WASHINGTON – Rep. Don Bacon, a centristic Republican who represents Nebraska’s major battlefield districts, is set to announce his retirement from Congress, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
He is expected to make a formal announcement next week that the House is poised to vote for President Donald Trump’s sweeping laws.
Bacon did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday night.
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Notus and Punchbowl News first reported his retirement plans.
Bacon represents the state’s second congressional district, including many of the Omaha metropolitan area, after beating Democratic opponents by less than 5,000 votes in 2017. Bacon has since held a seat in the GOP column, but has won just a small victory in the recent election last year, where he won by less than 2 percent points.
Bacon’s departure would provide an opportunity for Democrats to pick up seats in districts that have shown their desire to support Democratic candidates in the votes in recent elections.
Then-President Kamala Harris carried the district nearly five percent points in 2024. Bacon has become one of three House Republicans serving in the district where Harris won. Joe Biden won the Bacon district in 2020 with an even bigger margin.
Bacon is one of the few Republican critics of Trump’s agenda, keeping his tariff use and decision to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico and accusing Russia of treating it with “velvet gloves.”
His announcement will allow Bacon to join nearly half of the Republicans in the house who have chosen to seek reelection next year. Nine House Democrats have also not sought re-election to seats.
