ELECTIONS/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Ben Sasse has so far been spared the public floggings that Donald Trump inflicted on two since-vanquished GOP critics in the Senate, Jeff Flake and Bob Corker. But that may soon change. As the ‘never Trump’ faction of the Republican Party dwindles to a lonely few, the Nebraska senator has shown little interest in backing down – leaving him vulnerable to a Trump-fueled primary challenge in 2020, when he’s up for reelection. How Sasse responds — he has a book coming out three weeks before the midterm elections and has quietly launched a new political non-profit group, fueling speculation that he might launch a Hail Mary bid for president rather than seek another term in the Senate — promises to be the next intra-GOP drama. Behind the scenes, the president has stewed over Sasse’s recurring jabs, according to several people familiar with his thinking on the matter. After the 2016 campaign – in which Sasse refused to vote for Trump and compared the New York City mogul to white supremacist David Duke – Trump had a conversation with a GOP senator in which he referred to Sasse as ‘that guy’ and said he’d like to see the Nebraska Republican ‘go away.’”
-Alex Isenstadt, “Sasse tempts Trump’s wrath by refusing to bow,” Politico, July 9, 2018 5:07 am