By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Representative Don Bacon, one of the few Republicans in Congress willing to take positions independent of President Donald Trump, said on Friday that he is considering retiring from office when his current two-year term expires.
Bacon, 61, has been elected to the House of Representatives five times from a Nebraska swing district that Democrat Kamala Harris carried by 4 percentage points over Trump in the 2024 U.S. election. His potential departure is a blow to Republican hopes of retaining the party’s slim majority in the House in the 2026 election.
“I’ll never really retire until God takes me home. I want to always be productive and making a difference. But regarding running for a sixth term, that is a family decision. I’ve served four decades in public life when including the military,” Bacon said in a statement released by his campaign.
“We’ll make that decision this summer,” Bacon added.
The statement cited no reason for Bacon’s consideration of retirement.
Bacon’s willingness to criticize Trump’s policies and members of his administration has drawn increasing public attention this year.
A retired U.S. Air Force general who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, Bacon suggested this week that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should be fired over allegations that he texted sensitive American military strike plans from his personal phone to his wife, brother, attorney and others.
Bacon has opposed Trump over the war in Ukraine and said the president appeared to be trying to appease his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Bacon also crafted legislation that would require Trump to seek congressional approval before imposing tariffs and has criticized White House actions to freeze congressionally appropriated federal funds.
His independence, rare in a Republican-controlled Congress known for its fealty to the president, has resulted in attacks by Trump supporters on social media.
It also has come at a personal cost. Reuters reported last year that a Trump supporter threatened Bacon’s wife in October 2023 after the congressman did not back hardline conservative Jim Jordan as House speaker. U.S. Capitol Police opted not to charge the man, and Bacon said his wife began sleeping with a gun.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Will Dunham)
