James' World 2

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Representative Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, has publicly accused President 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 bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” He said he thought it was stupid.

Mr. 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 Mr. 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 Mr. 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 exits.

While Mr. Bacon has shown an independent streak in his statements, he still often backs down from his “red lines” on policy and votes with his party. After telling the White House that he would not vote for a bill that included more than $500 billion in Medicaid cuts, he ultimately voted “yes” for legislation carrying Mr. Trump’s domestic agenda that included far more.

And after telling The New York Times and House Republican leaders that he was a firm “no” on any cuts to a global anti-AIDS program, he ultimately voted “yes” this week on a package that would claw back $9 billion in spending already approved by Congress and targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency for cuts, including to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Still, he is more independent than most of his colleagues. In an interview in his office last week, Mr. Bacon, at 61, serving his fifth term in Congress, would not say whether he voted for Mr. 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.

“I sort of blame him for that disaster,” he said of Mr. Musk, referring to Mr. Musk’s exhorting Republicans late last year to tank a spending deal that was intended to avert a government shutdown. On one level, Mr. Bacon is making a fairly obvious statement: Mr. Musk did play a crucial role in killing the spending bill. But it is the kind of obvious statement that most Republicans on Capitol Hill are not willing to make these days, for fear of jeopardizing their political futures as Mr. Musk has threatened retribution against anyone who fails to vote the way he believes they should.

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Kenny Holston/The New York Times

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