On July 1, 2025, Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts voted against an amendment to strike the federal school voucher tax credit from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the amendment failed on a 50-50 tie, so his vote was one it could not lose. He then voted for the bill, which from 2027 gives a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 per donor for private school scholarships with no national cap, and Nebraska is among the states that opted in.
Two weeks later Ricketts voted to take back the $1.1 billion Congress had approved for public radio and television, a package he had called a "great first step", and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shut down. Nebraska Public Media lost about $4 million a year, and Nebraska stations had received $6,297,290 from the corporation in 2024. Ricketts also voted to confirm Education Secretary Linda McMahon, whose department cut its staff by nearly half, from 4,133 employees to 2,183.
Pete Ricketts's Votes on School Vouchers, Public Broadcasting and the Education Department
- Ricketts Cast a Deciding Vote to Keep an Uncapped Federal School Voucher Tax Credit in July 2025. On July 1, 2025, Pete Ricketts voted no on Senator Mazie Hirono's amendment to eliminate a program of qualified elementary and secondary education scholarships for private schools. It failed 50-50, so a yes vote from Ricketts alone would have removed the program. Ricketts then voted yes on the final bill, which passed 50-50 with the Vice President's vote. Starting with the 2027 tax year, the credit pays back donors dollar for dollar, up to $1,700 per donor, and the final law discards the budgetary safeguard included in the House version, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, so the cost to the Treasury has no fixed limit. Families earning up to 300 percent of their area's median income qualify, which EdTrust says is about 90% of all families in the U.S.
- Ricketts Voted to End Federal Funding for Public Radio and Television, Including Nebraska Public Media, in July 2025. On July 16, 2025, Ricketts voted no on an amendment to strike the rescissions of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from the rescissions bill; it failed 47-52. The next day he voted for the bill, which passed 51-48. The law took back $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting through September 2027, and the corporation that sent that money to more than 1,500 local stations shut down. The cut eliminated approximately 14% of Nebraska Public Media's operating budget, about $4 million a year, the network says.
- Ricketts Voted Against Protecting Children's Educational Programs and Rural Stations in July 2025. On July 16, 2025, Ricketts voted no on Senator Ed Markey's motion to remove any rescissions that would reduce access to children’s educational programming through public television stations, and the same day against motions to spare stations that serve rural areas and Tribal communities (roll call 395) and stations that relay emergency alerts (roll call 396). Earlier that year the Education Department had already canceled the 2020-25 Ready to Learn grant that paid for PBS Kids shows such as "Molly of Denali."
- Ricketts Voted Twice Against Safeguards for School Lunch and Breakfast. On February 21, 2025, Ricketts voted no on allowing Senator Chris Van Hollen's amendment to create a point of order against legislation that would cut funding from the school lunch or school breakfast programs, a procedural barrier to such cuts, and it failed 49-51. On April 22, 2026, he again voted no on a similar school-meals safeguard (roll call 93), which failed 48-50. The 2025 law's food-aid changes reach school meals because free meals depend on how many children receive SNAP, and more than 1 million American children have lost access to SNAP, Stateline reported.
- Ricketts Voted to Confirm Linda McMahon, Who Cut the Education Department Nearly in Half. On March 3, 2025, Ricketts voted to confirm Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education; on August 1, 2025 he voted to confirm Under Secretary Nicholas Kent, and on October 7, 2025 he voted to confirm civil rights chief Kimberly Richey and K-12 chief Kirsten Baesler (roll call 547). In March 2025 the department cut its workforce by nearly half, from 4,133 employees to 2,183, and the Supreme Court later said the layoffs may proceed. Its Office for Civil Rights dismissed more than 6,000 complaints without investigation; before 2025, about 12,000 complaints were pending, more than half about students with disabilities. By June 2026 the department was transferring two of its main responsibilities, special education oversight and civil rights enforcement, to other agencies, and it had canceled grants for some 120 TRIO programs that help low-income and first-generation students.
- Ricketts Voted to Confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Whose Department Closed Half of Head Start's Regional Offices. On February 13, 2025, Ricketts voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, in a 52-48 vote. In April 2025 five out of 10 regional Head Start offices were abruptly closed and their staff let go; the closed offices oversaw nearly 318,000, or 44 percent of, funded slots nationwide, according to the Center for American Progress. In August 2026 his department proposes to rescind and replace the Head Start Program Performance Standards; that proposal is not final.
- Ricketts Called the Package That Ended Public Broadcasting Funding a "Great First Step". Before the vote, Ricketts called the rescission package a "great first step" to get government spending "under control" in a Fox Business interview, the Nebraska Examiner reported on July 17, 2025; after the vote, he had no immediate comment to the Examiner. Nebraska Public Media said the loss will lead to changes in the coming months and that, nationwide, small and rural stations more dependent on federal money may close, putting public safety and emergency alerts at risk.
What the Cuts to Public Broadcasting and Schools Pete Ricketts Voted For Mean for Nebraska
- Public broadcasting. Nebraska public stations received $6,297,290 from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2024, according to CPB data compiled by Senate Appropriations Democrats. A spring 2026 court ruling against the executive order on PBS and NPR does not restore the funding eliminated by Congress, so Nebraska Public Media still loses nearly $4 million a year.
- Early learning. Nebraska Public Media says that in Nebraska, Ready To Learn grant funds served as the foundation of support for our early childhood initiatives, including learning programs in Fremont, before the Education Department ended the grant.
- Private school vouchers. Nebraska is among the states that opted in to the federal voucher credit, listed with Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and others by January 2026 (Chalkbeat), so Nebraska donors can claim the uncapped federal credit from 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pete Ricketts on Education
What is Pete Ricketts's record on education under Trump?
Pete Ricketts cast one of the votes that kept the federal private-school voucher credit in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, where the amendment to remove it failed 50-50, and then voted for the law. He voted to end federal money for public radio and television, which cost Nebraska Public Media about $4 million a year, and to confirm Linda McMahon and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose departments cut Education Department staff nearly in half and closed half of Head Start's regional offices.
Did Pete Ricketts vote to cut funding for PBS and NPR?
Yes. Pete Ricketts voted on July 16, 2025 against the amendment to keep the $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and on July 17 for the rescissions bill that took it back. One of the motions he voted against that week would have spared stations licensed to or primarily serve rural areas or Tribal communities.
Does Pete Ricketts support federal school vouchers?
Pete Ricketts voted on July 1, 2025 against removing the federal voucher tax credit from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and because the amendment failed on a tie, his vote kept the credit in the law. EdTrust estimates that families earning up to 300 percent of area median income, about 90% of all families in the U.S., can receive the scholarships, which can be used at private schools.
What happened to special education and civil rights complaints under the officials Pete Ricketts confirmed?
Pete Ricketts voted to confirm Linda McMahon, and her department's Office for Civil Rights dismissed more than 6,000 complaints without investigation after the layoffs. About 12,000 complaints were pending before 2025, more than half about students with disabilities, and by 2026 the department was moving special education oversight to other agencies.
Last updated: 2026-10-25