LINCOLN — Thirteen Nebraska state lawmakers visited Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. But they didn’t get an Indiana-like pitch about redistricting a red state, as reporters waited.

Instead, the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs hosted lawmakers from Nebraska and Iowa to “hear firsthand” how President Donald Trump and his team are implementing his approach and how to “advance it at the state and local level.”

While that was the official reason, national and local news outlets reported in recent days that Trump’s team might use the meeting to discuss mid-decade redistricting with Nebraska lawmakers.

People familiar with how the meeting unfolded told the Examiner on Tuesday that redistricting wasn’t discussed, partly because of the attention surrounding the gathering. The White House had considered talking to lawmakers in small groups about it but didn’t.

Some of the same sources said the conversations could still happen but that it was a little too early in the process to risk a leaked discussion.

The conference featured cabinet secretaries, White House senior staff and people working for various federal agencies and departments. The invitation said they would get to ask federal officials questions. 

Among the Nebraska state senators attending were Loren Lippincott of Central City, Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, Dave Murman of Glenville, Barry DeKay of Niobrara, Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse, Beau Ballard of Lincoln, Paul Strommen of Sidney, Rob Clements of Elmwood, Ben Hansen of Blair, Brian Hardin of Gering, Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue and Bob Andersen of north-central Sarpy County.

Laura Strimple, a spokesperson for Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, confirmed that the governor’s chief of staff and policy director both attended the meeting, saying that their presence was typical for such White House summits.

“Team Pillen has worked hard to build relationships throughout President Trump’s administration, and we are always excited for opportunities to strengthen our partnership,” Strimple said.

The four-hour conference touched on Trump tariffs, college accreditation and how it’s determined, expanding school choice, reining in college costs and reducing student debt and election integrity.

White House staff also discussed how the Trump Small Business Administration is reducing regulations, said Lippincott, who spoke with the Examiner while flying back to Nebraska.

Lippincott said the group talked about getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, or DEI, and someone from the Trump Administration talked about how “we need to go to paper ballots,” for which President Donald Trump recently expressed support. The president also has said states should stop using ballots by mail and voting machines, which election experts have defended as reliable.

Kauth told the Examiner the gathering was “just a meeting of federal and state government leaders to develop better communication and relationships.”

The pause in a White House pitch to redistrict Nebraska in time for the 2026 midterms  — to make the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District harder for Democrats to win — comes during the ramp-up of a national redistricting tit for tat that Trump helped start in Texas. Texas lawmakers recently approved a new map designed to help the GOP win up to five additional seats in the U.S. House next year.

The White House pressed Indiana state lawmakers about redistricting during a visit to the nation’s capital last month. The Missouri House passed its own redrawn congressional map, which targets a Kansas City-area House district currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.

Democratic-led states are considering pursuing partisan redistricting efforts in response, including in California and New York.

While Republicans hold all three of Nebraska’s congressional seats, political experts see the now open-seat 2nd District race as a potential pickup for Democrats in 2026. U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., has announced he would not run again.

Another hurdle for any Nebraska redistricting push: Republican lawmakers in the officially nonpartisan Legislature might lack the numbers needed to make the change. One Nebraska GOP state lawmaker questioned privately whether a mid-decade redistricting effort would have 25 votes.

Speaker John Arch of La Vista didn’t attend the D.C. meeting. Also, one of the key GOP holdouts who helped stop last year’s push to alter how the state awards Electoral College votes for president, Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston, didn’t attend, citing scheduling conflicts. He has said he’s “not a big fan of changing the rules in the middle of the game.” And Sen. Dave Wordekemper of Fremont, who opposed the winner-take-all push, didn’t attend.

But Pillen has shown a willingness to try even when he lacks the votes. He pressed for the Legislature to take up winner-take-all without the votes.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/09/national-attention-may-have-kept...