On the primary day of the 2026 legislative session, Nebraska lawmakers have been requested Wednesday to think about a movement to expel a fellow senator accused of creating a sexually-charged remark to a legislative staffer and touching her inappropriately throughout a session-end social gathering final 12 months.
If lawmakers vote subsequent week to expel the 59-year-old Sen. Dan McKeon, a Republican within the formally nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature, it will likely be the primary time the physique has ever accomplished so.
The unprecedented transfer follows a grievance from the staffer that McKeon stated she ought to “get laid” on her trip and patted her on her buttocks final Could throughout a celebration on the Lincoln Nation Membership attended by state lawmakers, staffers and lobbyists.
Extra consideration has targeted on sexual harassment inside state legislatures nationwide. No less than 156 state lawmakers throughout 44 states have been accused of sexual harassment or misconduct since 2017, when The Related Press started monitoring such incidents amid the #MeToo motion. Of these, 56 have resigned or been expelled from workplace. A virtually equal quantity have confronted another sort of repercussion, comparable to dropping committee or social gathering management positions.
A report on the Nebraska grievance was compiled by an outdoor regulation agency on the request of the Legislature’s Govt Board and launched Wednesday. It discovered that McKeon has “a fame for making jokes and that a few of these jokes are unprofessional and/or inappropriate for the office.”
The report decided that McKeon’s conduct didn’t rise to a degree of sexual harassment or retaliation that’s actionable underneath state or federal discrimination regulation, however that didn’t imply it was acceptable. It stated McKeon’s conduct did violate the Nebraska Legislature’s office harassment coverage, and that lawmakers “could, of their discretion, censure, reprimand or expel the senator for his conduct and feedback.”
After interviewing the girl, McKeon and others, the legal professional who wrote the report discovered that the girl, McKeon and one other staffer had been discussing trip plans on the Could 29 social gathering when McKeon requested whether or not the girl was “going to Hawaii to get laid,” she stated. McKeon characterised the comment as a joke during which he stated he hoped she would get a Hawaiian lei whereas in Hawaii.
“Complainant was not vacationing in Hawaii so this remark was inconsistent with the dialogue of trip plans,” the report stated.
The staffer additionally stated McKeon patted her behind. McKeon initially denied touching the girl, the report stated, however later stated he could have touched her again or decrease again “and even rear finish,” however insisted it was not meant to be sexual.
The report additionally stated that following the grievance, McKeon was instructed by Sen. Ben Hansen, chairman of the Govt Board, on June 2 to not attend social gatherings the place staffers can be current. Regardless of this, McKeon attended one other social gathering that evening additionally attended by staffers — together with the girl who filed the grievance in opposition to him — in accordance with the report.
Practically a month later, urged by Hansen to “settle for duty for what he was alleged to have accomplished” McKeon despatched the girl a notice telling her she ought to discover it inside herself to forgive him “as a result of that’s what the Bible instructs individuals to do,” the report stated.
Then, in August, McKeon texted one other staffer who shares an workplace with the girl, saying she “appears to be troublesome to work with,” the report discovered.
An investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol finally led to McKeon being charged with a misdemeanor depend of disturbing the peace. McKeon has pleaded not responsible.
McKeon, who attended Wednesday’s opening session, declined to touch upon the report itself. However his remarks on the grievance in opposition to him and the potential for being expelled have been consistent with the report’s findings, falling again on spiritual references by saying that his title, Daniel, means “simply” in Hebrew and remarking “we’re all sinners” when requested about accusations that he’s typically made inappropriate jokes within the office.
He stated he has no plans to step down, regardless of calls from leaders of his personal social gathering — together with Republican Gov. Jim Pillen — to resign. However he appeared prepared to simply accept that he could be compelled out, saying he expects any vote within the full Legislature to “be fairly shut.”
“It’s what it’s,” he stated. “I’m not going to cry about it or something.”
The Legislature’s Govt Board will maintain a listening to Monday on the decision to expel McKeon. If it’s voted out of committee, the total Legislature may debate it as quickly as Tuesday and would wish 33 votes to cross.
If McKeon is expelled, he can be the nation’s 57th state lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct to have left workplace through expulsion or resignation since 2017.
