WASHINGTON – GOP Sen. Ben Sasse said Sunday he thinks about leaving the Republican Party “every morning when I wake up.”
The Nebraska lawmaker and regular Trump critic says he considers changing his party affiliation to independent regularly as he commutes back to the negative atmosphere in Washington.
“Why am I flying away from Nebraska to go to DC this week? Are we going to get real stuff done?” Sasse told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“I’m committed to the party of Lincoln and Reagan as long as there’s a chance to reform it.”
Sasse, 46, and a former university president, considers himself an independent conservative who caucuses with the Republican Party.
Both parties are more focused on bringing the other party down than having a positive platform for the country, he said.
“Frankly, neither of these parties have a long-term vision for the future of the country,” Sasse said. “… These parties are really pretty content to do 24-hour news cycle screaming at each other.”
Sasse’s comments follow a Tweet on Saturday where he said he “regularly” considers become an independent to better focus on solutions.
Sasse declined to endorse Trump for president and has been frustrated with the “reality TV circus” at the White House.
On Sunday, Sasse was dismissive of challenging Trump in 2020 for president, but didn’t completely rule it out.
“I’m pretty happy living in Nebraska and going to DC five days a week trying to serve the best way I can,” Sasse said, adding “we spend way too much time talking about campaigning in this country.”