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New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Breaking With Trump, Bacon Says He Won't Follow His Party ‘Off the Cliff'
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 exit. 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. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
02-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Lisa Murkowski Isn't Using ‘Nice Words' About Life Under Trump
Senator Lisa Murkowski was listing all the ways that President Trump's efforts to slash the federal government had harmed Alaska, from the funding freezes on programs the state depends on to the layoffs of federal workers who live there, when she delivered something of an understatement. 'It's a challenging time right now,' she recently told a crowd at a state infrastructure conference here in the state's largest city. 'I could use nice words about it — but I don't.' At a time when the Republican Congress has grown increasingly deferential to Mr. Trump, Ms. Murkowski has veered in the opposite direction from her party, using sharp words and her vote on the Senate floor to push back on him and his administration time and again. She opposed the confirmations of Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, and Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director. She has voted repeatedly to block Mr. Trump's sweeping tariffs on most U.S. trading partners. She has publicly lamented Republicans' obeisance to Mr. Trump as he tramples on legislative prerogatives, saying that it is 'time for Congress to reassert itself.' She said Mr. Trump's Oval Office dressing-down of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine left her 'sick to my stomach,' and recently called his decision to end deportation protections for Afghan refugees 'a historic betrayal.' And she has been frank about the dilemma faced by Republicans like her who are dismayed about the president's policies and pronouncements but worried that speaking out about them could bring death threats or worse. 'We are all afraid,' she told constituents in April, adding: 'I'm oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that's not right.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
