December 09, 2024 12:05 PM UTC

Jeff Crank Loves Him Some Pete Hegseth

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• by: Colorado Pols

We haven’t heard much from Congressman-elect Jeff Crank since he defeated Colorado Republican Party Chair Dave Williams in the June Primary for the GOP nomination in CO-05 (Colorado Springs). As expected, Crank had no trouble winning the General Election for the right to replace retiring Rep. Doug Lamborn, and now he’s starting to speak up…though not for any good reason.

Last week Crank let it be known that he is a full-throated supporter of former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, who is Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense. Hegseth’s nomination is in serious peril because of issues of his own making (more on that in a moment), but Crank decided to roll out a tired defense blaming “the left” for trying to scuttle Hegseth’s chances:

Crank says he knows Hegseth from his time at CVA (Concerned Veterans of America), though Hegseth’s time with that group has come under scrutiny as well. From CBS News:

Hegseth received a six-figure severance payment and signed a non-disclosure agreement when he exited the organization Concerned Veterans of America. The payment came amid allegations of financial mismanagement, repeated incidents of intoxication and sexual impropriety, as well as dissension among its leaders over Hegseth’s foreign policy views…[Pols emphasis]

…Hegseth led Vets for Economic Freedom Trust, operating as Concerned Veterans for America, from 2012 to 2016. Tax records show that, during three of the five years of his leadership, the organization spent more money than it raised from donations and other means

Hegseth’s nomination has gone from questionable to disastrous as more information comes out about his history of alcohol abuse and sexual assault — revelations that are hard to blame on “the left” or anyone else, for that matter. Hegseth’s troubling background has given Senators plenty of reason to oppose his confirmation — beyond the fact that Hegseth is nowhere near qualified to be in control of the entire U.S. military. President-elect Trump said over the weekend that he thinks Hegseth can still make it through the Senate confirmation process, but rumors of other potential nominees for SecDef shouldn’t make Hegseth feel very confident about his chances.

As NBC News reported last week:

As many as six Senate Republicans, perhaps more, are currently not comfortable supporting Hegseth’s bid to lead the Pentagon as new revelations about his past continue to be made public, three Republican sources with direct knowledge of his nomination process said. Given Republicans’ slim Senate majority in the next Congress, Hegseth, a former Fox News host, can afford to lose only three GOP votes, assuming all Democrats vote against him. [Pols emphasis]

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is on the Armed Services Committee, would not commit to support Hegseth’s nomination and said she planned to grill him about news accounts of allegations of alcohol abuse, mistreatment of woman and financial mismanagement.

“We’re just going to have a really frank and thorough conversation,” Ernst said.

Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in California in 2017, according to a police report made public after Trump announced he would nominate him for defense secretary. Hegseth, who was not charged, denied the woman’s allegations, saying the encounter was consensual, although he did pay an undisclosed amount as part of a settlement with her.

Separately, NBC News reported Tuesday that Hegseth’s drinking concerned his colleagues at Fox News, according to 10 current and former Fox employees. Two of them said Hegseth smelled of alcohol before he went on air on more than a dozen occasions. Hegseth did not respond when he was asked for comment on those allegations Tuesday evening at the Capitol.

Hegseth’s nomination has lasted longer than that of former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who was Trump’s nominee for Attorney General for about a week before he withdrew his name from consideration because of his own pile of scandals. Nevertheless, it’s hard to see Hegseth winning Senate confirmation for one of the most important cabinet positions in existence.

Jeff Crank’s opinion on Hegseth’s nomination is not particularly relevant given that he will have no official say in the outcome of a Senate confirmation process. While Crank is stepping into a congressional seat that is fairly safe for a Republican, publicly supporting Pete freaking Hegseth as his first order of business does not strike us as a politically-wise decision.

Generally speaking, we would avoid going to bat for an alleged alcoholic rapist in any scenario.