Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., defended President Donald Trump’s agenda Monday, Aug. 4, in front of a restless and often combative crowd at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Kimball Recital Hall. The packed town hall featured chants of “tax the rich” and “free Palestine” as Flood fielded pointed questions about immigration, health care cuts and his vote for Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Flood’s defense of the bill
“I truly believe that this bill will allow America to experience growth, that it will allow our communities to thrive, that it will spark our economy, that it will help farmers and ranchers, that it will take care of the vulnerable. And more than anything, I truly believe this bill protects Medicaid for the future,” Flood said to the crowd.
Last town hall of 2025 for Flood
After a pair of tense events in Columbus and Seward this year, Flood pledged that this would be his last town hall of 2025. He was one of the few Republicans to have held in-person town halls during spring’s congressional recess as the GOP faced backlash over DOGE-led federal job cuts.
Following GOP strategy, Flood echoed the National Republican Congressional Committee’s updated blueprint for August, which calls on party members to defend the president’s agenda.
“This is part of the process, this is the town square,” Flood said at a press conference following the town hall. “Sometimes it’s the loudest voice, sometimes it’s the quietest. They’re all here to take in democracy at this level, and it’s my job to answer their questions.”
Clash over immigration and detention costs
One of the sharpest exchanges came when a constituent challenged the cost of Trump’s crackdown – citing reports that the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility in Florida will cost $450 million annually.
“How much does it cost for fascism? How much do the taxpayers have to pay for a fascist country?” she asked, drawing loud applause.
Flood pushed back, saying “Americans voted for a border that is secure, and I support the president enforcing our immigration laws, which by the way, were written by Congress.”
Accusations of ‘fascist machine’
Another attendee accused Flood of being complicit in what they called a “fascist machine” tied to Project 2025.
“You said in Seward that you were not a fascist,” the audience member said. “But your complicity says otherwise.”
“Fascists don’t hold town halls with open question-and-answer series,” Flood responded as many in the crowd booed.
Debt and taxes
Flood again stressed the need to reduce the national debt, even as critics noted his support of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which adds an estimated $4.1 trillion to the deficit and increases the U.S. debt by 9.5% over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“You can’t grow the economy by upping everybody’s taxes,” Flood said. “You can’t implement the millionaires tax that Biden talked about in the last Congress, it gets you $50 billion. And on top of it, you’re taking $50 billion from the people that are supposed to be creating the jobs. It isn’t the panacea that people think it is,” he said.
Medicaid cuts and rural hospitals
Addressing concerns about nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts from Trump’s budget bill, Flood argued that Nebraska’s program was protected, citing $50 billion for rural hospitals and state funding boosts.
He also downplayed new work requirements, citing Nebraska’s low unemployment rate, but added, “If we have to make tweaks to the implementation to make sure that those who truly need it get it and it is not a burden to their caregiver or them, then we need to make those tweaks.”
Common ground on Epstein files
One issue that drew broad agreement was releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files. Flood said he supports their release while protecting victims’ privacy, and backed the congressional subpoena of Ghislaine Maxwell for testimony.
“Obviously, you got to protect the victims, you don’t want to revictimize them,” he said. “I do not want to pardon anybody that has engaged in a conspiracy or criminal enterprise to sexually traumatize and abuse adolescents, juveniles, any child, and neither does most of America.”
