One of the few remaining critics of Donald Trump on the Republican side of Congress is mulling retirement following his current term.
Don Bacon, who won the election in Nebraska’s 2nd District following Trump’s victory in 2016 and has been serving ever since, announced on Friday that he is considering leaving Washington.
Bacon, aged 61, gained attention most recently for being the first Republican to publicly recommend Trump to dismiss Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amidst the recent turmoil at the Pentagon.
Multiple sources told NOTUS Friday that Bacon is seriously considering not running again in 2026.
Bacon, who is consistently grilled by representing a swing district he’s never won by more than three points, confirmed he’s thinking about leaving.
‘I’ll make any final decisions in late summer. It is a family decision,’ Bacon said.
If he decides to step down, Bacon would be entering a challenging political landscape, with Kamala Harris securing a four-point lead in his district in 2024, while he narrowly defeated Democratic candidate Tony Vargas by a margin of less than 6,000 votes.
The Nebraska Congressman has largely voted with Republicans, though he has been critical of Trump and was one of the few members of the GOP to vote to establish the January 6th Commission.
Don Bacon (pictured), who was elected in Nebraska’s 2nd District on the crest of the wave of Trump’s victory in 2016 and served ever since, said Friday that he may be quitting Washington
The Nebraska Congressman has largely voted with Republicans, though he has been critical of Trump (pictured) and was one of the few members of the GOP to vote to establish the January 6th Commission
Bacon was the first Republican to call for Hegseth’s firing on the same day that Trump defended his head of defense on the day of the White House Easter Egg Roll.
‘I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,’ the Nebraska lawmaker told Politico, becoming the first House Republican to call for Hegseth to go.
‘I like him on Fox,’ Bacon said of the former cable TV commentator. ‘But does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s a concern.’
Bacon’s scalding remarks follow a stunning op-ed in the publication by Hegseth’s former Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot.
Ullyot, a Marine Corps vet who served as a White House national security spokesman during Trump’s first term, announced his resignation from the Pentagon Wednesday.
The spokesman called himself ‘a longtime backer of the secretary,’ but went on to write that the Pentagon was in ‘a full-blown meltdown’ and ‘total chaos’ amid the Signal chat scandals.
He said ‘the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president – who deserves better from his senior leadership.’ He even went on to predict: ‘It’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.’
He had helped push the MAGA agenda inside the Pentagon by forcing legacy media outlets out of their workspace, then issued confusing comments defending the decision to take down a page honoring the military service of baseball great Jackie Robinson.
Bacon was the first Republican to call for Pete Hegseth’s (pictured) firing on the same day that Trump defended his head of defense on the day of the White House Easter Egg Roll
Trump brushed off the development Monday at the White House Easter Egg roll, dismissing the criticism by his own former aide.
‘It’s just fake news, they just bring up stories I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees. You know he was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people and that’s what he’s doing. You don’t always have friends when you do that,’ Trump said.
And Hegseth insisted at the same event that he’s ‘on the same page’ with Trump.
Three senior Pentagon staffers were put on leave over the weekend as part of a leak investigation they claim was fabricated, creating a power vacuum.
The Pentagon IG said it opened up an inquiry following the first Signal chat controversy, which involved Hegseth sharing information about an attack on the Houthis in Yemen on a group chat created by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included on it.
The newly revealed signal chat, as reported by the New York Times, was created by Hegseth himself.
