Sen. Pete Ricketts held a town hall in Omaha on Wednesday evening, speaking to about 35 to 40 guests at an event hosted by Americans for Prosperity. AFP is a conservative advocacy group that promotes limited government and free-market policies. It was founded in 2004 and has long been associated with the Koch family, which provided early and substantial funding.

Ricketts is running for a full six-year term in 2026, two years after winning a special election to finish the term of former Sen. Ben Sasse.

Q&A

Ricketts highlighted provisions in the reconciliation package widely known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” These include $170 billion for border enforcement, which Ricketts said has meant “not one illegal immigrant has been released into this country from the southern border.”

The package also increased the child tax credit to $2,200 per child and made it permanent, as well as extending tax cuts passed during President Trump’s first term.

“Here in Nebraska, it would’ve been a $2,400 tax increase if those tax credits had been allowed to expire,” Ricketts said. “I think the average return across America was about $3,400.”

Questions came from in-person guests and callers on a toll-free number. One of the callers was Tom Duden, a Lincoln city councilman, who phoned in during a fishing trip at Harlan County Dam to ask about affordable housing.

Ricketts pointed to the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which aims to cut regulations that drive up the cost of new homes.

“The regulation red tape that goes into a new house is about 25% of the cost of the house,” Ricketts said. “In an apartment building, it’s actually 40%. So trying to cut that regulatory red tape is part of what we were trying to do.”

Other questions covered election integrity, tax credits for homeschooling parents, and regulating AI, particularly data harvesting in health care.

One question came from Justin, an 83-year-old Vietnam veteran who said he had trouble accessing benefits and the VA.

“I made a kind of a facetious joke a while back, because I might jump the chain of command, and boy did I do it now,” Justin said. “If you can just refer me to somebody or something that might help, I’d appreciate it.”

Ricketts had a new staffer who handles veterans affairs with him at the town hall and had the aide give Justin his email address over the phone.

Questions on Trump’s Ballroom

The crowd was largely friendly, especially compared with Congressman Mike Flood’s more boisterous town halls. A few Democrats were in the audience, however. Pam, an Omaha resident, approached Ricketts afterward with concerns about the war involving Iran and about President Trump remodeling the East Wing of the White House.

“I’m extremely upset that your president is using my money to build toys—his ballroom, his arch,” she said. “He is looting our treasury, and I’m certainly concerned about that. And he never asks anybody’s permission. He just goes and does what he wants to do on a whim.”

“I certainly appreciate your frustration with that,” Ricketts responded. “My understanding is it’s actually being paid for in private funds, and there’s no appropriation for him to do it other than what he needs for security purposes.”

“That’s not true. There’s already a bunker in there. You know that. You know that there’s already space in the bunker,” the woman replied.

“And bunkers are security as well,” Ricketts told her.

Protests outside and onward to Election Day

About a dozen protesters gathered outside the venue before the event. Some carried signs reading “Divorce your MAGA husband” and “ICE agent masks = KKK hoods.” Among the group were members of the “Pissed Off Grandmas,” who also appeared at Flood’s Bellevue town hall to sing protest songs.

Public town halls have become rarer in recent years, so much so that opponent Dan Osborn has routinely posted on X the number of days since Ricketts last held one. The Omaha event is apparently the last until Election Day.

“I’m doing campaign events from here until the elections. I’m just doing campaign events,” Ricketts told one guest.

Election Day is Nov. 3.