Anti-Trump Republican Don Bacon won't run for reelection
Bacon is a moderate member of the GOP caucus, and has often clashed with Trump throughout his tenure as well as the MAGA wing of the Republican party. Currently undecided on the Senate version of Trump 'big, beautiful' budget bill, Bacon has raised concerns over cuts to Medicaid, the government's healthcare program.
As Nebraska splits its electoral college votes, Bacon's district is one that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won in their respective presidential elections despite the state's overall Republican lean. Democrats are sure to look at Bacon's retirement as a key pickup opportunity next year.
Bacon is the latest anti-Trump Republican to cement his 2026 plans. On Sunday, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis revealed that he is not seeking reelection in 2026 amid a new brewing GOP civil war.
'As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven't exactly been excited about running for another term,' Tillis said in a statement. 'That is true since the choice is between spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with the love of my life Susan, our two children, three beautiful grandchildren, and the rest of our extended family back home.
'It's not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election,' he added. The move comes as Tillis drew the ire of Trump over his opposition to the president's 'big, beautiful' budget bill currently making its way through the U.S. Senate.
Tillis was one of two Republican senators who voted against the 'motion to proceed' on Trump's budget bill Saturday evening, along with Kentucky Republican Rand Paul . In a post made to his social media site Truth Social Sunday morning, President Trump came after Tillis, claiming that he 'hurt the great people of North Carolina' and calling him a 'talker and complainer.'
'Thom Tillis has hurt the great people of North Carolina. Even on the catastrophic flooding, nothing was done to help until I took office. Then a Miracle took place! Tillis is a talker and complainer, Not A Doer! He's even worse than Rand 'Fauci' Paul,' Trump wrote on Sunday morning. Tillis, who was set to face a reelection fight in a critical swing state next year in the 2026 midterms, raised significant concerns this week over the budget bill's deep cuts to Medicaid.
Tillis shared projections that his state could lose $38.9 billion, impacting more than 600,000 North Carolinians. Cutting Medicaid was seen by a number of Republicans as a way to pay for the president's policy agenda, which includes increases in areas such as border security, which the White House asked to be at $150 billion. Notably, Republican leaders in Tillis' own state said they were willing to work with the hand they were dealt by Washington.
North Carolina's State Senate Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger wrote on X, formerly Twitter Saturday that he supports '@realDonaldTrump's Big Beautiful Bill and the legislature will work through any implementation issues.' North Carolina is state that Trump has narrowly won in all three of his elections, yet still sees Democrat leadership at the state level, making it a swing state.
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Sky News
37 minutes ago
- Sky News
Trump warns Hamas - and claims Israel has agreed to 60-day ceasefire in Gaza
Donald Trump has said Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, and is urging Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. The US president announced the development ahead of hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House next week. He has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to work out a ceasefire and hostage agreement to end the war. "My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War," Mr Trump wrote on social media - adding that Qatari and Egyptian officials would deliver the final proposal. "I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better - IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE." Analysis: Many unanswered questions remain In the long Gaza war, this is a significant moment. For the people of Gaza, for the hostages and their families - this could be the moment it ends. But we have been here before, so many times. The key question - will Hamas accept what Israel has agreed to: a 60-day ceasefire? At the weekend, a source at the heart of the negotiations told me: "Both Hamas and Israel are refusing to budge from their position - Hamas wants the ceasefire to last until a permanent agreement is reached. Israel is opposed to this. At this point only President Trump can break this deadlock." The source added: "Unless Trump pushes, we are in a stalemate." The problem is that the announcement made now by Donald Trump - which is his social-media-summarised version of whatever Israel has actually agreed to - may just amount to Israel's already-established position. We don't know the details and conditions attached to Israel's proposals. Would Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza? Totally? Or partially? How many Palestinian prisoners would they agree to release from Israel's jails? And why only 60 days? Why not a total ceasefire? What are they asking of Hamas in return? We just don't know the answers to any of these questions, except one. We do know why Israel wants a 60-day ceasefire, not a permanent one. It's all about domestic politics. If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to agree now to a permanent ceasefire, the extreme right-wingers in his coalition would collapse his government. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have both been clear about their desire for the war to continue. They hold the balance of power in Mr Netanyahu's coalition. If Mr Netanyahu instead agrees to just 60 days - which domestically he can sell as just a pause - then that may placate the extreme right-wingers for a few weeks until the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is adjourned for the summer. It is also no coincidence that the US president has called for Mr Netanyahu's corruption trial to be scrapped. Without the prospect of jail, Mr Netanyahu might be more willing to quit the war safe in the knowledge that focus will not shift immediately to his own political and legal vulnerability.
NBC News
43 minutes ago
- NBC News
'You'll always be my friend': Trump and Ron DeSantis put aside rivalry at 'Alligator Alcatraz'
There was no evidence of the onetime rivalry between President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis Tuesday as they came together in a common cause: opening an immigrant detention center in the swampy heart of Florida. Trump and his top deputies visited the Everglades, where Florida officials delivered a win for his anti-immigration agenda and positioned the state on the forefront of his crackdown. The facility, which Republican leaders dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' is set to house 3,000 detainees and took just eight days to construct. 'It might be as good as the real Alcatraz,' Trump told reporters Tuesday. 'It's a little controversial, but I couldn't care less.' The push behind 'Alligator Alcatraz' is not only to keep Florida aligned with Trump on immigration but also to reposition some of the state's biggest Republican players politically. DeSantis, for instance, fought vocally with Trump during the 2024 presidential primary; during the visit on Tuesday, however, he and Trump praised each other. "You are my friend, and you'll always be my friend, and we may have some skirmishes, even in the future. I doubt it, but I will always come back, because we have blood that seems to match pretty well," Trump said. 'I think it is a 10,' Trump added of his relationship with the governor. 'Maybe a 9.9… We get along great.' DeSantis, unprompted, quickly chimed in with a reminder that he endorsed Trump as soon as he exited the presidential race in early 2024. 'The thing about it is, I endorsed him,' DeSantis said. 'Raised one of his PACs millions and millions of dollars.' The comments came as Trump and DeSantis, along with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, toured the facility in a made-for-TV presentation of the opening of what is one of the largest immigrant detention facilities in the country. A number of the media outlets on the tour were Trump-friendly organizations, who asked questions that praised the president or allowed him to hype his agenda. One reporter asked him to weigh in on the 'disastrous handling of the border' by President Joe Biden's administration, while another had him comment on how his 'beloved New York City may well be led by a communist soon.' 'What's your message to Gov. Gavin Newsom?' right-wing YouTube personality Benny Johson asked. Trump responded that the 'first thing' the California governor, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, should do, 'is come here and learn something.' The political undertones of the event were hard to ignore. Among those invited by Trump to attend was Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican running for governor in 2026. At the same time, DeSantis' wife, Casey DeSantis, continues to eye a competing run for governor. During a roundtable discussion Tuesday, Donalds — sitting just a couple of feet from DeSantis — said he 'commended' him for his work to combat illegal immigration. The moment represented political foes setting aside their feud, at least for the day. The idea for Alligator Alcatraz was hatched last month by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a close DeSantis ally, but it received national traction when DeSantis did a live tour of the facility Friday on 'Fox and Friends,' which caught the Trump administration off guard. Noem and top adviser Corey Lewandowski supported the facility but wanted the Tuesday opening to be the formal public rollout, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. 'DeSantis upset Noem and Lewandowski with his Fox News tour of the detention site,' a Republican operative familiar with the process said. 'Noem wanted an event for Tuesday and didn't want anyone having eyes on the site and needed to push until Tuesday because she was traveling.' The Republican operative said that Noem's staff asked DeSantis not to do the Fox tour. 'The DHS team asked DeSantis not to do his Friday event,' the person added. 'DeSantis did what was best for DeSantis and got out in front of the stronger, angering both Noem and Lewandowski.' Another source familiar with the matter told NBC News the ire did not stem directly from the White House, but from Lewandowski. 'He lost his s---,' the person said. Lewandowski and DeSantis' political team did not return requests seeking comment. The White House called the assertion 'fake news.' 'Leave it to the Fake News NBC to write about baseless gossip following a hugely successful event with President Trump, Secretary Noem and Governor DeSantis at Alligator Alcatraz,' White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement. 'Here's the real story that the state-of-the-art facility will play an important role in fulfilling the President's promise to keep Americans safe and deport criminal illegal aliens.' 'The President is grateful to work with both Secretary Noem and Governor DeSantis on this project,' she added. Still, the event signaled that DeSantis was publicly rekindling his relationship with Trump, and to some degree was seen as a boon for his attempt to again regain national political footing for a potential presidential campaign in 2028, even as Vice President JD Vance is widely seen as the current frontrunner. 'No one thought Trump would so closely embrace DeSantis today,' a longtime Florida operative who was at the event said. 'We didn't think he would try to undercut him or insult him, but Trump was over the top in his praise today. I don't know what that means, but it was a good day for Ron DeSantis.' The Everglades facility has given DeSantis and the state's Republican leaders, including Uthmeier, a boost to their fundraising efforts, even as Democrats have decried the effort as cruel to those accused of being in the country illegally. ''Alligator Alcatraz' is a callous political stunt,' said David Jolly, a former Republican member of Congress now running in 2026 as a Democrat for governor. 'Florida's most pressing challenge is the housing affordability crisis created by Republican leaders, not immigrants working to support our state's economy.' Since the announcement of the facility, there have also been protests — including one on Tuesday for the opening — and a lawsuit filed by environmental groups concerned over the impact it could have on the Everglades. The facility was made possible by DeSantis using emergency powers he first enacted in 2023. The state built what amounts to a tent city, hiring a dozen vendors and seizing land from Miami-Dade County over local leaders' objections. The facility is housed on a little-used airstrip that includes a runway that DeSantis said can be used to quickly fly undocumented immigrants to third countries if deportation is deemed appropriate.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
US, Indo-Pacific partners agree to strengthen maritime, critical minerals cooperation
The United States. Australia, India and Japan have agreed to expand their cooperation on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific and further collaborate on supplies of critical minerals and rare earths that are key components of high-tech production. The foreign ministers of the four countries, known as the 'Quad,' met in Washington on Tuesday as the Trump administration seeks to expand U.S. influence in the Indo-Pacific to compete with a rising China amid tensions with partners over trade and defense issues. In a joint meeting with his three colleagues, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Quad must be a 'vehicle for action' that goes beyond statements of intent and stressed that commerce and trade will be critical to ensuring the group's relevance in the future. To that end, the four announced in a statement the creation of a 'Quad Critical Minerals Initiative' that aims 'to strengthen economic security and collective resilience by collaborating on securing and diversifying critical mineral supply chains.' The statement did not provide details of the initiative. 'We are deeply concerned about the abrupt constriction and future reliability of key supply chains, specifically for critical minerals,' they said. 'This includes the use of non-market policies and practices for critical minerals, certain derivative products, and mineral processing technology.' The statement did not mention China by name, but Chinese domination of the critical minerals supply chain has long been a concern of the U.S. and others. The ministers expressed specific concern about rising tensions in the East and South China Seas, where Beijing has become increasingly assertive of maritime and territorial claims that are rejected by its smaller neighbors. 'We reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,' they said. 'We express our serious concerns regarding dangerous and provocative actions, including interference with offshore resource development, the repeated obstruction of the freedoms of navigation and overflight, and the dangerous maneuvers by military aircraft and coast guard and maritime militia vessels, especially the unsafe use of water cannons and ramming or blocking actions in the South China Sea.' The ministers also condemned North Korea for continuing to launch ballistic missiles, expand its nuclear weapons program and engage in malicious cyberactivity. In a veiled reference to North Korean support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, they expressed 'deep concern about countries that are deepening military cooperation with North Korea, which directly undermines the global nonproliferation regime.'
