Ben Sasse will receive salary from University of Florida through 2028

Former University of Florida President Ben Sasse will continue to collect his more than a million-dollar yearly salary for the next four years after he resigned from the head of the institution last month.

Sasse's spending habits during his brief 18-month tenure as the university's president have come under scrutiny, but according to a report from the Tampa Bay Times, he will still receive a hefty check from the university each year until 2028.

The former Republican senator announced his resignation as president of the university in July and cited his wife's health. He vacated the position on July 31, when former university President Kent Fuchs took over as the interim head of the institution.

Since Sasse's resignation, his spending during his short stint has made headlines, with a report from the student newspaper, the Independent Florida Alligator, alleging that spending by the president's office grew from $5.6 million to $17.3 million in Sasse's first year. It also claimed Sasse had hired several of his former Senate staffers to remote jobs at the university, which also brought significant pay bumps from their previous Washington, D.C., jobs.

Sasse responded to the claims in a lengthy statement on X earlier this month, denying he had "inappropriate spending" while serving as president of the university.

"Many have asked whether it’s true if UF over the last couple years had inappropriate spending. No, it’s not true — but it is a duty to transparently address folks’ concerns, both because fiscal stewardship is a fundamental obligation of public institutions – and also because our alumni, donors, and hardworking taxpayers should be confident that such stewardship and oversight have been and are being exercised. They are," Sasse said.

He also said the university board had "extended me full severance and an ongoing role with the university until at least 2028, suggesting no concerns on their part."

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Reports about Sasse's spending habits have caught the eye of Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R-FL) administration, which said it has been in discussions with university leadership about the use of state funds.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis also said he would offer the state university system Board of Governors "auditing support" and said it "should investigate this issue to ensure tuition and tax dollars are being properly used" earlier this month.