[1] In October 2021, a federal grand jury indicted Fortenberry on three charges of lying to investigators and concealing information about foreign campaign contributions.

[17][18] Fortenberry was reelected to a second term, defeating former Lieutenant Governor Maxine Moul, 58%–42%, winning all but Burt County.

[26] Campaigning for an eighth term in October 2018, it was reported that Fortenberry's chief of staff threatened a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Ari Kohen, who had liked a Facebook post depicting a photo of a vandalized Fortenberry campaign sign, raising the issue to Kohen's supervisor as well as the dean and chancellor of the university.

In reaction, Kohen raised a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics, alleging a chilling effect on free speech.

[33] On August 4, 2020, a bipartisan initiative supported by Fortenberry, the Great American Outdoors Act, was signed into law by President Donald Trump.

The act would have the Department of Health and Human Services guide a new public-private partnership for streamlined research and drug approval for ALS.

[41] In an October 2010 endorsement, the Lincoln Journal Star called Fortenberry "uncommonly well-informed on international issues".

[42] Fortenberry, and then-Appropriations Committee chair Nita Lowey co-sponsored the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA), which aims to ease tensions between Israelis and Palestinians by giving grants and loans to startup businesses.

[48] In December 2020, Fortenberry was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated[49] incumbent Donald Trump.

The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

[50][51][52] Following the Supreme Court's decision not to take up Texas v. Pennsylvania, and the Electoral College's certification of the election results, Fortenberry recognized Joe Biden as President-elect and congratulated him on his victory.

"[54] On May 19, 2021, Fortenberry was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S.

[55] Fortenberry voted for the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 which authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020.

[2][3] On March 24, 2022, Fortenberry was convicted of all three felony counts of making false statements to the FBI and concealing information about his campaign donations.

"[70] On March 26, Fortenberry issued a written statement to his colleagues in the House that said, "Due to the difficulties of my current circumstances, I can no longer effectively serve.

"[71][72] On June 28, 2022, federal judge Stanley Blumenfeld sentenced Fortenberry to two years' probation, 320 hours of community service and a $25,000 fine.

[73] On December 26, 2023, a panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned Fortenberry's conviction and sentence, ruling that he was tried in an improper venue, where his alleged crimes had not taken place.