Donald Bacon’s Head Is Spinning As He Tries Keeping Up With His Lies About Who And What He Backs

Musk Has A Track Record Of Issuing Threats Without Following Through

Bacon on Musk to the NY Times: "I sort of blame him for that disaster"

Omaha has been a blue bubble in blood red Nebraska for quite a while, dependably Democratic most of the time. It dominates NE-02 (PVI is D+3) and Biden beat Trump by 6.4  points. Even Kamala beat Trump though just by 4.6 points. On the same ballot that day, though, progressive populist and independent Senate candidate, Dan Osborn won the district by 12 points over the Republican incumbent. It’s been getting more and more difficult for mainstream conservative Don Bacon to be reelected. He was first elected in 2016 against the Blue Dog incumbent Brad Ashford 48.9% to 47.7%. In 2018 be won by 2 points, two years later by 4.6 points. In 2022 by 2.6 points and last year by less than 2 points. 

The likely 2026 blue wave must be troubling for him. So he’s being as loud as he can about not being a Trump ally… even though he doesn’t vote against Trump nearly as often as he says he will. He complained a lot about the “Big Ugly Bill” but when he was needed to pass it— it passed by one vote— he was dutifully there for Trump and MAGA Mike. Bacon wants to look like he’s independent of Trump while still getting the support he needs from Republican voters.

In an interview with Annie Karni last week, he compared Republicans to lemmings following Trump off a cliff. Karni wrote that he’s “publicly accused Trump of treating Russia with ‘velvet gloves,’ criticized him for gutting AmeriCorps and questioned his power to impose tariffs without congressional approval. He has described Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal to share sensitive military operations as ‘unacceptable.’ And he was the sole House Republican to vote ‘no’ on a billet rename the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America.’ He said he thought it was stupid. Bacon’s willingness to publicly disagree with the president make him an anomaly in the tribal House Republican Conference, where members tend to fall in line behind Trump’s agenda and actively seek out ways to demonstrate their loyalty to him. In a Republican-led Congress that has been reluctant to challenge Trump on almost anything, the Nebraskan is among the last of a disappearing breed in his party. And his recent statements and actions strongly suggest he may be headed for the exit. In an interview in his office last week, Bacon, at 61 serving his fifth term in Congress, would not say whether he voted for Trump last year. He also likened members of his party to people following someone off a cliff, compared himself to Winston Churchill speaking out against Adolf Hitler in the 1930s and criticized the billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk, who has bankrolled many of his Republican colleagues.”

She noted that Bacon’s retirement, which he may (or may not) announce this month, “would be welcome news for Democrats, who have long viewed Nebraska’s Second Congressional District as one of their best opportunities to pick up a seat. They have consistently been denied because of Bacon’s strong independent brand and unique electoral strength. Last month, a Democrat unseated a three-term Republican in the Omaha mayor’s race. The morning after that race was called, Representative Hakeem Jeffries… told the House Democratic Caucus that they were officially on ‘Don Bacon retirement watch,’ and the room erupted in cheers, according to a person familiar with the meeting.” In n the interview, Bacon wouldn’t say whether he’s retiring or not but said he had not given up on politics or on the Republican Party. “I’d like to fight for the soul of our party. I don’t want to be the guy who follows the flute player off the cliff. I think that’s what’s going on right now.”

Congressional Republicans who said they want to fight for the soul of their party have mostly disappeared or even joined the Democratic Party: Liz Cheney (WY), Adam Kinzinger (IL), Fred Upton (MI), David Jolly (FL), Charlie Dent (PA), John Katko (NY), Paul Mitchell (MI), Justin Amash (MI), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL), Tom MacArthur (NJ), Anthony Gonzalez (OH), Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ), Mike Gallagher (WI), Paul Ryan (WI), Carlos Curbelo (FL), Barbara Comstock (VA), Will Hurd (TX), David Trott (MI), Frank LoBiondo (NJ) and Leonard Lance (NJ). David Jolly is running for governor of Florida as a Democrat now.

Bacon isn’t likely to ever be on that list, although… ever is a long time. Karni wrote that “At the moment, he is pressing Republican leaders to reject a proposal from the Trump administration to claw back $400 million for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the global health program started by President George W. Bush that is credited with saving more than 25 million lives worldwide. The proposal is part of a $9 billion package of spending cuts the White House sent to Capitol Hill last week, which House G.O.P. leaders plan to bring to a vote this week. ‘I told them I’m a no,’ Bacon said of the bill. ‘I just want to make sure we’re funding the medicine. We want to prevent AIDS, it’s a noble program, it’s George Bush’s legacy. I put the marker out there; we’ll see.’… House leaders have begged him to keep more of his opinions to himself, telling him to, as Bacon puts it, ‘quit kicking President Trump in the nuts.’ In response, Bacon said he has assured them: ‘I’ll do it only when I think it’s needed.’ That is becoming more and more often.”

Or so he claims he said. No one worries about his threats because he never— like never; not once— follows through on them. He’s just a lot of hot air doing some performative dancing for the voters back home. IN DC, he’s always there for Trump.

Although Bacon denounced Musk in the interview, a few days earlier Karni had written that House Republicans were scrambling to mollify Musk, “who has been venting his rage at them for voting for a Trump-backed domestic policy bill he calls a ‘disgusting abomination.’ After Musk threatened to ‘fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,’ Republicans from Speaker Mike Johnson on down are trying to manage an unmanageable tech billionaire who has become one of the most powerful figures in Republican politics… The situation has put House Republicans, who tend to fall in line behind whatever the president demands, in the awkward position of straining to satisfy two authority figures in their lives who are now at odds. They cannot afford to break with either. Their voters want and expect them to support Trump no matter what… Interviews with more than half a dozen House Republicans revealed a widespread wariness of crossing Musk. Many of them are quietly appalled at him for being ‘disrespectful’ of the president— they see him as throwing a hissy fit because he did not get his way on his pet projects— but they are unwilling to criticize him publicly for fear of becoming a more pointed target of his ire. There is also an awareness that while Musk might pick 100 fights between now and the next election, Trump will remain the overwhelming force guiding their political lives.”

Others who hate Trump and his MAGA movement but are too scared to do anything about it are secretly— for the most part— delighted to see Musk slap him around a little. “‘I love what Elon’s doing, and I hope he keeps doing it,’ Representative Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican who was backed last year with $800,000 from Musk, said in an interview on Wednesday. ‘I hope he continues to just be himself.’ Gonzales, who cultivated a relationship with Musk by bringing him to the southern border in 2023, added: ‘Everyone should always challenge bureaucracy. Elon’s going to support the people he wants to support. Elon’s a good friend.’ Others went so far as to commend Musk for voicing his anger at them. ‘We’re the party of free thought,’ said Representative Gabe Evans, a first-term Republican from a competitive district in Colorado who benefited from $870,000 in spending from Musk’s super PAC in the last election. ‘We’ll get to the point of being able to address some of his concerns about the legislation and what the bill actually does.’ Evans, who won his seat last year by less than a percentage point, even with Musk’s financial backing, said he was not worried about political punishment. ‘I have a good rapport with my district,’ he said. ‘I’m always open to having a dialogue, but I’m not too worried about it.’”

Unless the DCCC forces another slug like the last one into their nomination— which they are likely to do— Evans will lose his seat next year regardless of whatever rapport he’s deluding himself into thinking he has.

Musk’s threat to target Republican lawmakers— amplified on Wednesday by his super PAC— raised the possibility that he could fund primary challenges against GOP members of Congress who back the bill.

On Wednesday, Mr. Johnson tried to assuage concerns that Musk could try to unseat House Republicans who voted for the bill. “He and I talked about the midterm elections, and he said, ‘I’m going to help,’” Johnson said. “We’ve got to make sure that the Republicans keep the House majority.”

Things were warmer between Musk and House Republicans last year.

His super PAC, America PAC, spent about $20 million to help 20 frontline Republican candidates for the chamber, relying on guidance from the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main outside group supporting Republican House candidates. Musk was hardly the only donor to pour money into those races, but many of them were very close, and his millions may well have made a difference as Republicans barely retained the House.

All of the candidates whom Musk supported voted for the bill, which he now calls “massive, outrageous, pork-filled”— though he has been careful to direct his anger at Republicans in Congress and not Trump. Only two Republicans, neither of whom were backed by Musk last year, voted against the legislation and resisted Johnson and Trump.

Musk's Super PAC spent over $800,000 on each of 17 congressional races. He lost 8. The 9 winners currently sitting in Congress freaking out are:

• Mike Lawler (R-NY)- $1,727,620

• Ken Calvert (R-CA)- $1,599,329

• Tom Kean (R-NJ)- $1,549,329

• David Valadao (R-CA)- $993,482

• Tom Barrett (R-MI)- $869,402

• Don Bacon (R-NE)- $869,376

• John James (R-MI)- $865,514

• Gabe Evans (R-CO)- $861,815

• Zach Nunn (R-IA)- $817,733

Karni wrote that “For all of their bravado, vulnerable Republicans have been left in a more precarious position by Musk’s denunciation of a bill they voted for. Whether or not Musk targets them directly, they could be more open to attacks from Democrats who want to capitalize on the rift between Musk and the candidates he once backed. For instance, Democrats have recently resurfaced an interview that Lawler sat for last year in which he said he was ‘the biggest recipient of America PAC support in this election outside of Donald Trump.’ Many Republicans have wasted political capital defending Musk despite his record-high unpopularity, referring to him as one of the world’s most successful businessmen and innovators and bragging about his support for them. On Wednesday, most House Republicans just wanted to downplay Musk’s criticism of the bill and his threat against the lawmakers who voted for it.  ‘He’s not wrong,’ said Representative Andy Ogles, a hard-right Republican from Tennessee, to whom Musk donated the maximum allowable amount after he supported for impeaching federal judges who were impeding actions taken by Trump. ‘The bill is big but not yet beautiful. Hopefully, the Senate will make steeper cuts and truly make it beautiful.’”