# Don Bacon

Donald John Bacon (born August 16, 1963) is an American politician and retired military officer serving as the U.S. representative for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district since 2017. Before holding public office, he was a United States Air Force officer, retiring as brigadier general with time as wing commander at Ramstein Air Base, Germany and Offutt Air Force Base south of Omaha, Nebraska, prior to his retirement from the military in 2014. His district includes all of Omaha and the areas surrounding the Offutt base.
Bacon is a moderate centrist within the Republican Party. As of 2023, he ranks eighth in bipartisanship among members of Congress according to the Lugar Center. His district was carried by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and Kamala Harris in 2024 presidential election, making it a politically competitive area.
A member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, which represents the most moderate of the five GOP factions in the House, 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 right-wing House Freedom Caucus.
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.

## Early life, education, and military career

Bacon was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, on August 16, 1963, the son of Donald and Joan Bacon of Bourbonnais. He grew up on a family farm in Momence, Illinois, and graduated from Grace Baptist Academy in Kankakee in 1980.
Bacon attended Northern Illinois University and interned in Representative Ed Madigan's Washington D.C. office during his senior year in 1984. He entered the Air Force in 1985, commissioning through the Air Force Officer Training School at Lackland AFB, Texas. In his military career he specialized in electronic warfare, intelligence, reconnaissance and public affairs, and also qualified as a Master Navigator. He served as a Wing Commander at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, as a Group commander and Squadron commander at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and an Expeditionary Squadron commander in Iraq. Bacon has earned master's degrees from the National War College and the University of Phoenix. His final assignment was as Director of ISR Strategy, Plans, Doctrine and Force Development, AF/A2, Headquarters U.S. Air Force at the Pentagon from July 2012.
In 2014, Bacon retired from the U.S. Force. 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. He served as an aide to U.S. representative Jeff Fortenberry and assistant professor at Bellevue University before running for office.

## Political career
### Elections
#### 2016

In the 2016 elections, Bacon won the Republican primary for the U.S. House of Representatives in Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, a primarily urban and suburban district in metro Omaha, covering parts of Douglas and Sarpy counties.
The general election race was considered a tossup, with Democratic incumbent Brad Ashford seen as having a slight edge. 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."
Bacon narrowly defeated Ashford in the general election on November 8, 2016, with 48.9% of the vote to Ashford's 47.7%. He was the only Republican to defeat an incumbent Democrat in the 2016 House elections.

#### 2018

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

#### 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. He was endorsed by his predecessor, Democrat Brad Ashford, whom he defeated in 2016.

#### 2022

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

#### 2024

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.

### Tenure

After his election, 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.
Bacon was reelected in 2018 and in 2021. During the first year of Joe Biden's presidency, Bacon voted in line with Biden's position 29.5% of the time.
In 2022, Bacon intervened to help Trump Media obtain an O-1 visa to hire an executive from North Macedonia named Vladimir Novachki.
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.
In August 2023, the FBI revealed that Bacon was the first US lawmaker to be targeted in a cyberespionage intrusion by Chinese government hackers. 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." 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. A spokeswoman for Bacon's office said it was likely a reason for the attack.
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."
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". 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. 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." He ultimately supported Mike Johnson's successful bid for the role.
Bacon supported the November 2023 expulsion of George Santos from Congress for fraud.
Bacon was seated in the 119th United States Congress in January 2025.

### 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
* Baltic Caucus, co-chair
* Caucus on Hellenic Issues
* Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations
* Civility and Respect Caucus
* Climate Solutions Caucus
* Law Enforcement Caucus
* Motorcycle Caucus
* Congressional Coalition on Adoption
* Problem Solvers Caucus
* Republican Study Committee
* Soccer Caucus, co-chair
* Rare Disease Caucus
* Uzbekistan Caucus
* Western Caucus
* FFA Caucus

## Political positions

Bacon is frequently described as a moderate centrist within the Republican Party.

### Foreign policy

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

### 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.

### Abortion

Bacon is firmly against abortion. He is a co-sponsor of the Life at Conception Act, which would guarantee "equal protection for the right to life of each born and preborn human person" under the 14th Amendment.
In 2017, he voted for legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and to repeal a rule requiring state and local governments to distribute federal funds to Federally Qualified Health Centers even if they perform abortions, a measure aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood. Bacon said he supported redirecting funds to community health care centers that do not provide abortion services.
Bacon supports a federal ban on abortion. He supported a constitutional amendment to ban abortion nationwide several times since 2017. In 2024, Bacon still signaled support for a national ban on abortion but with exceptions for the life of the mother. Bacon opposes the 2024 Nebraska Right to Abortion Initiative that would amend the state's constitution to establish a right to abortion until fetal viability but supports 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.

### Antisemitism

In the 119th Congress, Bacon became co-chair of the new House Anti-Semitism Task Force. 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.

### 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. 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. 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." He ultimately voted against the legislation in a mostly party-line vote.

#### 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." Trump vetoed the NDAA for reasons he said included funding for the commission, after which Congress delivered the only veto override of his presidency.

### LGBTQ rights

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

### 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. Bacon supported the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized industrial hemp production. Bacon voted against the 2022 MORE Act, which would have removed cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

### Economic issues

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

### 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."

### Gun policy

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

### Health care

Bacon favors repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, and opposes proposals for Medicare for All or single-payer healthcare. 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.

### Immigration

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." In 2019, he voted for legislation to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented youth.
Bacon has expressed support for construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall supported by Trump. Bacon voted against legislation to end the December 2018–January 2019 government shutdown by appropriating funds without money for a border wall. 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, 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.
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."

### Impeachment

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

### 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. 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.

### Israel

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

### 2020 and 2024 presidential elections

In a December 2020 Washington Post survey of the 249 Republican members of Congress, Bacon was one of 37 who acknowledged Joe Biden as the legitimate President-elect.
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. Before the vote, he was one of only a few Republican lawmakers who openly expressed their support for the commission.
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.
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.

### Veterans

The PACT ACT which expanded VA benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their military service, received a "nay" from Bacon.

## Electoral history

| | Republican candidate | Republican candidate | Republican candidate | Democratic candidate | Democratic candidate | Democratic candidate | Other candidate | Other candidate | Other candidate | Other candidate |
| Year | Candidate | Votes | Votes | Candidate | Votes | Votes | Candidate | Party | Votes | Votes |
| 2016 | Don Bacon | 141,066 | 48.9% | Brad Ashford (Incumbent) | 137,602 | 47.7% | Steven Laird | Libertarian | 9,640 | 3.4% |
| 2018 | Don Bacon (Incumbent) | 126,715 | 51.0% | Kara Eastman | 121,770 | 49.0% |
| 2020 | Don Bacon (Incumbent) | 171,071 | 50.8% | Kara Eastman | 155,706 | 46.2% | Tyler Schaeffer | Libertarian | 10,185 | 3.0% |
| 2022 | Don Bacon (Incumbent) | 112,663 | 51.3% | Tony Vargas | 106,807 | 48.7% |
| 2024 | Don Bacon (Incumbent) | 160,198 | 50.9% | Tony Vargas | 154,369 | 49.1% |
Sources:

## Personal life

Bacon and his wife Angie (née Hardison) have four children and six grandchildren. They live in Papillion, Nebraska. Bacon is a Protestant.

## Awards and decorations
### Military

Bacon's military awards and decorations include:
| Badge | Master Navigator Badge | Master Navigator Badge | Master Navigator Badge | Master Navigator Badge |
| Badge | Senior Intelligence Badge | Senior Intelligence Badge | Senior Intelligence Badge | Senior Intelligence Badge |
| 1st row | Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster | Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster | Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster | Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster |
| 2nd row | Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters | Aerial Achievement Medal | Aerial Achievement Medal | Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters |
| 3rd row | Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster | Joint Meritorious Unit Citation | Joint Meritorious Unit Citation | Meritorious Unit Award |
| 4th row | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | Combat Readiness Medal | Combat Readiness Medal | National Defense Service Medal |
| 5th row | Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal | Iraq Campaign Medal | Iraq Campaign Medal | Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal |
| 6th row | Global War on Terrorism Service Medal | Air Force Overseas Ribbon - Short Tour | Air Force Overseas Ribbon - Short Tour | Air Force Overseas Ribbon - Long Tour |
| 7th row | Air Force Longevity Service Award | Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon | Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon | Air Force Training Ribbon |

### Foreign awards

* Estonia
** Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (2024) – the highest award given to foreigners by the government of Estonia.
* Lithuania
** Order for Merits to Lithuania (2024) – Given by Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda.
* Ukraine
** Honorary Diploma of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (2024) – Awarded by Ukrainian Parliament; presented by Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.