Role: Governor of Nebraska (since January 2023)
Category: State Governors / Republican Governors

Summary

Jim Pillen is the Governor of Nebraska. On January 24, 2025 — effectively one of his first full days of acting in alignment with the incoming Trump administration — he signed an executive order directing Nebraska state agencies to implement Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. He succeeded Pete Ricketts, who left the governorship to become a U.S. Senator. Pillen is a University of Nebraska Regents member and hog farmer who has aligned Nebraska with Trump’s full policy agenda.

Background

Born: April 29, 1957, David City, Nebraska
Education: University of Nebraska–Lincoln (B.S., Animal Science; D.V.M.)
Career: Hog farmer and pork producer; University of Nebraska Board of Regents member
Political career:

• Governor of Nebraska (January 2023–present)

Election: Won the 2022 gubernatorial primary — which featured a competitive race with multiple candidates — and the general election.

Trump Alignment

Pillen is a consistent Trump ally who has implemented Trump’s policy priorities at the state level from the earliest days of the second term.

Immigration Enforcement

Executive order (January 24, 2025): The Nebraska Examiner reported that Pillen “ordered state agencies to take steps to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown” — signed the day before his full executive order on the matter. Pillen signed an executive order establishing “Support for Federal Immigration Policy Implementation” — directing Nebraska agencies to cooperate with and support federal immigration enforcement.

Redistricting

Nebraska uses a unique system — one of its five congressional districts (the 2nd, centered on Omaha) can split its electoral vote from the rest of the state. Nebraska was not a major target of the 2025-2026 redistricting campaign, though there have been ongoing Republican efforts to eliminate the split electoral vote system.

For Trump Supporters: Questions Worth Considering

Pillen is a hog farmer and veterinarian who governs a state with a significant agricultural economy. Nebraska’s pork, beef, and poultry processing industries employ substantial immigrant labor forces. On January 24, 2025 — one of his first full days acting in coordination with the new Trump administration — he signed an executive order directing Nebraska state agencies to implement Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. Nebraska also uses a unique congressional district system in which one of its five districts (the 2nd, centered on Omaha) can split its electoral vote from the rest of the state — a system Republicans have been trying to eliminate to ensure Nebraska’s full electoral count goes to the Republican presidential nominee.

Here’s a question worth sitting with: Pillen signed an immigration enforcement executive order one of his first full days in coordination with the new Trump administration, directing Nebraska state agencies to support federal enforcement. Nebraska’s pork, beef, and poultry processing industries — including large plants in Lexington, Grand Island, and elsewhere — employ significant numbers of immigrant workers. Those workers process the food that American consumers buy. If you are a Nebraska hog farmer, a meatpacking plant operator, or someone who buys Nebraska beef and pork — how do you weigh a governor’s Day One commitment to immigration enforcement against the practical reality that the industry employing Nebraskans and feeding America depends on that labor force?

A second question: Nebraska is one of only two states (with Maine) that can split its electoral votes by congressional district. The 2nd Congressional District, centered on Omaha, voted for Obama in 2008 and Biden in 2020 — providing Democratic presidential candidates one electoral vote from an otherwise Republican state. Nebraska Republicans have consistently tried to eliminate this system. If you believe electoral systems should be designed to accurately reflect voter preferences — should a state be able to change its electoral rules specifically to prevent one congressional district’s voters from having their presidential preference count?

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Investigative trail pointers (public records)

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Sources

• Nebraska Examiner: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/01/24/pillen-orders-nebraska-agencies-to-fall-in-line-with-trump-immigration-crackdown/
• Nance County Journal: https://www.nancecountyjournal.com/news-state-news-national-news/gov-pillen-signs-executive-order-support-trump-immigration-policy