By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
While half of the eight Coloradans in the U.S. House are Republican, when it comes down to a vote on confirming President Donald J. Trump’s nominees, it is unlikely anyone can depend on one from Colorado senators.
“There are lots of Republicans who voted to confirm all or most of Joe Biden’s cabinet, and that’s the way it should work,” said new U.S. Rep.-elect Jeff Crank, a Republican, of Colorado Springs’ 5th District during an appearance on the Dan Caplis Show.
I talked with my friend @DanCaplis on his show yesterday about the left’s vicious attempt to stop @PeteHegseth for SECDEF. Same old, tired strategy of the America-last left. The Senate should confirm him. pic.twitter.com/2bYdN8uQ6M
— Jeff Crank (@jeffcrank) December 5, 2024
He is joined in the U.S. House by Republican U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert (4th District), Gabe Evans (8th District) and Jeff Hurd (3rd District). The U.S. Senate holds the advise and consent approval power over nominees, meaning Democrats Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper hold the Colorado votes. In Mr. Trump’s first term, the two Senate seats in Colorado were split between the parties.
Crank detailed some familiarity with Pete Hegseth, Mr. Trump’s nominee for the Secretary of Defense, from his time at Americans for Prosperity and Hegseth at Concerned Veterans for America.
“The Pete Hegseth I know was a good man,” Crank said. “He was committed to America and for standing up for it.”
But, Hegseth has been disparaged by the left in advance of a Senate hearing, leading some to refer to it as a media show trial for the nomination.
“This is their playbook. They did this to [U.S. Supreme Court Justice] Brett Kavanaugh,” Crank said. “They’ve done it to others. When they don’t want someone confirmed, they try to take a scalp.”
He suggests any claim by the political left against a nominee must include “lots of evidence and proof”.
Crank added: “I’m not willing to defend someone just because they are a Republican. There are plenty of times I’ve opposed someone without ethics or integrity to be confirmed, but the President of the Unites States has the right, just like Joe Biden did, to have someone serve in their cabinet that they want to serve.”
He confirmed to Caplis his support for Hegseth.