Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen talks foreign trade, federal spending cuts and his once-rocky relationship with the president.
LINCOLN, Nebraska — The threat of tariffs continues to loom over farm country, and no sitting governor is more aware of that than Nebraska’s Jim Pillen, the only professional farmer leading a state government.
Pillen has made his living for 30 years running Pillen Family Farms, one of the largest hog operations in the U.S. The business requires expertise in managing labor costs, balancing the books and ensuring the good health of his herd.
As it turns out, those tasks are similar to what a governor faces in running his state.
The hog farmer spent 10 years on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents before running for governor as a Republican and butting heads with the dominant figure in his party — Donald Trump, who in 2022 endorsed Pillen’s opponent, a wealthy businessman who was a longtime, loyal ally.
“That’s history,” Pillen said in an interview in his office, where visitors are greeted by a sculpture of a hog named Petunia and his dog, Daisy, sits quietly at his feet. “Everybody has relationships. And hey, I’m thrilled that Donald Trump’s our president. China, the border, safety, cutting government and getting rid of the bureaucracy. Sign me up. I’m on board.”
Pillen, like governors across the country, has had to pull together a state budget amid uncertainty about potential funding cuts out of Washington, as well as tariff-induced economic turbulence.
And though he says he’s “100 percent” with the president today on making the government smaller, he does have a beef with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has criticized industrial farming practices. “I’ll debate him anywhere on that issue,” said Pillen.