Transcript: Rep. Don Bacon on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," June 7, 2026

The following is the transcript of the interview with Rep. Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on June 7, 2026. MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Republican Congressman Don Bacon, who joins us from Omaha, Nebraska. Welcome back to Face the Nation. REP. DON BACON: Thank you, Margaret. MARGARET BRENNAN: Before we get to national security, I want to ask you about politics and candidate quality. Last month, Texas Republicans chose to make Ken Paxton their Senate nominee, despite the fact, as Texas AG, he was impeached by the Republican-controlled House on multiple charges of abuse of office, including bribery. His wife is divorcing him on what she called biblical grounds because of adultery, and he was indicted in 2015 on securities fraud charges that were later dropped. Despite all this, the President backed him over sitting Senator John Cornyn, and so did Texas Republicans. For your party, does Trump's favor carry more weight than character? REP. BACON: I think in many cases it does. His endorsement in a primary is often carries- carries the most weight. I think it was a mistake. I think this has hurt the president. A lot of senators feel very close to Senator Cornyn. He was a big fundraiser. He helped a lot of these Republicans get elected all over the country, so there's a lot of loyalty to John Cornyn. In fact, I know him too, and I admire the guy. …