Retiring GOP Rep. Bacon Says Trump's Lame-Duck Agenda Is 'Dead'

Retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said Saturday that President Trump’s lame-duck legislative agenda is “dead,” warning that he and other Republicans won’t fund it after Trump waived a package of congressionally passed sanctions on Russia.

“Congress has a lame-duck session. The President has an agenda: supplemental, reconciliation, Ballroom, etc… I think the agenda is dead,” Bacon wrote in a post on X Saturday morning. “Many of us won’t fund these things knowing he is propping up a dictator’s invasion and throwing an ally under the bus.”

Congress has a lame-duck session. The President has an agenda: supplemental, reconciliation, Ballroom, etc… I think the agenda is dead. Many of us won’t fund these things knowing he is propping up a dictator’s invasion and throwing an ally under the bus. https://t.co/CexH2zqr9Q

— Rep. Don Bacon 🇺🇸✈️🏍️⭐️🎖️ (@RepDonBacon) October 17, 2026

Bacon’s post came one day after Trump signed an executive order shelving new sanctions in the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, according to the New York Post. Trump’s order said he was “waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions, and duties provided for in the Graham Act” and that he had certified to Congress that the waiver “is in the national interests of the United States,” the Post reported.

The law, which Trump signed last month after it cleared both chambers with wide support, targets Russian officials, institutions and oil and gas exports and was set to take effect Sunday, according to the Post. The paper reported that the waiver set aside provisions that would have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on the largest importers of Russian oil and gas and up to 500% on all Russian goods.

Bacon first reacted Friday night. “The President is prolonging the war, not ending it,” he wrote on X, a post the New York Post cited among bipartisan criticism of the decision.

Second warning in a week

Saturday’s post was Bacon’s second threat in four days to stall the White House’s year-end plans. On Wednesday, The Hill reported, Bacon warned that Trump’s legislative wish list would be “dead” in the lame-duck session unless the administration reversed course on Ukraine. In that post, Bacon wrote that the administration’s decision to reduce intelligence sharing with Ukraine and access to Starlink “equates to aiding the invader,” according to The Hill, and asked whether the administration “think[s] it will get ANY support for the remainder of the 119th Congress.”

The Hill reported that Republican leaders hope to use the lame-duck session to reauthorize farm and nutrition programs, extend federal surveillance powers and fund the government ahead of a mid-December shutdown deadline. Bacon is retiring at the end of this term but will still have a vote in the lame-duck session, The Hill noted.

Senate Republicans pile on

Bacon wasn’t the only Republican to break with the president over the waiver. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) called the move “beyond irresponsible” in a post on X. “What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand?” Tillis wrote, adding that it was “unconscionable” for the administration to be “capitulating to a Russian dictator.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) shared a report on the order Saturday morning with a short message on X: “Lindsey would be appalled.”

Democrats also blasted the decision, with Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) calling it “Trump’s latest surrender to Putin,” according to the New York Post.

What comes next

In his order, Trump framed the pause as a matter of U.S. national interest, according to the Post. Any showdown over Bacon’s threat would come during the lame-duck session, when The Hill reported Republican leaders want to move must-pass funding and other priorities before the year ends.

Whether other House Republicans follow Bacon’s lead remains to be seen.

Sources

• Rep. Don Bacon on X, Oct. 17, 2026
• Rep. Don Bacon on X, Oct. 16, 2026
• Sen. Thom Tillis on X, Oct. 17, 2026
• Sen. John Cornyn on X, Oct. 17, 2026
• New York Post: Trump puts Russia sanctions package on hold
• The Hill: GOP rep warns that Trump’s agenda is ‘dead’ unless he reverses course on Ukraine

Reporting by Daily Beltway.