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Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) Voted Against It Before He Voted For It [1]
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Date: 2025-06-17
I have written several pieces on how Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) talks a big game criticizing Trump but then he falls in line and votes with him almost 100% of the time. On several occasions, Bacon has promised to vote against a Trump legislative priority, only to quietly vote for it at the end of the day.
Earlier this year, Bacon promised to vote against Medicaid cuts and against surrendering Congress’ tariff authority to Trump. However, in both cases he voted for the very things he promised to oppose within a matter of days.
Bacon has endorsed Trump for president all three times and once said it was an “easy choice.” The Nebraska second district congressman is a Trump and MAGA loyalist. His words mean absolutely nothing.
The gullible New York Times was recently fooled by Bacon’s phony spin. Apparently, the writer assigned to the story did not do her homework. A series of simple google searches would indicate that Bacon is all talk and no action.
Here are some choice quotes from this cringeworthy New York Times piece of June 8:
“Mr. Bacon’s willingness to publicly disagree with the president makes him an anomaly in the tribal House Republican Conference, where members tend to fall in line behind Mr. Trump’s agenda and actively seek out ways to demonstrate their loyalty to him. In a Republican-led Congress that has been reluctant to challenge Mr. Trump on almost anything, the Nebraskan is among the last of a disappearing breed in his party.
He also likened members of his party to people following someone off a cliff, compared himself to Winston Churchill speaking out against Adolf Hitler in the 1930s
“I don’t want to be the guy who follows the flute player off the cliff. I think that’s what’s going on right now.”
You can’t make this stuff up. A reporter for the New York Times has again failed the country. The feckless Times has graded the Republicans on a curve for years and held the Democrats to impossible standards. This Bacon puff piece is part of a long time pattern.
Just four short days later, Bacon made another humiliating cave and voted to pass some of Musk’s DOGE cuts into law. Bacon had promised to vote against the bill since it guts the life saving PEPFARS program. The elimination of this program could cause the deaths of 15 million people by 2040. The stakes could not be any higher.
The U.S. House passed the rescissions package or the DOGE cuts to PEPFARS by a narrow 214 to 212 vote on June 12. This package would codify more than $9 billion in cuts recommended by Musk and DOGE. The legislation would cut $8.3 billion from foreign aid programs like the World Health Organization and USAID.
It would also slash more than $1 billion previously allocated for PBS and NPR, as well as local operations like Nebraska Public Media.
All three of Nebraska’s House delegation voted for the bill, including Bacon. What made this so humiliating for Bacon is that he initially voted against the rescissions package but later changed his vote and voted yes. You can’t make this stuff up.
“I was reassured by House Republican leadership that PBS would receive funding for next year, and it would go to annual funding after that,” Bacon said. “They also told me that PEPFAR funding for life-saving treatments will not be affected. Because of these reassurances, I voted yes on H.R. 4.”
Bacon’s rationale for bowing to Trump makes no sense since as the deciding vote he could have forced the deletion of any line of the bill.
Fortunately for Nebraska CD02, Bacon is actively considering retiring from the House. John Ewing’s landslide victory over former GOP Mayor Jean Stothert is a preview of the blue wave that Bacon will face next year. Bacon knows this.
Already, two top tier challengers have thrown their hat in the ring. Denise Powell was the first Democrat to announce her candidacy. She has headed up Women Who Run and has made protecting Social Security and Medicaid a high priority.
State Senator John Cavanaugh declared his candidacy on June 4. He is a former Douglas County Public Defender and has promised to fight for working people and protect access to reproductive health care, including abortion rights.
There has been some concern that if Cavanaugh were to be elected, Governor Jim Pillen would appoint his successor. That is not accurate. Nebraska Revised State Section 32–556 provides: “If the vacancy occurs on or after February 1 and prior to May 1 during the second year of the term of office, the vacancy shall be filled at the regular election in November of that year.” What that means is that if Cavanaugh times his resignation correctly, his seat would be filled in a special election. That would most likely lead to a Democratic successor since Cavanaugh’s legislative district is blue.
The Democrats are winning big in 2025. This is the most under reported story in American politics. The mainstream press is addicted to a “Democrats in disarray narrative.” Despite our divisions, we keep winning elections. We are united against the threat to freedom and democracy posed by Trump and MAGA.
The tide is turning. Be confident going forward. Take nothing for granted. Keep working hard. Blue wave 2026!
Blue wave 2026! Let’s f*cking go!
Sources consulted:
https://medium.com/@dennispcrawford/rep-don-bacon-r-ne-talks-moderate-and-votes-maga-f8baf1462e4c
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/politics/breaking-with-trump-bacon-says-he-wont-follow-his-party-off-the-cliff.html
https://www.johncavanaugh.org/
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