Nebraska U.S. Rep. Don Bacon again in middle of fight for big Trump bill

Bacon repeats pattern of vocally pushing back against Trump, but will he follow along in the end another time as he bows out?

By Juan Salinas II, Nebraska Examiner

(June 29, 2025)

OMAHA — President Donald Trump and Republican leadership in Congress are pushing a presidential-pressured deadline of July 4 to send a “big” tax and spending bill that Trump calls “beautiful” to the president’s desk.

And once again, Nebraska’s Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District Republican, U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, finds himself in position to cast a potentially pivotal vote, after expressing concerns over Senate Republicans’ efforts to find more cuts to Medicaid in their version of the bill to offset the rising costs of the mega-bill.

The bill would make the tax cuts from the first Trump administration permanent, cementing most of its benefits for high earners. It also introduces some new temporary tax breaks for workers earning less, boost funding for immigration enforcement, start funding Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense program and accomplish other goals from Trump’s domestic agenda. The bill also cuts the social safety net, adding new requirements for Medicaid and food stamps.

Fight over details

The Trump tax bill has multiple provisions that several different groups of Republicans have issues with, which have caused Republican leadership on the Hill to try to wrangle Congress and House Republicans to be lockstep.

Bacon told the Examiner in recent days that he had received assurances that the bill would not degrade the quality of healthcare for people covered by Medicaid. He also was part of a group of 16 House Republicans who said they won’t support the Senate’s reconciliation bill if it cuts the Medicaid provider tax rate 

“I love Senator Ricketts and Senator Fisher, but hearing, ‘We got to put our own fingerprints on the bill,’” Bacon said, “Well, please don’t do it on Medicaid, put your fingerprints on some other places.”

After some hiccups with some parliamentary rulings, Senate Republicans appear to be on track to pass their version and send it back to the House later this week, in time for Trump’s deadline. Congressional experts have estimated that the package would add $3.253 trillion to the debt during the next decade, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Some Senate Republicans have proposed cutting more from Medicaid via an amendment that would reduce federal government spending on Medicaid in states that expanded the program as a result of the Democrats’ 2010 health care law.

Voters in Nebraska and a combination of voters and legislators in 40 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, have supported Medicaid expansion, according to the health care research organization KFF.

The House version introduces Medicaid’s new work requirement, shortening the enrollment period and eliminating what Republicans describe as “waste, fraud and abuse” in the system by adding more paperwork.

The proposed change in the House version, also in the Senate bill, would require able-bodied people and working-aged individuals to show the government proof of employment to remain on the program every six months. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 5.2 million adults would lose Medicaid coverage due to the stricter requirements, which are expected to save the federal government $280 billion over six years.

Bacon said he can “defend that all day long.”

“We’re doing smart savings and protecting those who need it under the house plan,” Bacon said in an interview late last week. 

Senate-House squabble

Bacon said the Medicaid cuts that the Senate is proposing are undermining the strength of the GOP’s argument of going after “fraud and abuse” and also emphasized that he didn’t like specific provisions in the bill, such as those related to SNAP.

For months, state lawmakers, left-leaning political advocacy organizations, medical professionals, activists and some everyday Nebraskans have expressed concerns about the “disastrous” consequences of the “one, big beautiful bill’s” Medicaid cuts for healthcare access and rural hospitals.

Angie Lauritsen, state director of the political advocacy group Nebraska For Us, said Bacon has sided “with the ultra-wealthy over the Nebraskans he was elected to serve” but said he could “redeem” himself. 

“Does he want to stand with the ultra-wealthy or will he finally put working families first?” Lauritsen said. 

Scrutiny of Bacon’s position on the bill could prove less effective after news broke that the retired Air Force brigadier general is not seeking reelection in 2026, causing political shockwaves as he represents one of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts.

Bacon has been pushing back on the Senate version of the bill, as both Nebraska senators — U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts do interviews on the importance of preserving Trump’s tax cuts.

“We want to make sure [we] deliver on our promises to the American people,” Fischer said on Fox News. “We can’t see these tax cuts expire.”

Few places have faced more political pushback to the bill than in swing districts like Nebraska’s 2nd District, with its slight GOP tilt.  A bipartisan group of state lawmakers in Nebraska expressed concerns in a letter to Nebraska’ U.S. senators over how the Trump Tax would impact SNAP. Republicans and Trump have pushed back on the framing of the reductions as cuts. They say they are targeting abuses.

At least one of the most recent Senate versions would require states to cover some of the costs of SNAP benefits, which are currently mostly funded by the federal government. Senate Republicans are also considering additional reductions to the program than the House version, which independent analysis shows would likely cut at least 3 million people from the program. 

“Nebraska would be on the hook for approximately $16 million in benefit costs and an additional $12.1 million in administrative expenses to maintain program operations,” the letter from Nebraska lawmakers read. “These policy choice dynamics would put significant pressure on our state budget and may result in reduced benefits or more restrictive eligibility.”  

Still deciding

Bacon said he wouldn’t know how he would vote until the Senate had passed its amended version.

Bacon has emphasized that he has received concessions or reassurances from House leadership for his vote. As Bacon told the New York Times earlier this month — he “doesn’t like voting “no” but likes “fixing things.” He also told the national outlet that he was a “no” on advancing a White House request to claw back $9.4 billion that the federal government had already approved for international aid and public media funding — but flipped his vote after ‘reassurances’ of some funding for AIDS help and public media.

He also told the national outlet that he wouldn’t follow his party ‘off the cliff.’ Multiple polls indicate that Trump’s signature piece of legislation is unpopular among Americans who are aware of it.

Former White House employee Elon Musk has criticized the legislation, saying it would “destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm” to the nation. He has been especially critical of how much it adds to the national deficit and debt.

For Bacon, he said he liked the direction the Senate version was taking. 

“I’ve had a lot of media saying, Are you going to support the Senate’s version?” Bacon said. “I don’t … know.”