The town hall format is ideally a platform for politicians to engage with constituents and answer earnest questions. However, particularly in the era of President Trump, town halls have often become polarized battlegrounds, with contentious voters turning them into political demonstrations rather than opportunities for dialogue.
Sen. Pete Ricketts and Congressman Mike Flood both experienced this during in-person town halls earlier this year. While Congressman Don Bacon has held many such events throughout District 2, he has avoided them this year, instead opting to hold “tele-townhalls.” The latest of these was on Monday evening, which allowed 7,200 constituents to tune in and ask questions by phone or via an online form.
Spending Cuts and Rescissions
Bacon used his opening and closing remarks to highlight signature accomplishments while in office, specifically infrastructure funding to expand Eppley Airfield, $1.4 billion in reconstruction for Offutt Air Force Base after flood damage in 2019, and the construction of a new VA hospital. The hospital will not be completed by the end of Bacon’s term but will be “entrenched with roots, with the budget and planning, so that it will be a reality sometime after I leave.”
Bacon addressed questions about changes to SNAP and Medicaid in the recently-passed budget reconciliation bill, emphasizing work requirements for able-bodied adults without children and protections for those with disabilities.
Bacon also discussed the $9 billion Rescissions bill, which cut one-tenth of one percent of discretionary spending, primarily targeting what he called “poorly prioritized” foreign aid programs that conflicted with American values. Initially, the bill proposed eliminating the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), but Bacon secured the restoration of 92% of its funding. He also ensured annual funding for local PBS stations, while PBS and NPR at the national level will not be funded.
Q&A
Bacon addressed questions on fiscal issues, such as the budget deficit and an anticipated shortfall in Social Security over the next decade. He also continued to set himself apart from the MAGA wing of the GOP on issues like Ukraine.
“I’m probably the most vocal congressman, at least surely the most vocal Republican right now, on the need to support Ukraine,” Bacon said. “Ukraine’s doing the fighting in defending their country, but they need help with military weapons in particular, and nobody has better weapons than America.” Bacon praised President Trump for his “pivot” on Ukraine and sending Patriot missiles to them through NATO.
Bacon also discussed supporting the Dignity Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants already working in the U.S. with a fine and no path to citizenship—a policy critics described as “amnesty.”
One caller asked why Republicans wouldn’t release the “Epstein files.”
“This was such a scandal, what Mr. Epstein did, and there were so many victims that I think the country deserves to know as much truth as is out there,” Bacon replied. “That said, I don’t know that there’s a lot of information in these files, because they would have been leaked a long time ago.” Bacon also noted that he preferred a bill related to the release of the Epstein files to be a standalone bill rather than an amendment to the Rescissions Bill.
An online question from Mike came toward the end: “How do you square backing the blue with those who stormed the Capitol, were pardoned, and harmed police officers?”
“January 6th has been demagogued by both sides to a point where people have a hard time seeing what really happened,” Bacon said. “140 cops were injured that day. Those who harmed cops deserve to be held accountable. … We also have to realize some people came through open doors and perhaps were overly punished. I just think both sides could be true at the same time.”
Any Future for a “Bacon Dot?”
Bacon, who has one and a half years left in office before retirement, has defied the odds by winning reelection in a district that voted decisively against President Trump in the past two elections. This underscores an unusual electorate, where voters supported Bacon but not Trump, a phenomenon Bacon’s campaign manager, Matthew Zacher, referred to as the “Bacon Dot.”
One caller, Kathleen, lavished Bacon with praise for opting not to join 126 of his Republican colleagues in signing an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania in 2020. “You stood up for us, including the powerless, and you stood up for our country when it mattered, like when you certified the 2020 election results, unlike well over 100 of your Republican colleagues.”
As two Republicans, Brett Lindstrom and Brinker Harding, jockey for position against six Democrats now vying for Bacon’s seat, it will be a balancing act to see whether such a mixed constituency can be won by any future Republican other than Don Bacon.
