Latest news with #MikeFlood
4 days ago
- Politics
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Nebr., on getting booed at a town hall held in his district
ABC News' Linsey Davis spoke with Rep. Mike Flood, R-Nebr., about his raucous town hall where constituents expressed concerns over the GOP's major legislative package. May 28, 2025
Int'l Business Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
GOP Lawmaker Berated After Wild Confession About 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Days After Voting in Favor
Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood was berated at a town hall meeting on Tuesday after making a shocking confession about President Donald Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill," just days after voting in favor of passing the controversial legislation. During a heated Q&A, one audience member asked Flood, who represents around 650,000 constituents, why he voted to pass the bill, officially known as the Reconciliation Act, knowing it "effectively prohibits federal courts from enforcing contempt orders, which would then allow current and future administrations to ignore those contempt orders by removing the enforcement capabilities?" "I do not agree with that section that was added to that bill," Flood started as the audience erupted in boos. "You voted for all of it," a voice in the audience yelled, according to a TikTok video shared by Courier Newsroom. "I will tell you this: I believe in the rule of law," Flood continued, eliciting more boos from the fired-up crowd. "I've taken an oath as an attorney. I've taken an oath as a state senator. I've taken an oath as a member of congress, and I support our court system." "I do believe that the federal district courts, when issuing an injunction, it should have legal effect. In fact, I relied upon that when the Biden administration was in place. The federal courts did a tremendous amount of good work," he continued. "This provision was unknown to me when I voted for the bill." Flood then held up his hands and shrugged his shoulders while the audience continued booing the Republican congressman who has served the district since 2022. "I am not going to hide the truth," Flood added. Despite strong support from President Trump, the "Big, Beautiful Bill" has faced bipartisan backlash. The act would give significant tax cuts to the wealthy while increasing the national budget deficit by $2.6 trillion between 2025 and 2034. It also proposes deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, two critical programs that serve tens of millions of Americans. Currently, more than 42 million people rely on SNAP for food assistance, and nearly 80 million receive healthcare through Medicaid. Originally published on Latin Times
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska Republican interrogated over GOP megabill during tense town hall
Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) was interrogated over the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' during a town hall this week, with voters pressing him on provisions of the bill — including changes to Medicaid — in an hour-plus event that turned tense at times. The megabill, which passed the House last week, took center stage from the start of the event. Flood, who represents Nebraska's 1st Congressional District, mentioned the bill in his opening remarks, and the first series of questions from constituents focused on the sprawling piece of legislation. 'I will tell you, a lot of you as I talked to you on the way in had concerns with the bill that we passed in reconciliation on Thursday morning. I voted for that bill,' Flood said, prompting loud boos and screams from the crowd. In one of the viral moments, a voter in the audience asked Flood about a provision in the bill that aims to restrict federal judges' ability to hold government officials in contempt when they violate a court order. When a judge grants a preliminary injunction — as judges have done in dozens of cases to block Trump administration policies — federal procedure normally requires the plaintiff to post a bond. But judges often waive the requirement when the case concerns an unconstitutional policy. The bill would prevent judges from enforcing contempt orders if they issue such a waiver. The language, which is a small paragraph in the 1,000-plus-page bill, was slipped in and went largely unnoticed. Asked why he voted in favor of the bill with that provision, Flood — who graduated from University of Nebraska's law school — said the language was 'unknown' to him when he voted for the bill, noting he is not in favor of it. 'I do not agree with that section that was added to that bill,' Floor said, prompting a cry of 'you voted for all of it' from the audience. 'Why? I will tell you this: I believe in the rule of law,' he continued. 'I've taken an oath as an attorney, I've taken an oath as a state senator, I've taken an oath as a member of Congress, and I support our court system and I do believe that the federal district courts when issuing an injunction, it should have legal effect. In fact, I relied upon that when the Biden administration was in place, the federal courts did a tremendous amount of good work.' 'This provision was unknown to me when I voted for the bill,' he added. When a moderator began moving to the next question, Flood continued to speak to the matter. 'I am not going to hide the truth: This provision was unknown to me when I voted for that bill,' he said, leading the audience to break out in shouts. 'And when I found out that provision was in the bill, I immediately reached out to my Senate counterparts and told them of my concern. And when I return to Washington, I am going to very clearly tell the people in my conference that we cannot support undermining our court system, and we must allow our federal courts to operate and issue injunctions.' The congressman continued, later saying he cannot 'pull the fire alarm' every time he is frustrated with something from the administration. He did, however, take a jab at the White House after deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Trump and his team are 'actively looking at' suspending habeas corpus as the administration looks to crack down on illegal immigration. 'Please know that every time someone in the administration comes up with an idea, I can't pull the fire alarm every day, but if I see a writ of habeas corpus, quote-unquote, suspended, that is not right,' Flood said. 'It can only be done by Congress in terms of an invasion, and that is not the situation we have.' It was a familiar scene for Flood, who faced an onslaught of incisive questions and complaints over Elon Musk, the Russia-Ukraine war and more during a town hall in March. The congressman held the event despite House Republican leaders at the time urging lawmakers to host call-in and livestream town halls instead of in-person gatherings after moments from various GOP town halls went viral for questions about the administration and rowdy protests. Republicans had blamed the protests on Democratic activists. On Tuesday, at the beginning of the town hall, Flood said he believed all in attendance were his constituents. 'We have a good group of people here from all sorts of different places, all Nebraskans. I don't think one of you is here because you're getting paid, I don't think one of you is here because you were trucked in,' Flood said. 'I shook every hand in the front of this assembly, and I recognized a lot of faces, and I recognized a lot of names from my daily call logs.' Flood was asked about the 'big, beautiful bill' throughout the town hall. Later in the event, an attendee asked, 'How do you justify extending the 2017 temporary tax cuts and offsetting that federal loss by cutting Medicaid and SNAP benefits — tax cuts [that are] expected to add $5 trillion to [the] deficit?' One of the most controversial parts of the GOP megabill was changes to Medicaid, including beefed-up work requirements that will take effect in December 2026. Flood defended the bill, arguing that Medicaid should be protected for vulnerable populations. At one point during those comments, the crowd broke out in 'tax the rich' chants. Later in the town hall, Flood said: 'I think when you look at the Medicaid changes that we made, we did a very good job to avoid making Medicaid changes that affect patient care.' Zach Schonfeld contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Nebraska Republican interrogated over GOP megabill during tense town hall
Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) was interrogated over the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' during a town hall this week, with voters pressing him on provisions of the bill — including changes to Medicaid — in an hour-plus event that turned tense at times. The megabill, which passed the House last week, took center stage from the start of the event. Flood, who represents Nebraska's 1st Congressional District, mentioned the bill in his opening remarks, and the first series of questions from constituents focused on the sprawling piece of legislation. 'I will tell you, a lot of you as I talked to you on the way in had concerns with the bill that we passed in reconciliation on Thursday morning. I voted for that bill,' Flood said, prompting loud boos and screams from the crowd. In one of the viral moments, a voter in the audience asked Flood about a provision in the bill that aims to restrict federal judges' ability to hold government officials in contempt when they violate a court order. When a judge grants a preliminary injunction — as judges have done in dozens of cases to block Trump administration policies — federal procedure normally requires the plaintiff to post a bond. But judges often waive the requirement when the case concerns an unconstitutional policy. The bill would prevent judges from enforcing contempt orders if they issue such a waiver. The language, which is a small paragraph in the 1,000-plus-page bill, was slipped in and went largely unnoticed. Asked why he voted in favor of the bill with that provision, Flood — who graduated from University of Nebraska's law school — said the language was 'unknown' to him when he voted for the bill, noting that he is not in favor of it. 'I do not agree with that section that was added to that bill,' Floor said, prompting a cry of 'you voted for all of it' from the audience. 'Why? I will tell you this: I believe in the rule of law,' he continued. 'I've taken an oath as an attorney, I've taken an oath as a state senator, I've taken an oath as a member of Congress, and I support our court system and I do believe that the federal district courts when issuing an injunction, it should have legal effect. In fact, I relied upon that when the Biden administration was in place, the federal courts did a tremendous amount of good work.' 'This provision was unknown to me when I voted for the bill,' he added. When a moderator began moving to the next question, Flood continued to speak to the matter. 'I am not gonna hide the truth: This provision was unknown to me when I voted for that bill,' he said, leading the audience to break out in shouts. 'And when I found out that provision was in the bill, I immediately reached out to my Senate counterparts and told them of my concern. And when I return to Washington I am going to very clearly tell the people in my conference that we cannot support undermining our court system and we must allow our federal courts to operate and issue injunctions.' The congressman continued, later saying that he cannot 'pull the fire alarm' every time he is frustrated with something from the administration. He did, however, take a jab at the White House after deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Trump and his team are 'actively looking at' suspending habeas corpus as the administration looks to crack down on illegal immigration. 'Please know that every time someone in the administration comes up with an idea I can't pull the fire alarm every day, but if I see a writ of habeas corpus, quote, unquote, suspended, that is not right,' Flood said. 'It can only be done by Congress in terms of an invasion and that is not the situation we have.' It was a familiar scene for Flood, who faced an onslaught of incisive questions and complaints over Elon Musk, the Russia-Ukraine war and during a town hall in March. The congressman held the event despite House Republican leaders at the time urging lawmakers to host call-in and livestream town halls instead of in-person gatherings after moments from various GOP town halls went viral for questions about the administration and rowdy protests. Republicans had blamed the protests on Democratic activists. On Tuesday, at the beginning of the town hall, Flood said he believed all in attendance were his constituents. 'We have a good group of people here from all sorts of different places, all Nebraskans. I don't think one of you is here because you're getting paid, I don't think one of you is here because you were trucked in,' Flood said. 'I shook every hand in the front of this assembly and I recognized a lot of faces and I recognized a lot of names from my daily call logs.' Flood was asked about the 'big, beautiful bill' throughout the town hall. Later in the event, a attendee asked, 'how do you justify extending the 2017 temporary tax cuts and offsetting that federal loss by cutting Medicaid and SNAP benefits — tax cuts [that are] expected to add $5 trillion to [the] deficit?' One of the most controversial parts of the GOP megabill was changes to Medicaid, including beefed-up work requirements that will take effect in December 2026. Flood defended the bill, arguing that Medicaid should be protected for vulnerable populations. At one point during those comments, the crowd broke out in 'tax the rich' chants. Later in the town hall, Flood said: 'I think when you look at the Medicaid changes that we made, we did a very good job to avoid making Medicaid changes that affect patient care.' Zach Schonfeld contributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Republican Crumbles When Pressed About Tax Bill at Heated Town Hall
Republican Rep. Mike Flood appeared before his constituents in Nebraska on Tuesday for a town hall that turned ugly as he tried to defend President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' the reconciliation package the House of Representatives passed last week, and which is expected to force millions of Americans off their health care coverage and food aid. Unfortunately, Flood hadn't actually read the bill. Flood could barely get through a sentence without facing boos and heckling from the audience. At one point, when asked about a provision in the GOP's massive reconciliation package that would restrict the judiciary's ability to hold government officials in contempt, Flood said he did not agree with the provision, before admitting that the 'provision was unknown to me when I voted for that.' 'I've taken an oath as a state senator, I've taken an oath as a member of Congress, and I support our court system, and I do believe that the federal district courts when issuing an injunction should have legal effect,' Flood said in response to the question. 'In fact, I relied upon that when the Biden administration was in place, the federal courts did a tremendous amount of good work.' 'This provision was unknown to me when I voted for the bill. OK? Next question, next question,' Flood added of the legislation, which passed through the House last week and is now being considered in the Senate. The confession prompted a loud round of jeering from attendees. Flood eventually interjected, telling the crowd that he was 'not going to hide the truth.' The congressman then stated that he was 'going to very clearly tell the people in my conference that we cannot support undermining our court system, and we must allow our federal courts to operate an issue, injunctions.' It was the tense peak of an acrimonious event. In another instance, when Flood insisted that he was a true supporter of the Constitution, one audience member shouted 'then do it' from the crowd. In holding the town hall, Flood actually bucked advice from Republican leadership, who earlier this year advised members of the party to avoid town halls and other confrontations with constituents over the GOP's unpopular policy initiatives. Other Republicans — including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) — who have gone forward with public constituent meetings have faced the rage of voters upset over mass firings, public corruption, and the president's continued defiance of the courts. The 'big, beautiful' bill's proposed cuts to social safety net programs in order to fund tax breaks for the wealthy aren't very popular, either. But Republicans remain steadfast in their commitment to fulfilling Trump's policy platform, even if it's unpopular, and even if it kicks millions of Americans off of their health insurance. As his constituents yelled at him, an exasperated Flood complained that he understood 'that you can get an applause line when you call me a fascist.' 'But I'm not,' he insisted. More from Rolling Stone Trump's Medicaid Cuts Will Gut a 'Medical Lifeline' for Millions Trump Adviser Admits Republican Tax Bill Makes Huge Cuts to Medicaid Mike Johnson Insists It's 'Moral' to Throw People Off Medicaid Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
