been at odds with Trump and his own party for years. After the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, Sasse was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump for his role in inciting the deadly riot.
A Senate Republican leadership aide told NBC News that the news was being alerted to by Senate Republican leadership.
The University of Florida will announce that their presidential search committee has unanimously selected Sasse as the sole finalist to lead the university, according to the source. That will kick off a process spelled out in state law that includes meetings between Sasse and officials in Gainesville.
After three weeks, the college's board of directors will vote on the search panel's recommendation, then the Florida board of governors will vote to approve the pick.
The source said that he would resign before the end of the year and the Nebraska governor would select the replacement by the end of the year.
Sasse, 50, who was the former president of Midland University, was elected to the Senate in 2014.
This is a developing story.