Nebraska Panhandle News

Senator Pete Ricketts, representing Nebraska in the U.S. Senate, took to social media on September 30 and October 1, 2025, to comment on the recent government shutdown and negotiations surrounding federal funding.

On September 30, Senator Ricketts stated: "The Democrats just voted to shutdown government. They voted against a clean continuing resolution (CR) that would have funded government for seven weeks. Previously, they had voted for this exact budget. In fact, Democrats voted for a clean CR 13 times under Joe Biden. This".

Continuing his criticism the following day, Ricketts wrote: "Instead of good faith negotiations and ensuring American servicemembers are paid, Chuck Schumer is demanding over $1 trillion of partisan spending. @SenateDems are willing to shutdown the government to score political points. The @SenateGOP is fighting to make government work." (October 1, 2025).

Later on October 1, he assured constituents about his office's operations during the shutdown: "My offices across the state remain open.  My team remains available to help Nebraskans.  I will keep fighting to end this Schumer Shutdown and restore essential services. Republicans offered Chuck Schumer and Democrats a clean extension of the current bipartisan spending deal."

The dispute over government funding centers around continuing resolutions—temporary measures used by Congress to fund federal agencies when annual appropriations bills have not been enacted. In recent years, disagreements between parties over budget priorities have led to several short-term funding lapses or "shutdowns," impacting federal operations and services.

Senator Pete Ricketts has served as Nebraska's junior senator since January 2023 after previously holding office as governor of Nebraska.