Rep. Mike Flood walked into a political firestorm Monday night at a town hall in Lincoln, Nebraska—and left with his reputation in tatters.
Flood was supposed to sell Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Instead, he was grilled, booed, and flat-out called a fascist by furious constituents who accused him of backing policies that threaten democracy and punish the vulnerable. He also took heat for dodging questions on the Epstein files.
The event, held at the University of Nebraska, quickly devolved into chaos. Protesters shouted “Tax the rich!” while Flood tried to pitch Trump’s sweeping tax-and-spending plan as a win for farmers, small towns, and Medicaid.
“I truly believe that this bill will allow America to experience growth… that it will help farmers and ranchers… that it protects Medicaid for the future,” Flood said. But the crowd wasn’t buying it.
Over and over, he was interrupted by hecklers, angry questions, and chants slamming the bill—some called it the “big ugly bill”—for gutting social services and handing tax breaks to the rich.
Flood stuck to the script, echoing talking points from a GOP memo that urged Republicans to “define how this legislation will help every voter and push back on Democrat fearmongering.” But the crowd was in no mood for spin.
One attendee went straight for the jugular.
“How much does it cost for fascism? How much do the taxpayers have to pay for a fascist country?” the person asked, pointing to a $450 million price tag for a new immigration detention site in Florida, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Flood didn’t flinch. “Americans went to the polls in November, and they had a choice between a Democratic candidate that had an open border… and a candidate that said close the border… stop the drugs… stop the crime,” he said. “That’s what Americans voted for.”
That answer didn’t calm the room. Another attendee accused him of supporting a “fascist machine” and brought up Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint that critics say would give Trump near-dictatorial power if re-elected.
“You said in Seward that you were not a fascist,” the person said. “But your complicity says otherwise.”
Flood pushed back: “Fascists don’t hold town halls with open question-and-answer series.” The boos got louder.
Several veterans took the mic to accuse Flood of betraying them by supporting cuts to VA programs.
“How can you stand a bill that erodes the very services that people like me, my family, and younger vets rely on?” one Marine veteran asked.
Flood claimed he met with the VA Secretary and promised improvements—but didn’t offer any specifics.
As the questions kept coming, one stood out: “Why are you covering up the Epstein files?”
Flood’s aide read the question aloud, and the congressman tried to reassure them. “You will find my name as a sponsor on a resolution… to release the Epstein files to protect the victims and not re-victimize them again,” he said. He added that he supports a subpoena for Ghislaine Maxwell to testify.
“I am for the release of those records,” he said.
While Flood took heat in Nebraska, Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin faced her own town hall in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where she argued the presidential pardon power should be reined in.
“It’s a quirk of history that does not make sense in America for either party, for any reason,” Slotkin said, calling it a “literally get out of jail free card.”
Slotkin warned that Trump could abuse that power. “He’s letting out pedophiles and criminals, violent people because he’s paying back favors to others,” she said. “I just can’t support that.”
She also blasted the Trump-signed bill and said she won’t support any future spending deal unless Republicans restore the health care funding they slashed.
“For me… you’re going to have to restore something of Americans’ health care in order to get me back on that team,” she said.
Back in Nebraska, as the town hall wound down, Flood stuck to his defense of Trump and the bill. But it was clear: his own voters were not convinced. The anger was raw, the message clear.
They see him as a foot soldier in Trump’s march toward authoritarianism—and they’re not staying quiet.
Watch the report below from KETV News:
