Ben Sasse, in full Benjamin Eric Sasse, (born February 22, 1972, Plainview, Nebraska, U.S.), American politician who was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 2014 and began representing Nebraska in that body the following year.
Sasse grew up in Fremont, near Omaha, Nebraska, where he excelled in high school. He went on to study at Harvard University (B.A., 1994), St. John's College (M.A., 1998), and the University of Oxford. In the mid-1990s he married, and he and his wife, Melissa, later had three children. Sasse also attended Yale University, where he earned a Ph.D. in history in 2004.
Sasse began his professional career working at the Boston Consulting Group and then at McKinsey & Company, advising private companies and federal agencies as well as civilian groups in Iraq. During the first and second terms of Pres. George W. Bush (2001–09), he worked in the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security before becoming assistant secretary for planning and evaluation (2007–09) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He also taught at the University of Texas until becoming president (2009–14) of Midland University, a private school in his hometown of Fremont.
In 2014 Sasse entered the U.S. Senate race, running on a broadly conservative ticket that focused on opposition to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and on entitlement reform, notably raising the retirement age to reflect increasing life expectancies. Sasse easily defeated his Democratic opponent and took office in 2015. During the presidential election the following year, he was harshly critical of Republican nominee—and eventual winner—Donald Trump. In 2017 Sasse published the book The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis—and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance.
