Former Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts Fills Empty Senate Seat Vacated By Ben Sasse

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen appointed the state’s former Republican Governor Pete Ricketts as the Cornhusker State’s next senator on Thursday, replacing Ben Sasse, who officially resigned early this week.

Ricketts served two terms as the state’s top official from 2015 until last week when his successor moved into the governor’s mansion.

Governor Pillen selected Ricketts as the replacement for Sasse. “incredibly seriously” Because the appointee must “represent the people” NBC, Nebraska reported.

Pillen said that the next senator must reflect “values and ideology important to Nebraskans,” Believe in “less government and fiscal accountability,” And be a “person of incredible faith, God-fearing like almost all Nebraskans.”

“It’s clear the person for the job was Sen.-designate Pete Ricketts,” He said.

According to The New York TimesRicketts stated that the Senate must be dissolved after Pillen had appointed him. “hold Washington, D.C., accountable for the waste and the fraud,” The government must operate more like a business, according to the addition “just like we’ve done here in Nebraska.”

“For me, it came down to a single question: How can I best serve the people of Nebraska and advance our conservative values?” Ricketts stated that NBC reported it in a press release. “In Congress, we’re in a fight for the future of our nation, and it’s a fight we have to win.”

Ricketts is from a Nebraska family that is heavily invested in politics. Joe Ricketts, his father and founder of TD Ameritrade financial services, was a prominent donor to Republican candidates across the country.

Ricketts spent nearly $1.3million in the Republican primary to become governor, which helped Pillen defeat an opponent backed by President Donald Trump. His appointment comes days after former U.S. Sen. Sasse officially resigned from his seat, having accepting a position to become president of the University of Florida, where he will reportedly earn a salary of $1 million.

Last week, the Republican politician addressed the Senate floor and said that he had never intended to spend his entire life in Washington after eight years of public office.

“That’s not what our founders envisioned for the people they would send to the federal city,” Sasse . “They envisioned, rather, congressmen, senators, and presidents who thought of D.C. as a temporary stay.”

“Washington is a place to do a good bit of neighbor-loving work, but then to go back home to the more permanent work of life and flesh and blood whole communities,” He added.

Ricketts will fill the seat until 2024, when a special election is held for the remainder of Sasse’s term, which would have ended in 2026.