Ex-senator and university president’s spending is under state scrutiny

Governor Ron DeSantis and financial chief call on University of Florida board to investigate Ben Sasse's hires

Increased spending by the recently resigned University of Florida president Ben Sasse is coming under scrutiny after a student-run newspaper found that he awarded secretive consulting contracts and gave high-paying jobs to former members of his US Senate staff and Republican allies - actions that he defended on Friday.

Both Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida's chief financial officer are calling on the state university system's governing board to investigate after the Independent Florida Alligator reported this week that as school president, Sasse gave six former staffers and two ex-Republican officials jobs with salaries that outstripped comparable positions. Most did not move to Gainesville - but work remotely from hundreds of miles away.