Bacon, who is known for his public criticisms of President Donald Trump on the matter of the Ukraine war, is expected to formally announce his retirement on Monday.
GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska will not seek reelection in 2026, stepping away from Congress after five terms representing the state's politically competitive 2nd Congressional District.
Bacon, who is known for his public criticisms of President Donald Trump on the matter of the Ukraine war and is in a more centrist district, is expected to formally announce his retirement on Monday, according to a report by The New York Times.
Bacon’s Omaha-based district is considered a key swing seat. It was carried by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 and by Joe Biden over Trump in 2020. Bacon narrowly won reelection last year by less than two percentage points, and his departure could give Democrats a crucial opportunity to flip the seat and further reduce the GOP’s majority in the House.
The Nebraska representative has increasingly distanced himself from Trump in recent years regarding the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In an interview with the New York Post earlier this year, Bacon accused Trump of taking a “pro-Russian view” on the war in Ukraine and claimed he was being “a bit of an appeaser to Russia.”
Just last month, Bacon criticized Trump for “moral ambiguity” after he condemned both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a social media post.
“The first half of this message is perfect, the rest is dumb,” Bacon said of the president’s post. “Trump is attacking President Zelensky while Putin bombs Ukrainian cities and it is misguided.”
“Moral ambiguity while one nation invades another is hurting Trump’s credibility. Putin is making a mockery of Trump, and Trump keeps attacking Zelensky,” he added.
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