Ricketts, Pete

Pete Ricketts is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 40th governor of Nebraska from 2015 to 2023. As a subcommittee chair, Ricketts wields significant influence over his areas of jurisdiction. He is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, which deals with all matters concerning U.S. relations with the countries of East Asia and the Pacific, including terrorism and non-proliferation, crime and illicit narcotics, U.S. foreign assistance programs, and the promotion of U.S. trade and exports, and has global responsibility for international cybersecurity and space policy. He also chairs the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water, which oversees the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Endangered Species Act, the Lacey Act, invasive species, and water issues including the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.\n\nRicketts was born in Nebraska City on August 19, 1964, and the family later moved to Omaha. He attended the University of Chicago, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in biology in 1986 and a Master of Business Administration in marketing and finance in 1991.