Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) took a hard fall in his home state after slipping on ice Sunday, suffering “a severe concussion, a seizure, and a slight brain bleed,” and is taking it “day to day” before returning to his congressional duties.
Cramer, 64, revealed in a Monday Facebook post that he slipped on a frozen hill in his backyard while doing some cleanup around his lake house.
“While walking on the hill down to the dock, I stepped on ice and evidently fell hard, hitting the back of my head,” he said.
The Republican said he blacked out until he was brought to a local emergency room, accompanied by his wife, Kris.
“After seeing the emergency doctor, taking some tests, including a CT Scan, and seeing a neurologist, I was diagnosed with a severe concussion, a seizure, and a slight brain bleed,” Cramer added.
“The wound on my head wouldn’t stop oozing, so the doctor punched a couple of staples on the laceration and admitted me.”
Photos accompanying the post show a bloody streak down a snow-covered hillside in the senator’s backyard and two staples punched into his head.
Cramer has no plans yet to return to his duties in Washington, saying within 24 hours of the accident that there was still some internal bleeding as well as “pretty bad headaches.”
“Every day, Kris texts our family tips on how to care for our brains. She is a strong advocate for decisions which promote brain health. I need to pay more attention to her,” the senator also said.
“I am grateful for her and the professionals at Sanford who take such good care of me. God is good!”
Cramer the second GOP senator to take a nasty spill in recent weeks, with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) having scraped his face and sprained his wrist in a December fall on Capitol Hill.
Senate Republicans already passed their version of a multitrillion-dollar budget framework to advance President Trump’s agenda last week.
They also confirmed some of Trump’s most controversial cabinet officials before Cramer took the tumble — including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Education Secretary-designate Linda McMahon, whose nomination cleared committee last week, could still be put up for a floor vote in the coming days.
With the North Dakotan’s absence, the GOP conference in the Senate shrinks to 52 members, which is still a majority.
Cramer also suffered tragedy late last year when his son Ian was sentenced to 28 years in prison following a high-speed car chase that ended in the death of a sheriff’s deputy.
Ian Cramer admitted in his trial to using methamphetamine and bath salts on the day of the fatal crash in December 2023.
The senator has said his 43-year-old son also “suffers from serious mental disorders which manifest in severe paranoia and hallucinations.”
