North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer is recovering at home after suffering a seizure and a brain bleed following a fall on ice in his home state. The senator shared details of the incident on Facebook, explaining that he slipped while walking down to his dock to retrieve a piece of conduit and struck the back of his head. “I do not remember anything from the fall until arriving at Sanford Health emergency room with Kris,” Cramer wrote, referring to his wife. Doctors diagnosed him with a severe concussion, a seizure, and a slight brain bleed. He required staples for a head wound and spent the night in the hospital for observation. Cramer said his condition has since improved, though he continues to experience “pretty bad headaches.” He added that doctors have advised him to rest before returning to Washington, D.C. “I am grateful for Kris and the professionals at Sanford who take such good care of me. God is good!” he concluded.
Cramer, who was first elected to the Senate in 2018 and re-elected in 2024 after serving in the U.S. House, is the second Republican senator in recent weeks to suffer a serious fall. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was injured on Capitol Hill in December. Cramer’s temporary absence comes as Senate Republicans push ahead with a multitrillion-dollar budget plan to advance President Trump’s agenda and confirm his cabinet nominees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary, Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, and Kash Patel as FBI Director.
Beyond politics, Cramer has endured personal tragedy. His son, Ian, was sentenced to 28 years in prison last year for killing a sheriff’s deputy during a high-speed chase. The senator has spoken openly about his son’s struggles with mental illness and addiction, calling the experience “heartbreaking.”