{"id":"R000618","bioguide_id":"R000618","first_name":"Pete","last_name":"Ricketts","full_name":"Pete Ricketts","party":"R","state":"NE","chamber":"senate","district":null,"title":"Senator","photo_url":null,"twitter_handle":"SenatorRicketts","official_website":"https://www.ricketts.senate.gov","fec_candidate_ids":["S6NE00129"],"lis_id":"S423","is_active":true,"term_start":"2025-01-03","term_end":"2027-01-03","created_at":"2026-09-08T22:51:51.014Z","updated_at":"2026-09-09T02:08:13.531Z","url":"https://whovotedwhy.com/politicians/R000618","score":{"id":"R000618","politician_id":"R000618","consistency_score":null,"influence_score":null,"conflict_index":null,"total_ai_votes":6,"total_statements":1,"total_donations_ai":84000,"top_donor_industries":[{"industry":"Anthropic","amount":35000,"vote_alignment":null},{"industry":"Google / Alphabet","amount":18500,"vote_alignment":null},{"industry":"Google NetPAC","amount":10000,"vote_alignment":null},{"industry":"Microsoft","amount":7000,"vote_alignment":null},{"industry":"Palantir","amount":7000,"vote_alignment":null}],"said_did_pairs":[],"computed_at":"2026-09-11T15:05:27.382Z"},"votes":[{"id":"fc9567adf1000a1a","roll_call_id":"bca10742d0876330","bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","politician_id":"R000618","position":"yea","voted_at":"2025-12-17","roll_call":{"id":"bca10742d0876330","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"procedural","congress":119,"session":1,"number":648,"date":"2025-12-17","question":"On the Motion","description":"Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 1071; A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas, and for other purposes.","legislation":"S. 1071","amendment":null,"committee":null,"bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","result":"Agreed to","yeas":77,"nays":20,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00648.xml","ai_match":"bill","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}},{"id":"9cb595264dc71b63","roll_call_id":"47dfb73a82b0a2ce","bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","politician_id":"R000618","position":"yea","voted_at":"2025-12-15","roll_call":{"id":"47dfb73a82b0a2ce","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"cloture","congress":119,"session":1,"number":647,"date":"2025-12-15","question":"On the Cloture Motion","description":"Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S. 1071; A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas, and for other purposes.","legislation":"S. 1071","amendment":null,"committee":null,"bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","result":"Agreed to","yeas":76,"nays":20,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00647.xml","ai_match":"bill","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}},{"id":"37715a3cf9222fcf","roll_call_id":"dd1489dacf44112f","bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","politician_id":"R000618","position":"yea","voted_at":"2025-12-11","roll_call":{"id":"dd1489dacf44112f","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"motion-to-proceed","congress":119,"session":1,"number":646,"date":"2025-12-11","question":"On the Motion to Proceed","description":"Motion to Proceed to the House Message to Accompany S. 1071; A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas, and for other purposes.","legislation":"S. 1071","amendment":null,"committee":null,"bill_id":"cf89b103e74a3844","result":"Agreed to","yeas":75,"nays":22,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00646.xml","ai_match":"bill","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}},{"id":"a6da98e9318bb833","roll_call_id":"5759c87e484cf21b","bill_id":null,"politician_id":"R000618","position":"yea","voted_at":"2025-07-01","roll_call":{"id":"5759c87e484cf21b","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"amendment","congress":119,"session":1,"number":363,"date":"2025-07-01","question":"On the Amendment","description":"To strike the section relating to support for artificial intelligence.","legislation":"H.R. 1","amendment":"S.Amdt. 2814","committee":null,"bill_id":null,"result":"Agreed to","yeas":99,"nays":1,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00363.xml","ai_match":"keyword","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}},{"id":"e8eb573a9bd99c8f","roll_call_id":"de7744646acadb2c","bill_id":"fe01c2d25c573f9b","politician_id":"R000618","position":"nay","voted_at":"2026-07-16","roll_call":{"id":"de7744646acadb2c","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"motion-to-proceed","congress":119,"session":2,"number":199,"date":"2026-07-16","question":"On the Motion to Proceed","description":"Motion to Proceed to S.J. Res. 198; A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services relating to \"Medicare Program; Implementation of Prior Authorization for Select Services for the Wasteful and Inappropriate Services Reduction (WISeR) Model\".","legislation":"S.J.Res. 198","amendment":null,"committee":null,"bill_id":"fe01c2d25c573f9b","result":"Rejected","yeas":46,"nays":50,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00199.xml","ai_match":"bill","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}},{"id":"46774a5f3d041591","roll_call_id":"1582c6eb48e4c5fc","bill_id":"c3a830c9118e3ee4","politician_id":"R000618","position":"yea","voted_at":"2026-07-14","roll_call":{"id":"1582c6eb48e4c5fc","chamber":"senate","kind":"floor","category":"cloture","congress":119,"session":2,"number":195,"date":"2026-07-14","question":"On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed","description":"Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Proceed to S. 4784; An original bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.","legislation":"S. 4784","amendment":null,"committee":null,"bill_id":"c3a830c9118e3ee4","result":"Rejected","yeas":50,"nays":46,"positions_recorded":100,"positions_unmatched":0,"source_url":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00195.xml","ai_match":"bill","fetched_at":"2026-09-11T14:58:52.438Z"}}],"statements":[{"id":"b9800e9387f635fe","politician_id":"R000618","type":"press_release","content":"The following op-ed by U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) was originally published by the Washington Times on August 10, 2026.\n\nIndustry and government officials widely believed that American frontier models were six months ahead of Chinese competitors. That lead shrank last month when the China-based Moonshot AIreleased its new model Kimi K3.\n\nThis Chinese model is competitive with America’s leading artificial intelligence models by some measures. It also could cost 40% less to run. How we respond to this development will shape American competitiveness for decades to come. A world in which China dominates AI would threaten our security and prosperity.\n\nThe Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has closed the AI gap with the help of illicit activities, including distillation attacks and chip smuggling. Beijing uses these unethical methods because it lacks access to the advanced compute necessary to train and run AI models effectively.\n\nMoonshot AI even admitted that it doesn’t have enough advanced compute to serve Kimi K3 to customers at scale.\n\nAdvanced compute requires memory and logic “chips.” These cannot be made without complex semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME). The CCP is completely reliant on foreign SME, making it its Achilles’ heel. Beijing must be denied access to critical SMEs.\n\nWe introduced the Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware (MATCH) Act to preserve that chokepoint.\n\nSME makes advanced chips possible. It consists of lithography machines and hundreds of etch tools, testing systems and specialized chemicals. A handful of American, Dutch and Japanese firms almost exclusively control SME production. Despite spending billions trying, Beijing still can’t replicate these tools.\n\nBut our leverage is slipping away — and the stakes aren’t just economic. They directly affect American security and values.\n\nBeijing wants to dominate AI. The CCP believes that it can use AI to cancel out America’s military and innovation edge. The Chinese military is already testing AI-directed drone swarms and cyber operations.\n\nThe CCP regularly uses AI to surveil its own people. Concerningly, there is no clean line between civilian and military use by the CCP. Under Beijing’s military-civil fusion strategy, equipment sold to a “civilian” chip factory can be redirected to a military-linked user.\n\nThis gives CCP control over the tech stack — a fundamental threat to our national security.\n\nSince the first Trump administration, we have sought to keep this critical technology away from Chinese chipmakers. That effort continues to be hindered by the same problem: American export controls stop at our borders but the equipment does not.\n\nAmerican companies are barred from selling to these firms, but to date, good-faith efforts to get our allies to match this approach have fallen short. This hurts American businesses, workers and security.\n\nThe bipartisan MATCH Act is the strongest attempt to fix this. The idea is simple: Don’t let the CCP buy tools that it can’t yet build at scale. Our bill designates China’s top chipmakers — along with their subsidiaries and their affiliates — as off-limits.\n\nThe MATCH Act wouldn’t just limit equipment sales. It would also limit the maintenance, calibration and software updates that keep that equipment running. Without original parts and expert servicing, China’s imported machines would slowly degrade and fail.\n\nReplacing these foreign imports with unproven domestic copies would be difficult and costly to build. Beijing would be forced to rebuild the world’s most complex supply chain from scratch, buying the U.S. and allies years to stay ahead in the global tech race.\n\nOur bill leads with diplomacy. We want to negotiate with our allies and provide them a real but reasonable timeframe to match our controls. But if they are unable to do so, U.S. jurisdiction would automatically extend to cover their equipment.\n\nWashington has been negotiating with the Netherl","url":"https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ricketts-op-ed-match-act-can-protect-americas-ai-lead-from-china/","published_at":"2026-08-11","ai_topics":["national_security","chips"],"ai_stance":"support","ai_summary":"Ricketts promotes the bipartisan MATCH Act to multilateralize semiconductor equipment export controls and deny China the compute needed to overtake U.S. AI.","ai_processed":true,"bill_ids":[],"ai_relevance_score":null,"bill_refs":[],"classifier":null}],"donations":[{"id":"4080120261540160188","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"EHRLICH, JACOB","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"ANTHROPIC","employer_canonical":"Anthropic","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Anthropic","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-06-23","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540160188","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616578"},{"id":"4080120261540160189","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"CLINTON, JASON","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"ANTHROPIC","employer_canonical":"Anthropic","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Anthropic","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-06-22","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540160189","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616579"},{"id":"4080120261540159978","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC SEPARATE SEGREGATED FUND (AMAZON PAC)","donor_type":"pac","donor_employer":null,"employer_canonical":"Amazon PAC","donor_category":"company_pac","match_rule":"contributor_name:Amazon.com Services LLC PAC","amount":5000,"donation_date":"2026-06-18","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540159978","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616507"},{"id":"4080120261540160187","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"LOFGREN, PETER","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"ANTHROPIC","employer_canonical":"Anthropic","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Anthropic","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-06-15","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540160187","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616578"},{"id":"4080120261540160184","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"MARKOV, TODOR","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"ANTHROPIC","employer_canonical":"Anthropic","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Anthropic","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-06-09","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540160184","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616577"},{"id":"4080120261540160218","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"DENISON, CARSON","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"ANTHROPIC","employer_canonical":"Anthropic","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Anthropic","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-05-04","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540160218","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616588"},{"id":"4080120261540160183","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"DENISON, CARSON","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"ANTHROPIC","employer_canonical":"Anthropic","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Anthropic","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-05-04","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540160183","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616577"},{"id":"4080120261540160220","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"BRICKEN, TRENTON","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"ANTHROPIC","employer_canonical":"Anthropic","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Anthropic","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-05-01","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540160220","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616589"},{"id":"4080120261540160219","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"JONES, ANDREW","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"ANTHROPIC","employer_canonical":"Anthropic","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Anthropic","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-05-01","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540160219","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616589"},{"id":"4080120261540160186","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"BRICKEN, TRENTON","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"ANTHROPIC","employer_canonical":"Anthropic","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Anthropic","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-05-01","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540160186","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616578"},{"id":"4080120261540160185","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"JONES, ANDREW","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"ANTHROPIC","employer_canonical":"Anthropic","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Anthropic","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-05-01","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540160185","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890616577"},{"id":"4080120261540157065","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"GOOGLE LLC NETPAC","donor_type":"pac","donor_employer":null,"employer_canonical":"Google NetPAC","donor_category":"company_pac","match_rule":"contributor_name:Google NetPAC","amount":5000,"donation_date":"2026-03-12","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540157065","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614446"},{"id":"4080120261540156896","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"SMITH, BRAD","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"MICROSOFT CORPORATION","employer_canonical":"Microsoft","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Microsoft","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-03-01","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540156896","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614389"},{"id":"4080120261540156895","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"SMITH, BRAD","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"MICROSOFT CORPORATION","employer_canonical":"Microsoft","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Microsoft","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-03-01","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540156895","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614389"},{"id":"4080120261540156768","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"OSTERLOH, RICK","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"GOOGLE","employer_canonical":"Google / Alphabet","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Google","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-02-18","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540156768","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614346"},{"id":"4080120261540156585","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"HARRISON, DONALD S.","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"GOOGLE","employer_canonical":"Google / Alphabet","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Google","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-02-18","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540156585","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614285"},{"id":"4080120261540156929","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"WALKER, KENT","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"GOOGLE LLC","employer_canonical":"Google / Alphabet","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Google","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-02-17","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540156929","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614400"},{"id":"4080120261540156758","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"OLIVERI, TOM","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"GOOGLE","employer_canonical":"Google / Alphabet","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Google","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-02-17","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540156758","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614343"},{"id":"4080120261540156894","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"SLOSS, BENJAMIN T.","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"GOOGLE","employer_canonical":"Google / Alphabet","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Google","amount":1000,"donation_date":"2026-02-16","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540156894","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614388"},{"id":"4080120261540156265","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"BHATIA, KARAN","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"GOOGLE","employer_canonical":"Google / Alphabet","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Google","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-02-16","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540156265","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614179"},{"id":"4080120261540157132","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"SANKAR, SHYAM","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES","employer_canonical":"Palantir","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Palantir","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-01-31","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540157132","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614469"},{"id":"4080120261540157127","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"SANKAR, SHYAM","donor_type":"individual","donor_employer":"PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES","employer_canonical":"Palantir","donor_category":"employee","match_rule":"contributor_employer:Palantir","amount":3500,"donation_date":"2026-01-31","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540157127","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890614467"},{"id":"4080120261540153825","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC SEPARATE SEGREGATED FUND (AMAZON PAC)","donor_type":"pac","donor_employer":null,"employer_canonical":"Amazon PAC","donor_category":"company_pac","match_rule":"contributor_name:Amazon.com Services LLC PAC","amount":1500,"donation_date":"2025-12-23","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4080120261540153825","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890153323"},{"id":"4073120261540047821","politician_id":"R000618","donor_name":"GOOGLE LLC NETPAC","donor_type":"pac","donor_employer":null,"employer_canonical":"Google NetPAC","donor_category":"company_pac","match_rule":"contributor_name:Google NetPAC","amount":5000,"donation_date":"2025-03-28","cycle":2026,"fec_committee_id":"C00832436","fec_transaction_id":"4073120261540047821","filing_url":"https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202607159890562286"}],"outside_spending_totals":[{"committee_id":"C00928390","network":"Public First","candidate_id":"S6NE00129","candidate_name":"RICKETTS, PETE","candidate_office":"S","candidate_state":"NE","candidate_district":"00","candidate_party":"REP","politician_id":"R000618","support_oppose":"S","total":262625,"count":3,"cycle":2026,"aggregation_method":"fec_by_candidate","retrieved_at":"2026-09-11T14:59:27.020Z"}],"provenance":{"commit":"38624a3af16ec6b3fff9b27c7d1d9f2cb7fe9152","generated_at":"2026-09-11T15:06:57.105Z","schema_version":2,"manifest":"https://whovotedwhy.com/data/index.json"}}