Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) expressed support for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, stating he sees “no reason” to not support Hegseth.
When asked by a reporter if Cramer was “ready to vote” for Hegseth, Cramer explained that he was ready to “give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“Well, I am — I give him the benefit of the doubt. I’m ready to be supportive of getting to that point,” Cramer said. “I’m ready to get him in front of the committee. I did warn him, I said, ‘You know, not everybody on the committee’s as friendly as I am.’”
Cramer continued: “I was very favorably impressed, quite honestly. So, I see no reason, at this point, to not be supportive of him.”
Cramer’s support of Hegseth comes after he previously expressed that he wanted to hear that Hegseth was “committed to not drinking,” as allegations emerged of Hegseth’s drinking, according to the Hill.
Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong previously reported that Hegseth has fought back “against a seemingly coordinated media attack driven by anonymous smears in an attempt to take down his nomination.”
As rumors surfaced that Trump was debating replacing him with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Hegseth told a reporter that he had spoken to Trump and Trump said, “Keep going. Keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way.”
Hegseth has faced several smears regarding claims that his “tattoos were linked to white supremacy,” and “allegations from a woman” claiming Hegseth raped her, among other claims:
The first smear stemmed from a far-left Democrat activist who claimed Hegseth’s tattoos were linked to white supremacy. In fact, they are related to his Christian faith, and not white supremacy.
The second smear was a report on 2017 allegations from a woman that he raped her. However, a police report of the alleged incident showed there was no evidence of rape, and surveillance video contradicted the woman’s account. In addition, no charges were filed.
The third smear came as the New York Times obtained a published an angry email from Hegseth’s mother amid his divorce from his then-wife, accusing him of mistreating women. Breitbart News reported exclusively on a follow-up email that she sent her son apologizing for what she wrote. and she herself appeared on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning to explain and disavow what she wrote.
A fourth smear piece centered on accusations from a decade ago when fired co-workers at Concerned Veterans for America created a document complaining about the leadership, alleging that Hegseth drank too much at holiday parties and after-work events. The piece also claimed that Hegseth was forced to leave the organization, which two other former co-workers and leaders of the organization told Breitbart News was absolutely not true and that Hegseth resigned voluntarily because he supported Trump and the organization’s funders at the time did not.
The latest smear piece to drop claimed he came into work smelling of alcohol — prompting an outpouring of supporter from dozens of his coworkers at Fox News who came out on the record and called it an outright lie and said there was no truth to that whatsoever.
Vice President-elect JD Vance expressed support for Hegseth amid the smears he has continued to face, stating that he “deserves a fair hearing by the Senate.”
