Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts endures occasional jeers as he defends Trump push for spending cuts

KEARNEY, Neb. – Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts connected Thursday repeatedly returned to his telephone for spending cuts amid grumbles from a cardinal Nebraska assemblage during a nationalist gathering that illustrated the hostility betwixt immoderate voters successful the state and Republicans.

And though Ricketts was interrupted astatine times by shouts and jeers, including occasional chants of “tax the rich,” the 30 minutes helium allowed for questions elicited civilian exchanges connected wellness attraction spending, President Donald Trump 's docket and the war successful Ukraine.

Ricketts, 1 of lone a fistful of GOP senators and representatives who person risked nonstop nationalist exchanges with constituents by holding in-person town halls this year, urged enactment for Trump's projected summation of $175 cardinal for U.S.-Mexico border security and $150 cardinal much successful subject spending, portion urging heavy cuts elsewhere.

When helium was challenged connected staffing cuts and different changes made during the assertive archetypal 3 months of Trump's 2nd word arsenic president, Ricketts repeatedly insisted that thing had to beryllium done to curb the $36-billion national debt.

“We gotta, again, get that spending nether control,” Ricketts said, prompting grumbling from the assemblage of astir 100 astatine an events halfway successful Kearney, 185 miles (roughly 300 kilometers) westbound of Omaha.

Ricketts stressed his enactment for renewing the 2017 Trump tax cuts but said it was the Senate's work “to find the outgo savings to wage for that.”

Ricketts stopped abbreviated of answering John McDermott's question connected whether helium would enactment eliminating the Social Security taxation headdress for affluent Americans similar Ricketts, lad of billionaire TD Ameritrade laminitis Joe Ricketts.

“If we simply eliminated the cap, we would grow its benefits,” McDermott, of Grand Island, Nebraska, said, sparking applause from the audience.

Ricketts countered by invoking Trump's run committedness to not alteration Social Security benefits oregon the status age. He acknowledged the request for a semipermanent solution to support Social Security solvent but did not connection 1 himself.

“There's a fig of antithetic things we tin do, but thing has gotten a statement connected however we tin code it going forward,” helium said.

In replying to Kearney nonmigratory John Stritt's question investigating Ricketts' past statements of enactment for Ukraine, Ricketts praised Trump for getting Russia to the negotiating table.

But Ricketts besides acknowledged that Trump's strategy mightiness not work.

“It whitethorn not beryllium successful, and past President Trump is going to person to travel up with different strategy to woody with Putin,” Ricketts said.

___

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.