Representative Don Bacon almost quit the House on the spot over the weekend when he first learned of a proposed Ukrainian peace deal tilted toward Russia that was being pushed by the White House.
“I was so mad at what I saw from the administration,” said Mr. Bacon, a Nebraska Republican and former Air Force general who was among congressional Republicans who saw the initial peace proposal as naked capitulation to the aggressor in the war. “There was a momentary thought that I should resign in protest. Then I realized it was dumb. When you run and win, you owe it to your constituents to finish your term.”
Mr. Bacon had already announced his plans to retire at the end of his term in early 2027, and while he quickly discarded the idea of leaving early, his frustration reflected the turmoil and uncertainty coursing through the Republican ranks on Capitol Hill. G.O.P. lawmakers are confronting sharp splits on the war in Ukraine and what to do about rising health insurance premiums against a backdrop of escalating partisan attacks.
It is all part of a cycle of post-shutdown, pre-year-end chaos among Republicans in Congress as the reality of the approaching 2026 midterms and the impending verdict of the voting public begins to sink in.
In addition to the Republican differences on the major issues of war and health care, President Trump has injected even more divisive elements into the mix. He has instigated investigations into six Democrats with national security backgrounds who recorded a video urging members of the military to disregard any illegal orders. Some Republicans on Capitol Hill have joined Democrats in condemning the aggressive White House attacks as unwarranted — as well as politically unwise.
At the same time, the House has been engaged in vicious political cannibalism of its own with a series of tit-for-tat censure efforts, turning what used to be a rarity into an almost everyday occurrence. After being kept home for almost two months during the shutdown, House members returned to Washington seemingly suffering from bottled-up hostility they needed to uncork.
The situation has flummoxed Speaker Mike Johnson along with everyone else.
“I would like us to get back to normal Congress,” Mr. Johnson told reporters after the series of censure attempts last week. “It’s just no one knows what that looks like anymore.”
Mr. Trump helped spark this week’s round of Republican infighting by hinting that he would propose a health care fix that extended expanded insurance premium subsidies available under the Affordable Care Act since the pandemic. His unseen plan seemed somewhat in line with what Democrats had been clamoring for when they shut down the government for 43 days over the looming expiration of the tax breaks.
While Democrats readied statements preparing to declare victory the moment Mr. Trump rolled out his plan, Republicans in the House urged the administration to hold off since the majority of them want nothing to do with extending the subsidies and bolstering the A.C.A.
“Oh boy, more 4D chess?” Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, wrote on X. “A vote to extend Obamacare … that’s the Republican solution to health care?”
The Trump announcement was subsequently put off indefinitely, which had the result of increasing calls for action from the Republicans in the House and Senate who support extending the subsidies and say there are more backers for that idea than people realize.
“We need to build on the sincere efforts that are truly underway in both chambers to come up with a bill that could pass with the 60 votes needed in the Senate,” urged Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine.
“To say we are going to do nothing is not an answer,” said Mr. Bacon. “You are going to deal with it a year from now in the midterms if you don’t want to be part of the solution now.”
The leak of a Ukrainian peace proposal that was widely seen in Congress as being far too favorable to Russia touched off a fierce backlash that reached well beyond Mr. Bacon’s near resignation to a clash between Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and fierce Ukraine hawk, and Vice President JD Vance.
After Mr. Vance, a very junior senator from Ohio when Mr. McConnell was the longtime Senate party leader, hit Mr. McConnell for saying that Mr. Trump was being “played” by the Russians, Mr. McConnell struck back, saying that “a deal that rewards aggression wouldn’t be worth the paper it’s written on.” He was just one of the congressional Republicans highly skeptical of the emerging peace plan certain to get a close review when lawmakers return from Thanksgiving next week.
Adding more fuel to the furor over national security issues was the White House and Pentagon push against the “Seditious Six,” as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dubbed them, after Mr. Trump suggested the six Democratic lawmakers could be subjected to the death penalty for their video. Mr. Hegseth suggested Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona and a retired Navy pilot and officer, could be recalled and face a court-martial for his participation.
Not all Republicans were on board.
“To accuse him and other lawmakers of treason and sedition for rightfully pointing out that service members can refuse illegal orders is reckless and flat-out wrong,” Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, wrote on X. Other Republicans and Democrats noted that if anything, the assault on Mr. Kelly had only raised his national political profile and talk of a presidential bid as he escalated his media appearances and fund-raising.
The surprise resignation of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, as of Jan. 5 with her blast at the “political industrial complex” has some wondering if her decision was a singular event or if more resignations and retirements could be forthcoming, tightening the minuscule Republican majority even more. Both parties are closely watching a special election in Tennessee next Tuesday, a race that polls show to be much tighter than it should be in an overwhelmingly red district.
Mr. Bacon has decided against adding to the upheaval by leaving the House early. But he is very comfortable with his decision to retire rather than stick around for “shutdowns, censure and dysfunction.”
“I wasn’t excited about it,” he said in an interview about the prospect of re-election and another term. “Since I was not excited about it, I decided not to run.”
“I want to do something with my life,” he added. “I want to make sure that it counts.”
Carl Hulse is the chief Washington correspondent for The Times, primarily writing about Congress and national political races and issues. He has nearly four decades of experience reporting in the nation’s capital.
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