Nebraska Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts Faces Occasional Jeers As He Defends Trump's Cuts

Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts on Thursday repeatedly returned to his call for spending cuts amid grumbles from a central Nebraska audience during a public meeting that illustrated the tension between some voters in the country and Republicans.

And though Ricketts was interrupted at times by shouts and jeers, including occasional chants of "tax the rich," the 30 minutes he allowed for questions elicited civil exchanges on health care spending, President Donald Trump 's agenda, and the war in Ukraine .

Ricketts, one of only a handful of GOP senators and representatives who have risked direct public exchanges with constituents by holding in-person town halls this year, urged support for Trump's proposed increase of 175 billion for U.S.-Mexico border security and 150 billion more in military spending, while urging deep cuts elsewhere.

When he was challenged on staffing cuts and other changes made during the aggressive first three months of Trump's second term as president, Ricketts repeatedly insisted that something had to be done to curb the 36-billion federal debt.

"We gotta, again, get that spending under control," Ricketts said, prompting grumbling from the audience of more than 100 at an events center in Kearney, 185 miles roughly 300 kilometers west of Omaha.