The proposal continues Bacon’s recent trend of being rare House Republican to criticize president
Nebraska Examiner Press Release
BY: JUAN SALINAS II
LINCOLN — Nebraska Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon unveiled legislation this week to claw back Congress’ authority on tariffs from the White House.
His bill would require the president — any president — to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing or increasing tariffs on imported goods, limit the duration of any tariffs to 60 days unless Congress approves extending them, and clarify that Congress can end any tariffs.
“The Constitution clearly gives the authority for taxes and tariffs to Congress,” Bacon said. “But for too long we have handed that authority to the executive branch.”
Bacon said in a statement that his proposed federal legislation is “less about the actual tariffs laid by the Trump administration, some of which I support because they are reciprocal, but more a commitment to uphold the Constitution.” Still, the timing of the bill is undeniable, with financial markets roiled and consumers still facing the prospect of higher prices.
Tariff tumult
Bacon’s proposal comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of a 10% baseline tariff on international imports, with higher levies on some nations, though the Trump administration decided Wednesday to pause some of those tariffs for 90 days. While the stock market rebounded after a few days of panic, fears of moving on from free trade still loom, as does a potential trade war with China.
It remains unlikely that the GOP-controlled House would give the Bacon bill a floor vote. But it’s an escalation of Bacon’s criticism of the Trump administration, which has put him in the national spotlight as one of the few House Republicans willing to do so publicly.
“Our Founders created checks and balances for a reason,” Bacon said.
Trump appeared to allude to Bacon as some “rebel Republican” that wants to grandstand during a dinner Tuesday with the National Republican Congressional Committee.
“Let to me tell you, you don’t negotiate like I do.” Trump said, based on NBC News video of the event. “Congress takes over negotiating, sell America fast because your going to go busted.”
Bacon’s proposal has three House co-sponsors, one Republican and two Democrats. It mirrors a similar bill in the Senate from U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Both are unlikely to be heard by their respective chambers.
Angie Lauritsen, state director of the progressive political group Nebraska For Us, said in a statement that she was “troubled” that Bacon expressed support for some of Trump’s tariffs, called his bill “a step in the right direction to rein in extreme and dangerous power.” The group regularly attacks Bacon for speaking moderately and voting conservatively.
“The rest of our House delegation — [U.S.] Reps. Mike Flood and Adrian Smith — must do their part to stand against economically harmful moves made by the Trump [a]dministration in the last week,” Lauritsen said.
The four other members of the Nebraska federal delegation have expressed more support for Trump’s tariffs.
U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., expressed support for Trump tariffs in a Fox Business interview this week, saying she wanted “to give the president time.”
Smith’s office spokesperson said, “The congressman is working to fulfill Congress’s role in trade policy, support President Trump’s efforts to level the playing field for U.S industry and advance rules-based trade.”
Flood’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the Bacon bill.
In a separate interview on Fox Business, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb, said the free trade system had worked “wonderfully well,” but that it was time to move on.
“The problem is the Soviet Union fell 34 years ago,” Ricketts said. “This should have been done 34 years ago to level the playing field.”
A new era
After World War II, countries shifted their economies to compete globally, built on the premise that free trade benefits all.
Some economists and political scientists have argued that the flaws of free trade contributed to the rise of Trump and his political movement. He capitalized on working-class anxieties over some jobs being sent overseas and people feeling left behind. Trump has named-dropped former President William McKinley and his late-19th century tariffs, praising them because they had “made our country very rich.”
The McKinley tariffs of the 1890s aimed to protect American industries and workers by raising import taxes to nearly 50%. The McKinley administration tariffs caused other countries to retaliate, resulting in price increases and a recession. Republicans also lost in the midterms, as voters blamed Republicans for the economic woes at the time.
The president, who ran on bringing prices down, has acknowledged that his trade war could cause economic hardship for Americans. Nebraska businesses are bracing for the impact of the worldwide tariffs. The Nebraska Farm Bureau has expressed concerns about the now-paused tariffs’ impact on farmers.
“President Trump and USDA Secretary Rollins have repeatedly promised to level the playing field and expand markets for farmers and ranchers when it comes to international trade,” Pillen said in a statement. “However, we fear yesterday’s announced plan to increase tariffs threatens the economic future of farm and ranch families who have lost money on most major crops for the past three years.”
Gov. Jim Pillen, the first farmer to hold the Governor’s Mansion in decades, went out of his way to show support for Trump’s tariffs, saying the president “is taking bold action to combat decades of cheating and unfair trade practices.”
“As a pork producer, I totally understand the short-term economic challenges we’re all feeling,” Pillen’s statement reads. “But we’re working hard through this period, and I will do my best to ensure that Nebraska’s interests are heard during this time.”
Bacon’s tense relationship with Trump
Bacon is coming off of another close win against former Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha. The Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District is considered highly competitive, and Bacon must balance representing one of the most politically divided areas in Nebraska. Democrats in the state have criticized him for years for doing little with his votes to demonstrate his independence.
This year, Bacon — a retired Air Force brigadier general — stepped back into the national spotlight as a House Republican criticizing the Trump administration over billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Trump’s handling of Ukraine and how the administration treats American allies, including Europe and Canada.
The bill could revive tensions between Trump and Bacon, as the criticism goes beyond words. Trump and his campaign team actively tried to recruit a Republican challenger to Bacon in 2022. The then-former president came to Nebraska for an unrelated campaign rally and attacked Bacon.
In 2024, some local GOP activists mounted a challenge to Bacon from the right. Bacon resoundingly beat Dan Frei to face Vargas. Trump endorsed Bacon, and Bacon endorsed Trump for a third time.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from President Donald Trump.
