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LINCOLN — Nebraska U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts hosted a roughly one-hour tele-town hall Monday, during which he was asked about the Iran War, penalties for misusing government social programs, women’s sports, and the SAVE Act.
Ricketts staff said the tele-town hall had about 14,000 listeners. The calls and questions were screened to make sure a variety of topics were covered.
The Nebraska Democratic Party criticized the format of the meeting and the screening of questions, posting on X, “Shockingly, he didn’t let a single critical caller ask a question.”
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The last time Ricketts held an in-person town hall was in Scottsbluff last year. He held three town halls that year. Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District U.S. Rep. Mike Flood recently hosted a rowdy town hall in his hometown of Norfolk. The Ricketts staff said they found that tele-town halls are more “productive and reach more constituents.” His last tele-town hall was in February.
Ricketts started Monday’s tele-town hall by talking about the wildfires that affected the state earlier this year, the New World screwworm, E-15, and the farm bill.
On the topic of the ongoing Iran War, the former governor was asked by callers if President Donald Trump is still willing to work with Israel, how the U.S. could afford the war in Iran as “farmers are bearing the brunt” of it, and what is the path forward in the conflict.
Ricketts, whose town hall was being held amid a renewed exchange of attacks between Iran and Israel, said there are “some challenges right now.”
“The president is working to be able to bring peace to the Middle East. It’s a challenging environment…. But I will let you know … the support for Israel is broad and bipartisan in the U.S. Senate,” Ricketts said.
There has been a decrease in American support for Israel among young people and independent voters, according to multiple polls. Older Republicans still have a favorable view of the country.
Ricketts said, “The crux of what we’re trying to accomplish is to get Iran to give up making a nuclear bomb.”
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to reach a point where Iran opens up the Strait of Hormuz … negotiating a nuclear deal can be complicated. It’s going to take a long time, so that may be something that is going to take several months,” Ricketts said.
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Culture war
He was asked about the culture war issue of “biological males” in women’s sports and women’s bathrooms. Ricketts said, “There is no way that men should be playing women’s sports or boys should be playing girls’ sports.”
Nebraska group wants to limit school sports participation by sex in state constitution
He brought up former North Carolina high school student-athlete Payton McNabb and Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer. Then he pointed to the “Fairness for Girls” ballot initiative, which would “amend the Nebraska Constitution to establish constitutional protections for sex-separate athletics to ensure equal access to athletic opportunities for females.” A conservative-leaning group is still collecting signatures to put the amendment on the November ballot.
Ricketts was also asked about the federal deficit and the increase in healthcare costs.
His staff said he plans to hold more tele and in-person town halls between now and his Senate moratorium period, which is a rule that a U.S. senator can’t use Senate resources for mass communication within 60 days of an election.
Ricketts is running for reelection in November. He’s currently being challenged by registered nonpartisan candidate Dan Osborn.
