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Defying Trump, Ben Sasse becomes a Republican symbol

As a freshman senator, Sasse broke with many colleagues by saying he will not support his party's nominee, if that nominee is Donald Trump. 

It was the last straw for the junior senator from Nebraska. When Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump 鈥減layed footsie鈥� with Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke on a Sunday talk show last month, the GOP lawmaker says he had to act.

That night, Sen. Ben Sasse posted an on his Facebook page to supporters of Mr. Trump, saying that he would not support him if he were the nominee, nor would he swing over to Hillary Clinton. He would instead seek out a third candidate 鈥� a conservative, a constitutionalist.

Senator Sasse (pronounced 鈥渟ass鈥�) blasted Trump for dividing Americans and acting like a monarch. 鈥淗ave you noticed how Mr. Trump uses the word 鈥淩eign鈥� 鈥� like he thinks he鈥檚 running for King? It鈥檚 creepy, actually.鈥�

The letter was politically risky, given Trump鈥檚 popularity and Sasse鈥檚 status as a freshman senator 鈥� 99th in seniority. Nebraska鈥檚 senior senator, Republican Deb Fischer, disagrees with his third-candidate strategy. Meanwhile, the GOP leadership in both the House and Senate say they will support Trump if he's the nominee.

But the move was typical Sasse, an independent-minded senator who is willing to go against the grain in Washington.

The Nebraskan believes the nation鈥檚 leaders ought to focus urgently on a few big things 鈥� national security, the debt, the economy 鈥� and warns of a 鈥渃onstitutional crisis鈥� of presidential overreach. He ranks as the member of the Senate, according to one voting scorecard.

But he pans the partisan screaming, the straw-man arguments, the 鈥渇ake budgets鈥� and non-urgent side issues. It鈥檚 time for a more constructive politics, he argues.

This fascinates Sen. Susan Collins (R), a moderate from Maine who was recently ranked the most bipartisan in the Senate, according to by The Lugar Center.

鈥淚鈥檓 very intrigued by him, to tell you the truth, because he鈥檚 not easily categorized, and he鈥檚 not predictable,鈥� she said in an interview on the Senate subway as it zipped her to her office. 鈥淗e鈥檚 very conservative, but he鈥檚 not reflexively for one position or another. He鈥檚 gutsy, as [his] speeches certainly prove. There鈥檚 just a real solid core to him that I find very appealing.鈥�

Far from isolating him, Sasse鈥檚 forthrightness, fired by an intellect that鈥檚 certified in five diplomas, has won him respect and admiration from colleagues on both sides of the aisle. He鈥檚 a tea-party favorite without the explosives. A conservative who decries bare-knuckled politics as a substitute for principled governing.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a rising star,鈥� says fellow Republican Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona.

Democrat Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who serves on several committees with Sasse, describes him as 鈥渢houghtful鈥� and 鈥渧ery willing to listen to an argument."

Sasse did not follow the usual route to the Senate that travels through state and local offices or through the US House. A fifth-generation Nebraskan, he lives in his home town of Fremont, with his wife and three children, who have been home schooled. His dad was a high school teacher and coached football and wrestling there, and the young Sasse was recruited to wrestle at Harvard. He later earned a PhD in history from Yale.

Most of his career has been as a strategic consultant, starting at Boston Consulting Group. He helped companies steer through crises in the utility, telecom, and airline industries.

His last job was as the president of Midland University in Fremont, where he was brought in to reverse course at the financially troubled liberal arts school that is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church. One of the youngest college presidents in the nation, he abolished tenure, cut back underperforming departments while building up others, and concentrated on recruiting.

But how does a guy who鈥檚 a turnaround artist make an impact as 1 of 100?

The Senate is a long game, and Sasse has just one year under his belt. Speeches are one thing, but it can take years to work an important piece of legislation through the gates of a committee, onto the Senate floor, past a possible filibuster, through the House, and onto a president鈥檚 desk for signature.

In a phone interview, Sasse says his experience as a university president is the most analogous to his new job, because it鈥檚 not command-and-control. Faculty members have their own domain, and as president, you鈥檙e more like a symphony conductor bringing out the richness of the group. He laments the lack of leadership in Washington and of a shared understanding and celebration of the 鈥淎merican idea.鈥�

At the same time, the Senate is brand new to him, and for that, he鈥檚 had to put his historian鈥檚 hat on. As he worked his way up to his maiden speech last year, he kept a low profile, interviewing senators about what worked and didn鈥檛. He studied up on the ways and rules of the Senate, and has been in touch with the Senate historian鈥檚 office.

On his office desk right now are eight books, including a volume of addresses on the history of the Senate by the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D) of West Virginia 鈥� a master of Senate rules and history 鈥� and 鈥淪hattered Consensus,鈥� by James Piereson, about the rise and decline of America鈥檚 post-war political order.

Former Senate historian Don Ritchie describes Sasse as 鈥渙ff to a good start,鈥� quietly observing the institution. 鈥淭hey are all in a hurry these days, and the Senate requires a certain amount of time to be heard, and to be listened to.鈥�

Traditionally, senators develop areas of expertise as a way to make their mark, says Mr. Ritchie.

The boyish-looking senator appears to be doing just that. He is spending his energy on some big, long-term issues such as cyber-security in an age of terrorist jihad and also health care.

This week his office released that the Obamacare exchanges are not as competitive as the administration claims. He has also held fire to the administration鈥檚 feet over the Affordable Care Act鈥檚 troubled 鈥渃o-op鈥� program.

Sasse鈥檚 focus on health care policy was evident even before he got to the Senate.

Alongside his private sector and university activities, he had done stints in Washington before (the Justice and Health departments under President George W. Bush, and working for fellow Nebraskan Rep. Jeff Fortenberry before that). But his time in Washington didn鈥檛 hurt his anti-establishment image among Nebraskans.

In 2014, he ran a fiercely competitive campaign, backed by three major conservative groups 鈥� Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, and the Senate Conservatives Fund. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky, who was trying to swamp tea party upstarts, backed someone else. Sasse won every single county, putting replacement of the Affordable Care Act at the center of his campaign (his plan totaled more than 20 pages).

He hasn鈥檛 succeeded in that quest yet. But he has already turned heads with his plain-spokenness and intellect.

Last November, a year after being elected to his first political office, the student of history held up the mirror to his Senate colleagues in a startling maiden speech.

鈥淭he people despise us all,鈥� he said in that invoked Senate greats and Socrates. He urged the Senate to return to substantive debate and tackle America鈥檚 big problems.

Some colleagues see Sasse as part of a larger shift under way in the Senate.

鈥淭he talent, the commitment, the knowledge, the broadness of our members is much better today than it was nine years ago,鈥� says Sen. Bob Corker (R) of Tennessee, speaking of when he first entered the Senate. 鈥淚 look at Sasse as one of these people,鈥� says the Foreign Relations chairman, who recently reread Sasse鈥檚 maiden speech to help him with one of his own. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just extraordinarily bright and insightful.鈥�