Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts faced a mix of support and criticism during a public meeting on Thursday, where he continued to call for spending cuts. Despite interruptions from the crowd, including chants of “tax the rich,” the meeting allowed for civil discussions on various topics, such as healthcare spending, former President Donald Trump’s policies, and the war in Ukraine.
Ricketts, one of the few Republican senators to engage directly with constituents in person this year, advocated for a $175 billion increase in U.S.-Mexico border security and $150 billion more for military spending. At the same time, he pushed for significant cuts in other areas to reduce the $36 billion federal debt.
When confronted about staffing cuts during Trump’s second term, Ricketts reiterated the need to control spending. “We gotta, again, get that spending under control,” he said, which led to discontent among the audience of over 100 people in Kearney, Nebraska.
While he supported renewing the 2017 Trump tax cuts, Ricketts said it was up to the Senate to find the cost savings to cover them.
Ricketts avoided answering a question from John McDermott about removing the Social Security tax cap for high earners, such as himself. McDermott had argued that eliminating the cap would increase Social Security benefits, which drew applause from the crowd.
Pete Ricketts speaks at a town hall meetingRicketts responded by referencing Trump’s promise not to change Social Security benefits or retirement age. He acknowledged the need for a solution to keep Social Security stable but did not provide a specific plan.
On Ukraine, when asked about his previous support for the country, Ricketts praised Trump’s efforts to bring Russia to the negotiating table. However, he admitted that Trump’s strategy might not work. “It may not be successful, and then President Trump is going to have to come up with another strategy to deal with Putin,” he said.
Regarding Trump’s recent suggestion that Ukraine should give up Crimea to Russia as part of peace talks, McDermott disagreed, pointing out that it would be unthinkable for the U.S. to surrender Alaska to end an attack from Russia. “If Russia attacked the United States, would we just give them Alaska to get them to stop attacking us?” McDermott asked.