Don Bacon

The Nebraska Republican Party's policy plan for the 2025 legislative session outlines a hard-right cultural agenda, including further abortion restrictions and enhanced conservative influence on public schools.

President-elect Donald Trump picks former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws his name. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss how Congress will serve as a check on the executive branch. Sebastien Lai, son of pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, talks about the state of democracy in Hong Kong as his father stands trial.

After another election cycle that brought few bright spots for Nebraska Democrats, some former party officials have called on the state party's leader, Jane Kleeb, to resign.

Matt Gaetz's former congressional colleagues, in both parties, raised a collective cheer Thursday as the onetime Florida congressman withdrew his nomination for attorney general.Why it matters: Gaetz's decision spares the House from a brutal fight over an Ethics Committee report on him and the Senate from an even bloodier battle over his nomination.But the question members were left still asking: Will Gaetz return to be sworn in for his term in the 119th Congress?What we're hearing: "This is the only decent thing Matt Gaetz has ever done," said one House Republican, speaking on the condition of anonymity.Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) told Axios: "I don't think he was going to make it across the finish line anyway.""It settles the matter, we're on to the next one. We've got a lot of work ahead of us ... it's really important we don't lose focus," said Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.)."It was the right thing to do," said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).Yes, but: Plenty of Gaetz's former colleagues were loath to comment."I don't believe in kicking someone while they're down," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).On the Senate side, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) told reporters: "I respect his decision."Zoom in: Several senior House Democrat told Axios that Gaetz's resignation puts to rest the battle over the Ethics panel's report."That's the end of the fight," said one.But Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) signaled plans to move forward with his motion to force a House vote on releasing the report, saying it "remains important that the ... report be made available to the American people."What to watch: One House Republican predicted that Gaetz's withdrawal is "indicative of what will happen with the other 3 problem nominees."Those three: Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, the nominees for defense secretary, health and human services secretary and director of national intelligence, respectively.The lawmaker also forecast that Gaetz will have a "significant position" in the Trump administration that will not require Senate confirmation.Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.

Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz's nomination for attorney general is being met with a variety of reactions from Republicans, including cautious reservation, praise and pointed criticism

Republicans will have full control of Congress and the White House, giving them their best shot yet to make big moves on immigration and tax cuts.

The agreement would increase the threshold that allowed a single member to trigger a no-confidence vote to remove the speaker.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., walk down the House steps for the House Republican leadership post-election news conference outside the Capitol on Tuesday.

Hasan Khalil has lived in the United States for 25 years, but he decided to vote in Tuesday's election and convinced 20 other first-time voters to join him.

The victory of the four-term Republican, who has resisted his party’s veer to the right, dashed Democratic hopes of flipping a critical district.

Republicans won control of the White House and the Senate. Now all eyes are turning to the House, Democrats' last line of defense to stop President-elect Donald Trump and his agenda.

We know Donald Trump is poised to return to the White House with a Republican-held Senate, but at this point, control of the House is unclear, with several swing seats hanging in the balance. Both parties were waiting for key House races to be called, although Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., predicted Wednesday morning the GOP [...]The post At the Races Special Edition: Known knowns, and known unknowns appeared first on Roll Call.

With votes still being counted, here's a look at the key races that remain uncalled by the NBC News Decision Desk (read more on how those races are called on NBCNews.com).

Election Day is here. Voters are gearing up to head to the polls to cast their ballots for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in one of the nation’s most historic presidential races. They'll also be determining which party will...

Election Day is here. Voters are gearing up to head to the polls to cast their ballots for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in one of the nation’s most historic presidential races. They'll also be determining which party will...

Election Day is here. Voters are gearing up to head to the polls to cast their ballots for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in one of the nation’s most historic presidential races. They'll also be determining which party will...

Fox News provides a breakdown of the 22 House races ranked as Toss Ups in the 2024 election.

The final doors are being knocked, ads are blaring and candidates are making a last pitch to voters. Even with the high-energy final push, the races for control of Congress are at a stalemate, essentially a toss-up for the House and fight to the finish for the Senate.

Democrats are running strong challengers in a handful of districts that could swing control of the House

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.

WASHINGTON — The battle for the House is ultracompetitive one week away from Election Day, with both parties bracing for potential narrow majorities come January but seeing their own paths to victory.

Do Nebraskans want someone to represent them in the U.S. Senate when that person’s formal education ends at the 12th grade? That's what we'll get with Dan Osborn. I decided to look up Osborn's educational background and found he graduated...

Welcome to At the Races! Each week we bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. By Daniela Altimari, Mary Ellen McIntire and Niels Lesniewski Liz Cheney is the top GOP surrogate for Kamala Harris, while Fred Upton disclosed Thursday [...]The post At the Races: And then there were two appeared first on Roll Call.

Bacon-themed products are on display in Rep. Don Bacon’s campaign office in Omaha, Neb., on Oct. 16, 2024.

Tony Vargas, a Democrat vying to become the state’s first Latino representative, lost to Don Bacon, the Republican incumbent, in 2022. But the presidential election could help him in his rematch.

The court's unanimous decision restores the right to vote for residents with felony criminal records upon completion of their sentence, impacting thousands.

Nebraska’s top election official had no authority to strip voting rights from people convicted of a felony, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a decision that could add hundreds of new voters to the rolls and potentially help tip the balance on Nov. 5.The order by Republican Secretary of State Bob Evnen could have kept 7,000 or more Nebraskans from voting in the upcoming election, the American Civil Liberties Union has said. Many of them reside in Nebraska’s Omaha-centered 2nd Congressional District, where both the presidency and the makeup of Congress could be at stake.Evnen in July had ordered county election officials in Nebraska to reject the voter registrations of those with felony convictions, citing an opinion from the state attorney general. That opinion, which Evnen had requested, deemed as unconstitutional a law passed this year by the Legislature immediately restoring the voting rights of people who have completed the terms of their felony sentences.“Patty and Selma at the Department of Motor Vehicles may not be constitutional scholars, but they know that they are expected to follow the law,” Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman wrote in the high court's ruling, criticizing Evnen and Attorney General Mike Hilgers for taking it upon themselves to declare the law unconstitutional. “Do we want to live in a world where every state employee who has a hunch a statute is flawed gets to ignore it?”

Less than a month before Election Day, 10 race rating changes help clarify the fights for control of the House and Senate.

The state Supreme Court ruled the secretary of state had no authority to declare unconstitutional a state law that restored the voting rights of those who have been convicted of a felony.

The state Supreme Court ruled the secretary of state had no authority to declare unconstitutional a state law that restored the voting rights of those who have been convicted of a felony.

This year, control of the House will be determined primarily by just 26 districts. And with 22 days to go until Nov. 5, neither party has a clear advantage.Republicans took control of the House in 2022, with the slimmest of majorities—though “control” may be overstating things. Their majority has seen constant chaos, including the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (after less than a year in leadership!), a dramatic battle to replace him, a failed impeachment of President Joe Biden, early retirements by frustrated members like Colorado Republican Ken Buck, and so much more.All of that has given Democrats confidence that they can take back the House this year—and race ratings by The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball suggest it’s possible. Overall, Democrats are favored in 202 districts and Republicans in 207, based on the median race rating between those three organizations. Race ratings are based on collections of polling, reporting, fundraising numbers, historical trends, and other data. The ratings generally break down into these categories: Solid Democratic or Republican, Likely Democratic or Republican, Lean Democratic or Republican, and Toss-up. (Inside Elections adds a “Tilt” rating, which lives between “Lean” and “Toss-up.” But for our purposes, that rating has been standardized to “Toss-up.”)That means control of the House will most likely be determined by 26 toss-up districts. And the polling in them holds some glimmers of hope for Democrats—who need to pick up only four seats to take back the House—as well as a few warnings.Here’s what you need to know. xDatawrapper Content

“The law was passed, it’s not going to go backward," GOP Rep. Don Bacon said.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon is running against Democratic state Sen. Tony Vargas to represent Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District.

The election forecaster Sabato’s Crystal Ball announced on Monday that it would be shifting Rep. Don Bacon’s (R-Neb.) race in Nebraska toward the Democrats. Kyle Kondik, the managing editor for Sabato’s Crystal Ball, part of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, shifted Bacon’s race in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District from “toss-up” to “leans [...]

Acknowledging he’s in a "dead heat" as he seeks a fifth term in the U.S. House, Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon on Monday welcomed the endorsement.

Gov. Jim Pillen tabbed another interim director to lead the state's environmental agency and named two new members to his cabinet Thursday.

On Wednesday, business owners and activists gathered at Vis Major to show support for a ballot initiative that would guarantee paid sick leave to all part-time, full-time and temporary employees in Nebraska.

Steve Kornacki digs into the latest NBC News Poll, which shows an "off the charts" gender gap between Vice President Harris and former President Trump. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) encourages the Trump campaign to try to win the Omaha congressional district after an attempt to change the way the way the state counts its electoral votes appears to stall. NBC News' Richard Lui sits down with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss whether Nebraska will change the way it allocates electoral votes before election day. Rep. Bacon also talks about his latest trip to Ukraine.

'I would say what he’s done is par for the course'

Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) move to bring a clean, short-term government funding stopgap — his plan B after his first gambit failed — is upsetting conservative House Republicans, who will be key in deciding the top lawmaker’s fate as GOP leader next year. The disappointment has, thus far, not bubbled up into a revolt, with [...]

City planners oppose a commercial development at 70th Street and Nebraska Parkway in part because it would allow access from Nebraska Parkway.

More than 60 organizations from across Nebraska have joined forces Wednesday to call for immigration reform as the state's unemployment rate remains low and its workforce ages.

Tweaking zoning ordinances to encourage local food production; all schools have Narcan; a new statue on the national historic register; and free passes for the bike share program.

Lincoln City Councilman Bennie Shobe announced he will run for a third term as an at-large council member.

In the midst of a pending lawsuit over remote work restrictions, the state's largest public workers union is preparing to begin negotiations on their next two-year contract.

Neighbors want to stop a resident flying his helicopter from his acreage near Davey, which he's been doing for nearly 40 years.