Nebraska Republican U.S. Representative, retired Air Force Brigadier General Don Bacon calls for the ousting of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Hegseth has been at the center of multiple controversies during his short tenure as Secretary.
Don Bacon is a moderate Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He was elected from the 2nd District of Nebraska, which includes Omaha.
Pete Hegseth, who became the U.S. Defense Secretary earlier this year in the Trump administration, is also a Republican. He faced questions about his qualifications for the job from the time he was nominated and his time in the office has been rocky, to put it mildly.
Bacon says Hegseth should be removed from office
Don Bacon has openly stated his belief that Pete Hegseth should be removed as the Defense Secretary of the United States. He didn’t specify a preference for whether Hegseth were to be fired or if he were to resign, but he didn’t hold back on his criticism following reports that the Secretary had again improperly revealed highly sensitive information in an unapproved group chat setting.
The first known instance previously happened after Hegseth among other officials - including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe - were discussing details about then-upcoming military strikes in Yemen through an insecure channel. Adding to the troubles, the chat became public due to the fact that journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was included in it by mistake, which he revealed after the operation.
In the more recent case, it was not these officials and a journalist Hegseth was conversing with. It was evidently instead his family and his personal attorney.
“I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,” Bacon said before adding that the recent alleged behavior is “totally unacceptable.” Bacon continued, “Russia and China are all over his phone, and for him to be putting secret stuff on his phone is not right. He’s acting like he’s above the law - and that shows an amateur person.”
Pete Hegseth served in the U.S. Army, but not go beyond the rank of Major and was better-known as a host on Fox News, bringing in to question if he had the experience and qualifications to oversee the Department of Defense. Additionally, he has been accused of various wrongdoings, including abuse and assault of women, and supporting white supremacy.
Bacon was a career military officer
Donald John Bacon is a native of Chicago Heights, Illinois. He graduated from high school at what is now Grace Christian Academy in Kankakee to the south before attending Northern Illinois University, where he played soccer. Around the same time, he interned for U.S. Representative and future U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Madigan.
After finishing at Northern Illinois, Bacon entered the United States Air Force. His assignments included being stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, Ramstein Air Base in Germany, as well as the Pentagon and he was deployed to serve in the Iraq War.
Among the units Bacon became the commanding officer of were the 41st Electronic Combat Squadron, the 55th Electronic Combat Group, the 435th Air Base Wing, and the 55th Wing. Additionally, Bacon was Deputy Commander of the Third Air Force before retiring with the rank of Brigadier General. Decorations he received include two each of the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal, five Meritorious Service Medals and the Aerial Achievement Medal.
Following his retirement from the military, Bacon worked as a staffer for U.S. Representative Jeff Fortenberry and joined the faculty of Bellevue University. He was first elected Congress in 2016, defeating Democratic incumbent Brad Ashford.
Bacon has been re-elected four times since then. Currently, he is Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation.
In 1984, Bacon married Angie Hardison. The couple have four children.