1. Donald John Bacon was born on August 16,1963 and is an American politician and retired military officer who has served as the US representative for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district since 2017.
55 Facts About Don Bacon
1. 2.
Don Bacon's district includes all of Omaha and the areas surrounding the Offutt base.
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Don Bacon's district was carried by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and Kamala Harris in 2024 presidential election, making it a politically competitive area.
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Don Bacon 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.
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Don Bacon has repeatedly sparred with members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus.
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An active voice on foreign policy, Don Bacon is one of a slate of US representatives sanctioned by the Russian government, and was the first member of Congress to be hacked by the Chinese government.
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Don Bacon grew up on a family farm in Momence, Illinois, and graduated from Grace Baptist Academy in Kankakee in 1980.
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Don Bacon attended Northern Illinois University and interned in Representative Ed Madigan's Washington DC office during his senior year in 1984.
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Don Bacon entered the Air Force in 1985, commissioning through the Air Force Officer Training School at Lackland AFB, Texas.
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Don Bacon has earned master's degrees from the National War College and the University of Phoenix.
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Don Bacon served as an aide to US representative Jeff Fortenberry and assistant professor at Bellevue University before running for office.
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Don Bacon was the only Republican to defeat an incumbent Democrat in the 2016 House elections.
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Don Bacon was endorsed by his predecessor, Democrat Brad Ashford, whom he defeated in 2016.
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Don Bacon narrowly won re-election in 2022 against Nebraska state senator Tony Vargas.
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Don Bacon claimed yet another narrow win in the November 2024 general election in a rematch against Democratic challenger Tony Vargas.
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In 2022, Bacon intervened to help Trump Media obtain an O-1 visa to hire an executive from North Macedonia named Vladimir Novachki.
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Don 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".
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Don Bacon 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.
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Don Bacon supported the November 2023 expulsion of George Santos from Congress for fraud.
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Don Bacon was seated in the 119th United States Congress in January 2025.
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Don Bacon is frequently described as a moderate centrist within the Republican Party.
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Don Bacon has been a member of the Armed Services Committee since taking office in 2017.
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Don Bacon supported airstrikes in Syria in retaliation for the Assad government's use of chemical weapons.
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In 2019, Don Bacon voted for a resolution opposing Trump's move to withdraw US support for the Kurds in Syria, which exposed Kurdish militias to attacks from Turkey.
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At a Brookings Institution event in October 2017, Don Bacon stressed the importance of military readiness and called for US Air Force crews to increase flight hours to enhance readiness.
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Don Bacon said the "gravest threat" to military readiness was the "partisan divide" in government, which had prevented necessary increases in spending.
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Don Bacon 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.
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In February 2023, Don Bacon signed a letter advocating for President Joe Biden to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
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Don Bacon contrasted his foreign policy worldview with that of the Trump administration, saying:.
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Don Bacon has been a member of the House Agriculture Committee since 2017.
31.
Don Bacon 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.
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Don Bacon said he supported redirecting funds to community health care centers that do not provide abortion services.
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Don Bacon supported a constitutional amendment to ban abortion nationwide several times since 2017.
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In 2024, Don Bacon still signaled support for a national ban on abortion but with exceptions for the life of the mother.
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Don 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 which would criminalize most abortions after the first trimester and may allow lawmakers to restrict or ban abortion in the future.
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Don Bacon 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.
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Don Bacon expressed support for "most of" the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020.
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Don Bacon 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.
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In 2018, Don 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.
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Don Bacon supported the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized industrial hemp production.
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Don Bacon voted against the 2022 MORE Act, which would have removed cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
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In 2017, Don Bacon voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
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Don Bacon has expressed support for raising the full retirement age for eligibility for Social Security for Americans now under age 40.
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In 2018, Don Bacon said he would support a ban on bump stocks.
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Don Bacon favors repealing the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, and opposes proposals for Medicare for All or single-payer healthcare.
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Don Bacon has expressed support for construction of the US-Mexico border wall supported by Trump.
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Don Bacon 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.
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In 2023 Don 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.
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Don 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.
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Ultimately, Don Bacon was one of 13 House Republicans to break with their party and vote with a majority of Democrats in favor of the legislation.
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Don Bacon voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
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Don Bacon did not join congressional Republicans who sided with the Trump campaign's attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.
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Don Bacon voted to certify both Arizona's and Pennsylvania's votes in the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count.
54.
On May 19,2021, Don 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.
55.
On September 18,2024, the entire Nebraska delegation, including Don 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.