Nebraska Lawmakers Consider Historic Expulsion of Senator Accused of Inappropriate Conduct

On the opening day of Nebraska’s 2026 legislative session, lawmakers were asked Wednesday to consider expelling a fellow senator accused of making a sexually charged remark to a legislative staffer and touching her inappropriately at a party last year.

If lawmakers vote next week to remove Republican Sen. Dan McKeon, 59, it would mark the first time in the state’s history that the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature has expelled one of its own members, The New York Post reported.

The push for expulsion stems from a complaint filed by a legislative staffer who alleged McKeon told her she should “get laid” during an upcoming vacation and later patted her buttocks at a May 29 end-of-session party held at the Lincoln Country Club. The event was attended by state lawmakers, legislative staffers and lobbyists.

The complaint prompted an investigation by an outside law firm hired by the Legislature’s Executive Board. The report, released Wednesday, concluded that while McKeon’s conduct did not rise to the level of sexual harassment or retaliation under state or federal discrimination law, it violated the Legislature’s workplace harassment policy.

The report stated that McKeon has “a reputation for making jokes” and that some of those jokes are “unprofessional and/or inappropriate for the workplace.” It said lawmakers may, at their discretion, censure, reprimand or expel him for his conduct.

According to the report, the staffer, McKeon and another staffer were discussing vacation plans when McKeon allegedly asked whether the woman was “going to Hawaii to get laid.” McKeon later described the remark as a joke, saying he had been referring to receiving a Hawaiian lei. The report noted that the woman was not vacationing in Hawaii, making the comment inconsistent with the discussion.

The staffer also alleged McKeon patted her on the buttocks. McKeon initially denied touching her, the report said, but later stated he may have touched her back, lower back or “even rear end,” though he maintained the contact was not sexual in nature.

Following the complaint, McKeon was instructed on June 2 by Sen. Ben Hansen, chairman of the Legislature’s Executive Board, not to attend social gatherings where staffers would be present. Despite that instruction, McKeon attended another party that same evening where staffers, including the complainant, were present, according to the report.

Nearly a month later, Hansen urged McKeon to accept responsibility for the allegations. McKeon subsequently sent the woman a handwritten note encouraging her to forgive him “because that is what the Bible instructs people to do,” the report said.

In August, McKeon texted another staffer who shared an office with the complainant, stating that the woman “seems to be difficult to work with,” according to the report.

A separate investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol resulted in McKeon being charged with one misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace. He has pleaded not guilty.

McKeon attended Wednesday’s opening session but declined to comment directly on the report. When asked about the allegations and the potential expulsion, he referenced religion, noting that his name, Daniel, means “just” in Hebrew and saying, “We’re all sinners,” when questioned about claims that he frequently made inappropriate jokes.

He said he does not plan to resign, despite calls from Republican leaders, including Gov. Jim Pillen, for him to step down. McKeon said he expects any vote on expulsion to be close.

“It is what it is,” he said. “I’m not going to cry about it or anything.”

The Legislature’s Executive Board is scheduled to hold a hearing Monday on the expulsion resolution. If approved by the committee, the full Legislature could debate the measure as soon as Tuesday. Expulsion would require 33 votes.

Since 2017, when The Associated Press began tracking allegations amid the #MeToo movement, at least 156 state lawmakers in 44 states have been accused of sexual harassment or misconduct.

Trump ‘Briefed With Options’ Amid Stalled Iran Talks

The Trump administration on Wednesday continued to express optimism about negotiations with Iran, even as Iranian officials insist that no direct talks have taken place, according to reports.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister said no face-to-face meeting had occurred in Doha and that no direct negotiations with the United States were currently planned.

Despite Tehran’s position, President Donald Trump described the discussions as “very good,” apparently referring to indirect contacts involving U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicating through third-party intermediaries.

Vice President JD Vance struck a firmer tone the same day, warning that the United States could escalate its response if Iran refuses to cooperate or takes actions that further destabilize the Middle East.

His remarks underscored the administration’s message that while it remains open to a diplomatic resolution, additional measures remain on the table if negotiations fail.

“If Iran attempts to rebuild its nuclear program, threaten its neighbors and support terrorism, President Trump has options to deal with it,” Vance noted, without elaborating.

Earlier, a Wall Street Journal report claimed that Trump had been briefed on several military options, including “all-out war,” but Trump said he wanted to give diplomacy more time.

Vance additionally stated that the US “dropped bombs on Iran because it fired on ships, and we used leverage to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”

He went on to suggest that the U.S. could take that course of action again.

Vance also said the current talks are “to discuss the details and flow of maritime traffic.”

The vice president, addressing U.S. military personnel at a naval base in Virginia on Wednesday, also said that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back decades.

“If you look at what our own intelligence says about their nuclear program, they are further away from developing a nuclear bomb than they have ever been since basically the last 20 or 30 years,” Vance said, though he stopped short of Trump’s claim that the program had been “totally obliterated.”

“What the president asks you to accomplish is to destroy the defense industrial base of that country, so that if they ever decided to rebuild their military, or if they ever decided to rebuild that nuclear program, they would be harmless to do it. You did that exactly as well,” Vance added, per the Times of Israel.

The VP went on to say that Trump is now “negotiating from a position of strength because of you.”

“If the Iranians try to rebuild the nuclear program, the President’s got options. If the Iranians try to threaten their neighbors or fund terrorism, we’ve got options,” Vance continued.

“But what we must never do is drop bombs just for the sake of dropping bombs. And that is what the president will never ask you to do,” Vance added.

“He’ll ask you to go to war, yes. But when he asks you to go to war, he’ll tell you exactly what you’re going for,” the veep noted further.

“And I think that is what you should expect out of your political leadership.”

“What I noticed about the people who are attacking the administration for negotiating is that they are the very same people who, for example, encouraged us to just go a little bit further and just drop a few more bombs in places like Afghanistan,” he said.

“If you go back to the mistakes that were made, those very same people refused to say what we were dropping bombs for,” he added.

“We dropped some bombs a couple of days ago… Because the Iranians were shooting at commercial ships… We applied some leverage, and we’ve had free commercial transit for the last three days,” Vance told the naval personnel.

UPDATE: House Passes Key Bill In Nod To Trump Admin

Washington — In a closely watched vote, the U.S. House of Representatives has approved the SPEED Act, legislation aimed at accelerating federal permitting for large-scale artificial intelligence data centers and supporting power projects.

The bill passed Friday by a narrow 218-to-213 margin, highlighting sharp partisan divides even as lawmakers on both sides recognize AI’s critical role in national security and economic competitiveness.

The SPEED Act targets reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. It would shorten environmental reviews that have stalled major construction projects for years and cut the statute of limitations for related lawsuits from six years down to just 150 days.

Supporters argue these changes are essential to meet exploding demand for data centers and reliable energy as AI technologies advance rapidly.

Republican lead sponsor Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas called the measure a national imperative: “The expansion of AI computing power for both civilian and military use is a national imperative.” He stressed the need for the U.S. to maintain its technological edge, especially against China.

The legislation drew public support from major tech players including OpenAI, Micron, and Microsoft.

Passage came after last-minute drama. Some conservative Republicans pushed for amendments protecting prior executive actions on offshore wind and other green energy limits. Democrats largely opposed the final version, with Rep. Scott Peters of California warning it codifies a “broken permitting status quo.” He said a more bipartisan approach may need to come from the Senate.

The House action pairs with a new Trump administration initiative: the U.S. Tech Force. This two-year program will recruit about 1,000 engineers and technical experts to modernize federal AI systems in partnership with companies like Amazon Web Services, Apple, Google, Nvidia, Oracle, and Palantir.

Together, the SPEED Act and Tech Force aim to address two major bottlenecks for American AI leadership: regulatory delays and specialized talent shortages. The bill now heads to the Senate, where further negotiations are expected.

This development intensifies the national debate over balancing rapid AI growth with environmental safeguards and partisan priorities in the race for global technological supremacy.

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