Nebraska senator faces historic expulsion vote over harassment allegations

An outside law firm’s report released Wednesday found McKeon’s conduct violated the Nebraska Legislature’s workplace harassment policy, though it fell short of being actionable under state or federal discrimination law. The Legislature’s Executive Board is scheduled to hold a hearing Monday on the expulsion resolution; if the board advances it, the full Legislature could vote as early as Tuesday and would need 33 votes to proceed.

Nebraska lawmakers opened the 2026 legislative session Wednesday with a motion to expel Sen. Dan McKeon, a Republican, over allegations that he made a sexually charged remark to a legislative staffer and touched her inappropriately at a session-end party last May. If the full Legislature votes to remove him next week, it will be the first expulsion in the body’s history.

McKeon, 59, said he has no plans to resign despite calls from Republican Gov. Jim Pillen and other leaders of his own party. He said he expects the vote to “be pretty close.”

“It is what it is,” McKeon said. “I’m not going to cry about it or anything.”

An outside law firm’s report, compiled at the request of the Legislature’s Executive Board and released Wednesday, found that McKeon’s conduct violated the Legislature’s workplace harassment policy. The report concluded the conduct did not rise to the level of actionable sexual harassment under state or federal discrimination law, but stated that lawmakers “may, in their discretion, censure, reprimand or expel the senator for his conduct and comments.”

The allegations

A legislative staffer alleged that McKeon asked whether she was “going to Hawaii to get laid” and patted her on her buttocks at a May 29 party at the Lincoln Country Club attended by state lawmakers, staffers, and lobbyists.

McKeon characterized the remark as a joke in which he said he hoped the staffer would get a Hawaiian lei while on vacation. The investigative report noted the staffer was not vacationing in Hawaii, finding McKeon’s characterization inconsistent with the vacation discussion that was taking place.

McKeon initially denied touching the staffer. He later said he may have touched her back, lower back, “or even rear end,” but insisted the contact was not sexual.

The report also found that McKeon “has a reputation for making jokes and that some of those jokes are unprofessional and/or inappropriate for the workplace.”

Conduct after the complaint

The report documented additional conduct by McKeon after the complaint was filed.

On June 2, Sen. Ben Hansen, chairman of the Executive Board, instructed McKeon not to attend social gatherings where staffers would be present. McKeon attended another party that same evening, also attended by staffers — including the woman who filed the complaint, according to the report.

Nearly a month later, McKeon sent the staffer a note telling her she should find it within herself to forgive him “because that is what the Bible instructs people to do,” the report said.

In August, McKeon texted another staffer who shares an office with the complainant, saying the complainant “seems to be difficult to work with,” the report found.

Criminal charge

An investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol led to McKeon being charged with a misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace. McKeon has pleaded not guilty.

McKeon, who attended Wednesday’s opening session, declined to comment on the report itself. His remarks on the complaint echoed the report’s findings, including religious references. He noted his name, Daniel, means “just” in Hebrew and said “we’re all sinners” when asked about allegations that he has made inappropriate workplace jokes.

Vote timeline

The Executive Board will hold a hearing Monday on the resolution to expel McKeon. If it advances out of committee, the full Legislature could debate the measure as early as Tuesday and would need 33 votes to pass.

National context

If McKeon is expelled, it would make him the 57th state lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct to have left office via expulsion or resignation since 2017, according to the Associated Press, which began tracking such cases amid the #MeToo movement. The AP has tracked at least 156 state lawmakers across 44 states accused of sexual harassment or misconduct during that period; 56 have resigned or been expelled.