Nebraska centrist Rep. Don Bacon has been one of the rare House Republicans to publicly criticize president Donald Trump, and his vote will be critical to the GOP's tax legislation.
The 61-year-old congressman favors works requirements and more frequent eligibility checks for Medicaid, but he won't budge on his objection to cuts exceeding $500 billion to the health-insurance program that serves low-income and disabled people, despite efforts by GOP leadership to back down, reported the Wall Street Journal.
“Here’s the tactic they’ve been using: ‘Don’t worry about the Senate, they’ll fix it,' and now we’re getting ready to take our third vote on this,” Bacon said, noting that Republican leaders say the Senate will never pass the $900 billion cuts sought in the House. “We feel like we’re being pushed up to the edge of the cliff here.”
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Bacon has spoken out against the Trump administration on tariffs, its hostility to allies and defense secretary Pete Hegseth using the non-secure Signal app for military planning, and he also plans to vote against a GOP bill to rename Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, as the president wants to do, and he said fellow Republicans aren't too happy with him.
"[Party leadership] has asked me to try to tone it down a little bit, and I want to be respectful,” he said. “Well, I say I could do a lot more. I’ve been looking for opportunities not to have the opportunity.”
Bacon said he takes only two TV appearances a week out of about 20 requests, while fielding 30 to 40 texts a day from reporters, and he's been taking back stairways at the Capitol to avoid the media.
“I don’t want to be too predictable," he said, "so you got to mix up which doors you’re going out of."
However, Trump has held off on criticizing Bacon during the budget negotiations because Republicans feel they need him to keep a seat that would otherwise go to a Democrat in his highly competitive district, which backed Kamala Harris by nearly 5 points and re-elected Bacon by just 2 points – even if Republicans express frustration with his stands.
“I think that his position is ridiculous,” said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO). “He’s got a fixed number, but what if you found out that there’s $500 billion in savings … and he says, ‘Oh, no, I’m committed only to cutting $300 [billion].’ That is an illogical decision.”
Bacon hasn't said he'll seek a sixth term representing Omaha, even while GOP leaders are urging him to run, the congressman said his family has a say in the matter, quoting his 6-year-old grandson.
“Grandpa, when are you going to retire? We want to see you more,” Bacon said, quoting the boy, but said he believes one of his grown children put him up to it.
“It’s easier when you can defend your team,” Bacon added. “I feel like we’re not unified, unfortunately.”
