bacon, don Rep 16/6%

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might quit 6 25

lcv 2024 6% LIFE 16% Don Bacon - League of Conservation Voters

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an 8 26

Trump has repeatedly said that investigators exonerated him of accusations of improper connections with the Russian government, but a new report complicates that claim by exposing a previously-overlooked FBI investigation into those foreign ties.

“For the last year, the Trump administration’s efforts to seek retribution against intelligence officials and FBI agents who investigated Russia’s 2016 election meddling have been spearheaded by federal prosecutors in South Florida trying to build a criminal case,” reported The New York Times' Michael S. Schmidt on Monday. “But in recent weeks, the White House has added a dimension to its push to rewrite the history of the Russia investigation, releasing a trove of previously classified FBI memos that it says back up President Trump’s claims that a so-called deep state was out to get him.”

He added, “There is little new of substance in the documents, and nothing that fundamentally undercuts the FBI’s rationale for pursuing the Russia investigation. But the material does shed new light on an often overlooked aspect of the swirl of events surrounding Mr. Trump in his first months in office in 2017: the bureau’s remarkable decision to open a separate counterintelligence investigation into the president of the United States, and how that inquiry was sidetracked before it had much of a chance to get going.”

The article went on to argue that the investigation was prompted by Trump’s May 2017 firing of FBI Director James B. Comey, which senior officials and counterintelligence agents worried was done to obstruct his investigation into Russia’s 2016 election meddling.

“Referring to the counterintelligence inquiry, one of the declassified memos made public by the White House last week said: ‘The goal of the investigation is to determine if President Trump is or was directed by, controlled by, and/or coordinated activities with, the Russian Federation in a manner constituting a threat to the national security of the United States and/or a violation of federal criminal statutes,’” Schmidt wrote.

Ultimately the FBI’s investigation was superseded by special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into potential collusion between Trump and Russia.

“When Mr. Mueller’s report was released in 2019, it said that the investigation had found no evidence that Mr. Trump and his campaign had conspired with the Russians during the 2016 election,” Schmidt wrote. “But Mr. Mueller declined to make a determination about whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice. The report did not contain a section on Mr. Trump’s personal ties to Russia and whether he was compromised or represented a counterintelligence threat.”

Schmidt continued, “Shortly after the report was released, Mr. Mueller testified about it before Congress, acknowledging under questioning that he had not examined whether, for example, Russian oligarchs had laundered money through Mr. Trump’s businesses.”

In July Anthony Scaramucci, a former communications director for Trump, argued that the president is indeed compromised by Russia.

“If Trump is disavowing NATO and breaking an 80 year tradition — something’s wrong,” Scaramucci posted on X. “If Trump is praising Vladimir Putin, whose entire economy is slightly smaller than the state of Texas — something’s wrong. If Trump is disavowing the 1994 defense agreement where we told Ukraine to give up their nuclear weapons and we’d protect them — the agreement that got him impeached in his first term — something is wrong.”

Meanwhile in May, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) argued Trump’s seeming hostility toward Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion is proof that the president has a pro-Russia bias. He described Trump as “totally failing” in Russia and that he favored Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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don bacon nebraska bail?

'Betrayed': GOP rep torched after hospital in his district shuts down due to Medicaid cuts

AN 7 26

On Wednesday, a top Republican lawmaker revealed that his Signal chats were hacked by Russia. The news comes as the Trump administration is hit by a new scandal involving its attempts to conceal its communications using the app.

“Signal is not secure and not good for sensitive communications,” posted Representative Don Bacon (R-NE). “I was notified by law enforcement and House cyber experts that Russia hacked my Signal months ago.” Bacon likely knows what he’s talking about. Not only does he sit on the House Armed Services Committee, but he specifically Chairs the Cyber, Information Technologies and Innovation subcommittee.

The representative made the statement along with a retweet of an article by the Atlantic that published Monday, in which it was revealed that several top Trump officials have continued to use secret Signal chats to discuss national security matters, despite the president's warning against it. Last year, after an embarrassing incident in which a journalist was accidentally added to a Signal chat discussing sensitive war plans, Trump noted, “I think we learned: Maybe don’t use Signal, okay?” A month later, he doubled down, saying, “I would frankly tell these people not to use Signal.”

But a smattering of White House officials — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine, and others — continued to use the app anyway.

According to the Atlantic, the latest revelations involve “13 Signal chats from the first six months of 2025 that have not been previously reported. The new records are screenshots of Signal groups that mostly lack context about when they were formed and what was discussed. The identities of nearly all of the group members are visible, revealing even broader use of Signal by top Trump-administration officials than was previously known. The names of the groups are also telling, including one called ‘Iran/Ukraine Planning’ and another labeled ‘State USAID.’”

What’s more, “The records raise the possibility that top administration officials failed to follow federal laws that require the preservation of government records.” Screenshots show that chats were set to automatically delete messages, raising questions about whether communications were retained elsewhere.

According to Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, these three chats are “likely violations” of the Federal Records Act. She declared as much in a letter sent Monday to the National Archives and Records Administration, explaining, “Given that numerous agency heads are personally implicated in these likely FRA violations, your action to initiate an enforcement action is critical.”

When asked for comment about the chats, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly referred to them as “old news,” saying, “As we have said, Signal is an approved app that is pre-loaded on government phones.”

While Signal is considered one of the more secure digital communication apps available to the public, it is still known to be vulnerable to hacking. As retired Army Special Forces and Atlantic Council's Counterterrorism Project member Mike Nelson tweet-shouted, “regardless of one's faith in the security of the app itself (it isn't as secure as people believe), THE UNCLASSIFIED DEVICES UPON WHICH IT'S LOADED ARE NOT SECURE.”

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AN 7 26

After once trying to gut the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Politico reports that President Donald Trump and his allies are now desperate to rebuild it amid their mounting fears surrounding the midterms.

"The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has been castigated by the Trump administration over its past efforts to call out election-related disinformation," the Wednesday report detailed. "But new fears about artificial intelligence-powered hacking and the security of the upcoming midterm elections have lifted the agency from exile."

Since Trump's return to the White House, CISA has suffered a "torrent of punitive measures" from Republicans, largely stemming from the president's personal vendetta against its past leadership. Former CISA Director Christopher Krebs famously called the 2020 presidential election the "most secure in American history," directly refuting Trump's "Big Lie" about widespread election fraud costing him the race.

Now, however, "a growing number of Republicans are advocating for rehiring staff and restoring funding to the nation’s cyber agency," with GOP Reps. Andrew Garbarino of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska, both of whom head up "key House panels with oversight of federal cyber policy." In recent months, the pair have been working quietly "to convince Republican colleagues that CISA urgently needs more resources because of the critical role it plays in securing the nation’s electoral process and critical systems, including water treatment plants and energy grids." There are mounting fears that the agency has been cut back so badly that it would not be able to respond to new AI-driven cyberattacks against U.S. elections.

“Unfortunately, I have colleagues that focus on the mis- and disinformation part of CISA, and that has turned them off to the entire agency,” Garbarino said at the recent Homeland Security and Defense Forum, further noting China's AI capabilities are “starting to show other members” how vital CISA actually is.

Bacon, meanwhile, argued that the initial GOP backlash against CISA had gone about things the wrong way.

"I’m a big proponent of CISA. If you don’t like what it’s doing, get new leadership; don’t fire a third of its people ... because they’re the ones who defend our private sector, our energy grid and our elections,” Bacon said.

"While the Trump administration initially requested around $2 billion for CISA in fiscal 2027, House lawmakers have boosted that number to $2.4 billion — and it could still increase as the appropriations process continues in the Senate," Politico explained. "This number, though, is still less than CISA received under the Biden administration, when the agency was given close to $3 billion annually. These funds will likely place CISA in a better position to help lead the administration’s response to securing frontier AI models and fortifying the federal government against AI-powered cyberattacks — an issue that has overtaken Washington in recent months."

an 6 25

An editorial published Sunday by Omaha World Herald, a Nebraska-based newspaper, argued that President Donald Trump's tariffs hurt the state's economy, saying that Nebraska’s entrepreneurs and shoppers thrive without trade obstacles imposed by the government.

It maintained that they need minimal restrictions on trade — whether within the country or across borders — as well as a steady and predictable economic environment, which encourages businesses to plan ahead and expand.

The newspaper noted that when governments, whether foreign or domestic, impose trade obstacles, they tend to cause more problems than they solve.

READ MORE:Outrage grows over a single paragraph buried deep in Republicans' 'Big Beautiful Bill'

The editorial endorsed Rep. Don Bacon's (R-N.E.) comments in a recent interview to the newspaper in which he said, "Free trade gives you the best products at the best prices in the most efficient manner."

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"The U.S. government, in the wake of President Donald Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariffs, has put up new trade barriers andcreated a chaotic, impossible-to-predict economic landscape where high-stakes national policies change by the day and sometimes by the hour, keeping businesses guessing and stifling innovation," the newspaper said.

"The government's approach to tariffs has been a good deal more onthe rails in recent weeks, thanks to the Trump administration's decisions to roll back some of its most extreme tariffs, and to exempt a host of products from many of the tariffs still in place," the editorial argues.

"Still, the level of tariffs in place — including a baseline 10% tariff on goods imported from virtually every country on Earth — is a weight on the shoulders of Nebraska businesses and consumers."

READ MORE:The 'new word' Trump just invented is 400-years-old

The editorial further suggested that, overall, the international trade court's decision against the tariffs is likely a positive development for Nebraska’s businesses, farmers, and consumers.

While the ruling doesn’t prevent the U.S. government from imposing tariffs, the newspaper noted, it does block the use of a weak emergency justification to introduce drastic and abrupt policy shifts.

"Here's to hoping that the ruling, coupled with pressure from financial markets and at least somepressure from Congress, helps put U.S. trade policy on a stable path that benefits Nebraskans," the editorial said.

READ MORE:This swing state's elections just took another risky turn

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Donald John Bacon (born August 16, 1963) is an American politician and retired military officer who has served as the U.S. representative for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district since 2017. During his 29 years in the United States Air Force, he commanded wings at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and Offutt Air Force Base south of Omaha, Nebraska, before retiring as a brigadier general in 2014. His district includes all of Omaha and the areas surrounding the Offutt base.

Bacon is often considered a moderate centrist Republican. His district was carried by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and Kamala Harris in 2024 presidential election, making it a perennial swing district. Bacon has been described as a maverick for his opposition to the isolationist and protectionist policies proposed by Donald Trump, who has derided him as a "rebel." Bacon self identifies as a Reagan Republican.^[2]

A member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, Bacon was an original sponsor of the Naming Commission, which stripped the Department of Defense of names valorizing the Confederacy, and of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which established lynching as a unique hate crime, and voted to enact the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified federal recognition of same-sex marriage. He was one of 37 Republicans who rejected attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and one of 35 who supported the committee to investigate the January 6th attack. He has repeatedly sparred with members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. Bacon has been among the most prominent Republican critics of the second Trump administration.^[3]

As an active voice on foreign policy, Bacon is one of a slate of U.S. representatives sanctioned by the Russian government and was the first member of Congress to be hacked by the Chinese government.

...

In 2014, Bacon retired from the U.S. Force.^[10] During his 29 years in the Air Force, he was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, two Legion of Merits and two Bronze Star Medals; he was selected as Europe's top Air Force Wing Commander in 2009.^[11] He served as an aide to U.S. representative Jeff Fortenberry and assistant professor at Bellevue University before running for office.^[12]

Political career

Elections

2016

See also: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska § District 2

In the 2016 elections, Bacon won the Republican primary for the U.S. House of Representatives in Nebraska's 2nd congressional district,^[13] a primarily urban and suburban district in metro Omaha,^[14] covering parts of Douglas and Sarpy counties.^[15]

The general election race was considered a tossup, with Democratic incumbent Brad Ashford seen as having a slight edge.^[16] After a 2005 videotape showing Donald Trump making lewd remarks to Billy Bush surfaced in October 2016, Bacon said that Trump could not win the presidency and should withdraw from the race in favor of "a strong conservative candidate, like Mike Pence." But Bacon did not say that he would not vote for Donald Trump, since he did not "believe Hillary is the right person. I'm in a quandary."^[17]

Bacon narrowly defeated Ashford in the general election on November 8, 2016,^[18][19] with 48.9% of the vote to Ashford's 47.7%.^[20][21] He was the only Republican to defeat an incumbent Democrat in the 2016 House elections.^[22]

2018

See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska § District 2

Bacon was reelected in 2018, narrowly defeating progressive Democrat^[23] Kara Eastman with 51.0% of the vote to her 49.0%.^[24]

2020

See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska § District 2

[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Election_Day_in_Omaha_IMG_8543_%2850564671487%29.jpg)Bacon (right) campaigning with then-Senator Ben Sasse on Election Day 2020

Bacon and Eastman faced off again in the 2020 general election. Bacon was reelected by a larger margin than in 2018, winning 51.0% of the vote to Eastman's 46.2%, even as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden won the district by 6.5 points.^[25][26] He was endorsed by his predecessor, Democrat Brad Ashford, whom he defeated in 2016.^[27]

2022

See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska § District 2

Bacon narrowly won re-election in 2022 against Nebraska state senator Tony Vargas.

2024

See also: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska § District 2

Bacon claimed yet another narrow win in the November 2024 general election in a rematch against Democratic challenger Tony Vargas. Trump had sought a primary challenger against Bacon, while the state's Republican Party backed conservative populist Dan Frei for the nomination, who lost by 24 points.^[28][29][30]

Tenure

Bacon was sworn in to the 115th Congress in January 2017. During Donald Trump's first term as president, Bacon voted in line with Trump's position 89.4% of the time.^[31]

Bacon was reelected in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. During the first year of Joe Biden's presidency, Bacon voted in line with Biden's position 29.5% of the time.^[32]

Following the 2022 midterm elections and announcements by Freedom Caucus members that they would oppose or demand concessions of presumptive House speaker Kevin McCarthy, Bacon announced he was willing to work with Democrats to elect a moderate Republican.^[33]

In August 2023, the FBI revealed that Bacon was the first US lawmaker to be targeted in a cyberespionage intrusion by Chinese government hackers.^[34] When asked about the intrusion, which Bacon said largely compromised campaign and personal email data, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC called the incident a "smear" and part of a "groundless narrative."^[35] The embassy denial included a complaint that the U.S. government had undercut China's sovereignty with recent arms sales to Taiwan, an effort which Bacon had vocally supported.^[35][36] A spokeswoman for Bacon's office said it was likely a reason for the attack.^[36]

Following failed House votes on bills to avoid a government shutdown beginning on October 1, 2023, Bacon said of Republicans in the Freedom Caucus who sought major concessions or pushed for a shutdown "some of these folks would vote against the Bible because there's not enough Jesus in it."^[37]

Bacon voted against the October 2023 removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, calling it a vote "for chaos", and "a good day for Russia and China".^[38] He supported Steve Scalise in his initial bid for the October 2023 House Speaker election, but voted against the subsequent unsuccessful bid by Freedom Caucus founder Jim Jordan, Trump's preferred candidate.^[39] Following the first round of voting on Jordan's nomination, Bacon revealed that his wife and staff were being harassed and threatened by phone and in public to push him to support Jordan, saying "there's been a bullying campaign...they're being told on certain cable channels that the world's falling apart...and they feel like approved to cross these boundaries and to be wrong."^[40][41] He ultimately supported Mike Johnson's successful bid for the role.

Bacon supported the November 2023 expulsion of George Santos from Congress for fraud.^[42]

In the 117th United States Congress, Bacon was ranked the most effective Republican lawmaker (and fourth most effective as a whole) by the Center for Effective Lawmaking.^[43]

119th Congress

Bacon was seated in the 119th United States Congress in January 2025, just before the start of the second Trump administration.

:{:{Since Trump's return to office, Bacon has been one of the loudest Republican critics of the administration's aggressive moves to reshape the U.S. government and America's role in the world.^[44] He has vocally rebuked Trump's handling of the War in Ukraine, saying "he's been very weak... he's been a bit of an appeaser to Russia."^[45] He criticized cuts made by DOGE, such as the elimination of AmeriCorps, as "haphazardly eliminating every program a software engineer fails to appreciate."^[46] He pushed back against efforts to cut Medicaid, telling the White House that he would not accept more than $500 billion in cuts.^[47][48]}:

:{:{ Bacon joined a coalition that avoided a government shutdown by passing a continuing resolution, angering Trump allies that preferred to force budget cuts through a shutdown.^[49] Bacon called for the firing of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, whom he called "an amateur", following reports of Hegseth's repeated unauthorized use of Signal to discuss military plans.^[50][51][52] He later criticized Trump's decision to fire National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Timothy D. Haugh, director of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, after Trump fired them and others on the advice of conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer.^[53][54] }:

Following President Trump's Liberation Day tariffs package which implemented severe import duties against nearly every country in the world, Bacon introduced a bill to curtail presidential tariff powers and warned of a recession.^[55][56] Trump responded that he would veto the bill.^[57] Bacon was the lone Republican "nay" vote on the bill to codify President Trump's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico in U.S. federal documents to the "Gulf of America."^[58]}:}:

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations
• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations
  • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces

Caucus memberships

• Autism Caucus^[59]
• Baltic Caucus, co-chair^[60][61]
• Caucus on Hellenic Issues^[62]
• Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations^[63][64]
• Civility and Respect Caucus^[65]
• Climate Solutions Caucus^[66]
• Law Enforcement Caucus
• Motorcycle Caucus^[67]
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption^[68]
• Problem Solvers Caucus^[69]
• Republican Study Committee^[70]
• Soccer Caucus, co-chair^[71]
• Rare Disease Caucus^[72]
• Uzbekistan Caucus^[73]
• Western Caucus^[74]
• Congressional FFA Caucus^[75]
• Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans^[76]
• National Service Congressional Caucus

Political positions

Bacon has been frequently described as a moderate centrist within the Republican Party.^{[77][78][79][80][81}] Bacon was ranked 8th in bipartisanship among members of the House in the year 2023 by the Lugar Center.^[82][83]

Foreign policy

NATO facilities in [Ādaži, Latvia with U.S. Army M109 howitzer and AN/TWQ-1 Avenger artillery crews

Bacon has been a member of the Armed Services Committee since taking office in 2017.

Bacon supported airstrikes in Syria in retaliation for the Assad government's use of chemical weapons.^[84] In 2019, Bacon voted for a resolution opposing Trump's move to withdraw U.S. support for the Kurds in Syria, which exposed Kurdish militias to attacks from Turkey.^[85]

At a Brookings Institution event in October 2017, Bacon stressed the importance of military readiness and called for U.S. Air Force crews to increase flight hours to enhance readiness. He also said the "gravest threat" to military readiness was the "partisan divide" in government, which had prevented necessary increases in spending.^[86]

Bacon supports a stronger U.S. presence in the Balkans to counter Russia, which he has called a key adversary of the United States. He has expressed alarm regarding Russia's activity in Ukraine and the Balkans, as well as Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and attempted Russian interference in other nations' elections.

In November 2017, Bacon told an electronic warfare (EW) conference that the U.S. military needed "to elevate the electromagnetic spectrum to an official domain of warfare—alongside land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace–and appoint general officers as EW advocates in all four services and to the joint staff." He said the U.S. should re-intensify its EW capabilities, which he said had atrophied after the collapse of the Soviet Union.^[87]

Bacon with President Barack Obama in 2009.

Bacon is a consistent supporter of Taiwan. In 2019, he spent time with Representative Salud Carbajal and former speaker Paul Ryan in Taiwan to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act and open a new de facto Embassy. Bacon said, "we owe it to be clear that Taiwan is a success story and we have to support their democracy."^[88] At the outset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Bacon said:

"Today starts a new and dark chapter in national security that is Hobbesian in nature where bullies will dominate weaker countries. Where might makes right, and dictators prey on their neighbors unless free nations band together and deter this threat.…We have entered a new cold war"^[89]

In April 2022, the Russian Federation sanctioned and banned Bacon in retaliation for U.S. participation in sanctions against pro-war members of the Russian Duma.^[90]

In February 2023, Bacon signed a letter advocating for President Joe Biden to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.^[91]

Following the highly contentious White House meeting between President Trump and Volodymir Zelenskyy in February 2025, Bacon described the summit as "a bad day for America's foreign policy."^[92] In an interview with CNN, he described Trump's stance on Russia as "too conciliatory" and amounting to "walking away" from America's legacy as the leader of the free world. Bacon contrasted his foreign policy worldview with that of the Trump administration, saying:

"I'm not interested in a foreign policy that is totally built on realism, or transactionalism, where it's just, 'What do we have in it for us?' I believe in having a foreign policy where it's a mix of realism, protecting our country, and idealism."^[93]

On 60 Minutes, Bacon described Trump's approach as "appeasement", expressing concern that the post-Cold War order of unipolar U.S. hegemony "is going to collapse."^[94]

In March 2025, Bacon said the Trump administration needed "more discipline" after advisor Elon Musk called Senator Mark Kelly a "traitor" for visiting Ukraine and instructed Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski to "be quiet, small man." Bacon told CNN: "It's not appropriate. It's not right."^[95]

Following Chinese cyber espionage against U.S. critical telecommunications infrastructure and Treasury Department networks by groups like Salt Typhoon, Bacon told Politico his message to China was: "We're gonna be in your networks, causing mischief, and two could play this game"..."We're going back in [their networks]. Speak softly, but carry a big ass stick and let China know that, 'Hey, you're not gonna get by with just doing the shit you're doing".^[96]

Agriculture

:{

Bacon has been a member of the House Agriculture Committee since 2017. In 2019, he urged the United States Army Corps of Engineers to streamline its response to the 2019 Midwestern U.S. floods and pushed to fund levies to shore up flooded farmland and Offutt Air Force Base.^[97]

Abortion

Bacon opposes abortion.^[12] In 2017, he voted for legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy^[31] and to repeal a rule requiring state and local governments to distribute federal funds to Federally Qualified Health Centers even if they perform abortions,^[31] a measure aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood.^[98] Bacon said he supported redirecting funds to community health care centers that do not provide abortion services.^[98]

In 2024, Bacon said he supported a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks with exceptions for the life of the mother.^[99] Bacon opposed the 2024 Nebraska Right to Abortion Initiative that would have amended the state's constitution to establish a right to abortion until fetal viability but supported the opposing ballot measure (Protect Women and Children) which would criminalize most abortions after the first trimester and may allow lawmakers to restrict or ban abortion in the future.^[99]

Antisemitism

In the 119th Congress, Bacon became co-chair of the new House Anti-Semitism Task Force.^[100] He called the Trump administration appointment of Kingsley Wilson as deputy spokesperson for the Department of Defense "unacceptable" after her use of social media to espouse antisemitic, white nationalist, and neo-Nazi rhetoric and conspiracies about the lynching of Leo Frank came to light.^[100][101]

Civil rights

In 2019, Bacon and Representative Seth Moulton introduced The Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2019. The bill specified lynching as a unique deprivation of civil rights, and would for the first time make it a federal crime. The bill's language was incorporated into the 2020 Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which passed the House but was blocked by Rand Paul in the Senate.^[102] A later version became law in 2022.

Bacon expressed support for "most of" the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. He supported mandatory wearing of body cameras by police officers while on duty and a national registry for police misconduct, but opposed ending qualified immunity provisions for officers.^[103] He also criticized provisions ending the Department of Defense 1033 program, which allows the transfer of surplus military equipment to law enforcement agencies, saying, "if our police are encountering a serious threat, I don't want an equal fight for them."^[103] He ultimately voted against the legislation in a mostly party-line vote.^[104]

The Naming Commission

Main article: The Naming Commission

After the murder of George Floyd, Bacon and Anthony Brown introduced legislation to rename Department of Defense assets that valorized Southern confederate leaders or values. Alongside companion legislation introduced in the Senate by Elizabeth Warren, the bill resulted in the creation of The Naming Commission through incorporation into the omnibus National Defense Authorization Act. When asked about the bill, President Trump insisted that he would "not even consider" the proposal, to which Bacon replied in The New York Times, "you're wrong—you need to change... we're not the party of Jim Crow."^{[105][106][107}] Trump vetoed the NDAA for reasons he said included funding for the commission, after which Congress delivered the only veto override of his presidency.^[107]

LGBTQ rights

On July 19, 2022, Bacon and 46 other Republican representatives voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified the right to same-sex marriage in federal law.^[108] He said he does not believe "the government should dictate who can marry each other based on gender, race, or ethnicity."^[109]

Drug policy

In 2018, Bacon said that he opposed marijuana legalization as a personal matter, but that he supported decriminalization at the federal level and believed that states should be permitted to make the decision.^[84][110] Bacon supported the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized industrial hemp production.^[111] Bacon voted against the 2022 MORE Act, which would have removed cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.^[112]

Economic issues

:{[

In 2017, Bacon voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.^[113] Bacon has expressed support for raising the full retirement age for eligibility for Social Security for Americans now under age 40.^[110]

Environment

Bacon has said, "I don't think we know for certain how much of climate change is being caused by normal cyclical changes in weather vs. human causes. I support legislation that allows for continued incremental improvement in our environment but oppose extreme measures that create significant economic and job disruption."^[114]

Gun policy

In 2018, Bacon said he would support a ban on bump stocks.^[84] In 2021, he introduced legislation to enhance penalties for engaging in illicit straw purchases of firearms.^[115]

Health care

Bacon favors repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare,^[116] and opposes proposals for Medicare for All or single-payer healthcare.^[84] In May 2017, he voted for the American Health Care Act of 2017, Republican health-care legislation that would have repealed large portions of the ACA.^[117][118]

Immigration

[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Four_More_Tour_IMG_6549_%2850396400557%29.jpg)Bacon campaigns with Charlie Kirk at a pro-Trump event in Omaha in 2020.

In August 2017, Bacon and five of his House colleagues urged Trump to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for undocumented youth brought to the United States as children (also known as "Dreamers"), "until we can pass a permanent legislative solution."^[119][22] In 2019, he voted for legislation to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented youth.^[120]

Bacon has expressed support for construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall supported by Trump.^[121] Bacon voted against legislation to end the December 2018–January 2019 government shutdown by appropriating funds without money for a border wall.^[31] He said that Trump's attempt to circumvent Congress by declaring a national emergency to redirect money from military construction to building a border wall was not "the right way to go" because it infringed on congressional powers,^[121] but voted against a House resolution to overturn the emergency declaration and against overriding Trump's veto of legislation that would have overturned the declaration.^[31]

In 2017, Bacon reintroduced the Kerrie Orozco Act, which would "allow the spouses of first responders, killed in the line of duty, access to a quicker process of becoming an American citizen."^[122]

In 2025, Bacon cosponsored the American Families United Act.^[123]

Impeachment

In 2019, the House voted on two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump. Bacon voted against both articles.^[124]

In 2021, the House voted on one article of impeachment against Trump for incitement of insurrection after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Bacon voted against the article.^[125]

In 2023, Bacon voted for the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, but said he was skeptical of the efforts to impeach, stating that he thinks Biden did engage in corruption, but that impeachments are bad for the nation and generally hurt the election successes of the party bringing the proceedings.^[126]

Infrastructure

Bacon initially said he would support President Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and criticized Republicans for opposing it, but during negotiations he said he could not commit to voting for the bill.^[127] Ultimately, Bacon was one of 13 House Republicans to break with their party and vote with a majority of Democrats in favor of the legislation.^[128]

Israel

Bacon supports an "ironclad partnership" with Israel and endorsed the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.^[129] Bacon voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.^[130][131]

2020 and 2024 presidential elections

In a December 2020 Washington Post survey of the 249 Republican members President-electof Congress, Bacon was one of 37 who acknowledged Joe Biden as the legitimate .^[132]

Bacon did not join congressional Republicans who sided with the Trump campaign's attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election. He voted to certify both Arizona's and Pennsylvania's votes in the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count.

On May 19, 2021, Bacon was one of 35 Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6 commission meant to investigate the January 6 United States Capitol attack.^[133] Before the vote, he was one of only a few Republican lawmakers who openly expressed their support for the commission.^[134]

On September 13, 2024, Bacon and Representative Josh Gottheimer released a bipartisan letter spearheaded by centrist House Representatives in which they pledged to respect the results of the 2024 presidential election. Five other Republicans signed the letter alongside Bacon.^[135]

On September 18, 2024, the entire Nebraska delegation, including Bacon, signed a letter to Governor Pillen supporting changing Nebraska's presidential election system to a winner-takes-all method, effectively eliminating the allocation of electoral votes by congressional district.^[136][137]

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World-Herald editorial: Tariff ruling a win for Nebraska

Omaha.com

1 day ago

A court ruling knocking down many of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration could be good news for Nebraska businesses and consumers.

'1 in 8 Nebraskans rely on nutrition assistance': State democrats urge Rep. Don Bacon to vote against budget bill

KETV Omaha

12 days ago

Nebraska democrats called on Rep. Don Bacon to vote "no" on President Donald Trump's budget bill that intends to make cuts to SNAP and Medicaid.

Nebraskans have a couple of questions

Nebraska Examiner

11 hours ago

Welcome to another "What If?" press conference, questions for Nebraska's congressional delegation in Washington. Since our last session, the White House has tried to shutter the U.S. Department of Education, our tariff "policy" resembles a yo-yo, the inaptly-named "big, beautiful bill" has uglied up the nation's balance sheet, and curious Americans have taken to looking […]

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon considers retirement, a Nebraska lawmaker interested in running for his seat

1011 Now

37 days ago

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., confirmed Friday that he is considering retiring from Congress, although he is just coming off one of his best fundraising quarters.

Nebraska U.S. Rep. Don Bacon and national Republicans scoff at Dem candidates for 2026

Nebraska Examiner

32 days ago

reporters about the reasons he is considering retiring from Congress. Among them: spending more time with his family and the dysfunction in his own GOP, which he said is wearing on him.

Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon calls for accountability in second Defense Secretary information leak

WOWT.com

41 days ago

Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon has been vocal about wanting accountability from the Trump Administration following another leak by the Defense Secretary.

Congressman Don Bacon says moving SNAP benefits to state level could hurt Nebraska

KETV Omaha

32 days ago

The federal government continues to make cuts to its budget, and on the state level Nebraska is following suit. Congressman Don Bacon said one federal cut could be a big burden on Nebraska.

'Quit kicking us in the nuts': Republicans want outspoken GOP Rep. Bacon to tone it down

MSNBC

16 days ago

The Wall Street Journal recently labeled Nebraska congressman Don Bacon as "Trump's Loud Republican Critic" and his outspokenness has also rubbed some of his GOP colleagues the wrong way. "They said, 'Can you quit kicking us in the nuts?'" Rep. Bacon tells Ali Velshi. These days, he finds himself at odds with members of his own party simply because he tells it like it is. He says Trump has "abused the word 'emergency'" in order to execute his power grab and calls tariffs a

1. ## Don Bacon - Wikipedia

Donald John Bacon (born August 16, 1963) is an American politician and retired military officer who has served as the U.S. representative for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district since 2017. During his 29 years in the United States Air Force, he commanded wings at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and Offutt Air Force Base south of Omaha, Nebraska, before retiring as a brigadier general in 2014.

2. ketv.com

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KETV NewsWatch 7

https://www.ketv.com › article › nebraska-democrats-urge-don-bacon-to-vote-no-on-budget-bill › 64842698

Nebraska democrats urge Don Bacon to vote 'no' on budget bill

May 21, 2025Nebraska democrats called on Rep. Don Bacon to vote "no" on President Donald Trump's budget bill that intends to make cuts to SNAP and Medicaid. District 11 state Sen. Terrell McKinney and ...

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see 2 santas

voodoo tax cuts

paul ryan

hypocrisy

an 1 23

Countless

economists have warned that if the United States were to default on its

debt obligations, a major financial crisis could result — one with

international implications. But if members of Congress don’t come to

some type of agreement on the debt ceiling, that could happen.

Journalist Russell Berman discusses that possibility in an article published by The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/01/moderate-centrist-republicans-pragmatic-conservatives/672856/)

on January 27. Berman warns that the situation is dire, and that

Democrats are hoping that the less extreme House Republicans can have a

positive effect.

“Early this summer,” Berman writes (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/01/moderate-centrist-republicans-pragmatic-conservatives/672856/),

“the federal government will, in all likelihood, exhaust the

‘extraordinary measures' it is now employing to keep paying the nation’s

bills. As the country careens toward that fiscal abyss, Congress will

face a now-familiar stalemate: Republicans will refuse to raise the debt

ceiling unless Democrats agree to cut spending. Democrats will balk.

Markets will slide — perhaps precipitously — and the economy will

swiftly turn south."

READ MORE: House Republicans will use the debt ceiling battle to 'inflict significant pain' on Americans: journalist (https://www.alternet.org/debt-ceiling-2659280721/)

Berman continues (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/01/moderate-centrist-republicans-pragmatic-conservatives/672856/),

“When that moment arrives, the most important people in Washington

won’t be those who work in the White House, or even the party leaders

who occupy the Capitol’s most palatial offices. They will be the House

Republicans who sit closest to the political center: the so-called

moderates. The GOP’s majority is narrow enough that any five Republicans

could dash Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s plan to demand a ransom for the

debt ceiling. They will have to decide whether to stand with him or join

with Democrats to avert a first-ever default on the nation’s debt.”

The

“so-called” part is important. The “moderates” that Berman is referring

to are conservatives, but they are moderate compared to far-right MAGA

members of the House like Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Rep.

Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. They are moderate conservatives and

aren’t ultra-MAGA.

Former Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania said of such House Republicans, “Those guys will be called on to save the day.”

:{:{“Dent}:

is talking about Republicans such as Representative Don Bacon of

Nebraska, whose Omaha district voted for Joe Biden over Donald Trump in

2020,” Berman explains (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/01/moderate-centrist-republicans-pragmatic-conservatives/672856/).}:

“Bacon is a leader of the faction of Republicans hoping to serve as a

counterweight to the House Freedom Caucus and the far-right hardliners.”

READ MORE: Watch: Marjorie Taylor Greene rejects supporting 'a clean bill' to raise the debt ceiling (https://www.alternet.org/marjorie-taylor-greene-debt-ceiling/)

Read The Atlantic’s full article at this link (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/01/moderate-centrist-republicans-pragmatic-conservatives/672856/).

an 1 23nebraska Republican warns Matt Gaetz he'll work with Dems if he tanks Kevin McCarthy (https://www.alternet.org/matt-gaetz-gop/)

Brad Reed (https://www.alternet.org/author/brad-reed) Raw Story (https://www.alternet.org/author/raw-story)

January 02, 2023

Rep. Don Bacon (https://www.rawstory.com/don-bacon-trump/) (R-NE) sent out a warning shot to hardliner opponents of Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) that he is prepared to work with Democrats if they remain completely unwilling...

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