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Trey Cranfield
United States Senator from New Columbia
In office August 15, 2021 – September 15, 2021 Serving with Aaron Scott
Preceded by	Jamaal Jones
Succeeded by	Brett Cawthorn
In office March 22, 2021 – June 1, 2021
Preceded by	Rachel Harper
Succeeded by	Joshua Cooley
In office January 14, 2021 – February 14, 2021
Preceded by	Malcom Morrison
Succeeded by	Brett Cawthorn
Senate Minority Leader
In office March 22, 2021 – June 1, 2021
Preceded by	Edwin House
Succeeded by	Robert Sanders
In office February 1, 2021 – February 14, 2021
Preceded by	Selina Meyer
Succeeded by	Vacant
6th Vice President of the United States
In office February 14, 2021 – March 19, 2021
President	Benjamin Bryant
Preceded by	Jakob Ainsley
Succeeded by	Lucas Underwood
Senate Majority Whip
In office January 26, 2021 – February 1, 2021
Leader	Selina Meyer
Preceded by	Rachel Harper
Succeeded by	Charlie Williams
Acting United States Secretary of Defense
In office January 1, 2021 – January 14, 2021
President	Benjamin Bryant
Preceded by	Benjamin Venus
Succeeded by	Nick Jackson (acting)
Personal details
Born	Trey Michael Cranfield (2003-04-03) April 3, 2003 Paoli, Indiana
Citizenship	United States
Political party	Republican (2021-present)
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Residence(s)	Paoli, Indiana Washington, D.C.
Alma mater	Stanford University (B.S) George Washington University (Ph.D.)
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction (Mar 2021) Presidential Medal of Freedom (May 2021) Medal of Superior (Aug 2021)
Signature
Other positions held Acting President of the United States In office February 15, 2021 – February 18, 2021 Vice President Vacant Preceded by Benjamin Bryant Succeeded by Benjamin Bryant Chair of the Republican National Committee In office February 1, 2021 – May 2, 2021 Deputy Brett Cawthorn Edwin House Jeanne Shabeen Preceded by Jakob Ainsley Succeeded by Rachel Harper Chair of the Senate Republican Conference In office March 22, 2021 – June 1, 2021 Deputy Jeanne Shabeen Preceded by Jeanne Shabeen Succeeded by Jakob Ainsley In office February 1, 2021 – February 14, 2021 Deputy Harry Bennett Preceded by Edwin House Succeeded by Vacant Chair of the Republican Senatorial Committee In office February 2, 2021 – February 14, 2021 Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Position vacant Special Defense Envoy to South Korea In office March 20, 2021 – April 1, 2021 President Hillary Cunningham Preceded by Office established Succeeded by Office abolished

Trey Michael Cranfield (born April 3, 2003) is an American politician who is the current nominee for Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration since November 2021. He served as the the sixth vice president of the United States from February to March 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented New Columbia in the United States Senate in three previous nonconsecutive terms from January to February, May to June, and again from August to September 2021, holding the positions of Senate Minority Leader, chair of the Senate Republican Conference, and Senate Majority Whip. He previously served as the acting United States secretary of defense under Benjamin Bryant. He was temporarily a candidate for president in the season four presidential election before suspending his campaign after a week and a half. He was also President Everett Terry's nominee for attorney general in early August 2021, before withdrawing his nomination to serve in the Senate.

Early Life

Trey Michael Cranfield was born on April 3, 2003 in Jasper, Indiana. Although, he has and currently lives in Paoli, IN.

Cranfield attended elementary school at Throop Elementary, graduating with academic honors, winning the honor roll every year. He also received the Presidential Award for Academic Achievement.

After graduating elementary school in good fashion, he attended Paoli Jr. Sr. High School. He was the Secretary of the Paoli Jr. Sr. High School NJHS program, and the Vice President of the 9th grade class (freshman class).

Cranfield is also in the Pride of Paoli band program, one of the top notch programs in the state of Indiana. The band has won 15 ISSMA Championship titles, 6 runner-ups, and has been in the finals 34 times. The program is led by new band director, Benjamin Werne.

Acting Secretary of Defense

On January 1, 2021 President Benjamin Bryant announced he would be nominating Cranfield to serve as the secretary of defense, and until his pending Senate confirmation commenced, would be serving in the position in an acting capacity. Shortly after he took office, Cranfield announced he would be challenging his fellow cabinet official Rick Fitzpatrick in the district three Senate Race, where Cranfield was considered a narrow favorite. Cranfield won the election with 59% of the vote to Fiztpatricks' 40%, considered as an over-performance on Cranfield's behalf, and took office on January 14, 2021, immediately resigning from his position as acting secretary. Cranfield was succeeded by Nick Jackson on January 26, 2021.

U.S. Senate (Jan-Feb 2021)

Elections

January 2021

Main article: January 2021 United States Senate special election in district three

In January 2021 Cranfield challenged secretary Rick Fitzpatrick in the district three Senate special election, contested after the resignation of Senator Malcom Morrison. Cranfield ran uncontested in the Republican primary, and faced Fitzpatrick in the general election, in which he defeated the latter by nearly twenty percent in what many pundits believed to be a Republican over-performance in the midst of a dwindling majority. Cranfield took office a day later on January 14, 2021.

Tenure

Upon being sworn in, Cranfield remained mostly silent, until he began to gain traction within the Republican Caucus' establishment, eventually culminating in the ousting of majority whip Rachel Harper, who two weeks prior left the caucus due to a dispute with majority leader Selina Meyer and vice president Jakob Ainsley. On January 26, 2021, Cranfield became the Republican whip with unanimous consent from the caucus, and immediately assumed the office of Senate majority whip, the third highest-ranking position in the Senate.

On January 27, 2021, Cranfield authored a bipartisan bill with Senator Kenneth Allen of Michigan to authorize emergency powers to President Benjamin Bryant after China directed the striking of a United States Naval vessel with a torpedo, killing 43 servicemembers and injuring hundreds more. The bill passed both chambers of congress and was signed by President Bryant on January 28.

On February 1, 2021, Cranfield introduced a motion to hold a snap election for President pro tempore of the Senate, in an attempt to remove Harry Bennett, the incumbent officeholder. The motion to hold the election failed, in which the motion to reconsider was laid on the table and remained open for 24 hours by vice president Jakob Ainsley. After the vote, the Independent Senators consisting of Kenneth Allen, Rachel S. Harper, Edwin House, and others formed the Reform Party. Soon thereafter, the vice president, speaker of the House, and Senate minority leader all left the community. Cranfield assumed the positions of chair of the Republican Party and the Senate minority leader.

On February 3, 2021, a day after Senator Harry Bennett shockingly aligned with Cranfield in the Senate Republican Caucus, Cranfield and Bennett both voted in favor of S.R. 235 in a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the rules of impeachment trial proceedings against vice president Jakob Ainsley, who was impeached almost unanimously by the United States House of Representatives on February 1, 2021.

On February 4, 2021, Ainsley was convicted by the United States Senate, conducted by a private ballot at the request of Cranfield. Upon his conviction, the office was vacant, and Cranfield was floated as a possible option as a replacement for vice president of the United States under President Bryant. Early in the morning on February 5, it was announced that Cranfield had been selected as Ainsley's successor.

On February 8, as provisional chair of the Republican National Committee, Cranfield appointed former president Joey to former majority leader Selina Meyer's old seat in district four. The appointment received backlash from speaker of the House Hillary Cunningham, who voted in favor of Cranfield's nomination to the vice presidency the day prior. Cranfield resigned his position on February 14, 2021 upon assuming the vice presidency.

Vice president (Feb-Mar 2021)

Cranfield was nominated by President Benjamin Bryant on February 5, 2021, and his nomination was sent to the United States House of Representatives for consideration. His hearing was conducted on February 6, lasting nearly two hours, and he received a sufficient number of votes for confirmation in the early morning of February 8; his unanimous confirmation in the House is a first for a major Executive Branch nominee. His confirmation passed the Senate unanimously. Cranfield is the first federal official and vice president to assume office after the impeachment and conviction of a sitting officeholder.

On February 13, 2021, President pro tempore Harry Bennett suspended the rules and allowed the bypass of a hearing for Cranfield, immediately opening the vote on his confirmation. Early in the morning on February 14, Cranfield received a sufficient number of votes to be confirmed as the sixth vice president of the United States, and took office shortly thereafter.

On February 14, 2021, President Bryant issed a statement that as of February 15, he would be invoking the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution, citing family concerns. Due to this occurrence, Cranfield assumed the responsibilities of the presidency at 5:00pm EST, and remained acting president of the United States until the evening of February 18, 2021.

Early on February 17, 2021, Cranfield announced he approved the emergency declaration request from the governor of Puerto Rico and was deploying 2,500 members of the District of Columbia National Guard in response to Hurricane Perry. Later that day, Cranfield appointed Gerald Davidson to serve as the acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Administration, attempting to build a response team for the hurricane's impact on Puerto Rico.

On February 18, Cranfield approved a disaster declaration request from Acting Administrator Davidson. In addition, he instructed the Federal Aviation Administration to monitor all air traffic to-and-from the island and grounded all flights therefrom. He signed the Puerto Rico Perry Investment and Reconstruction Act early that morning, appropriating nearly five trillion dollars of federal support. At 8:52pm EST, President Bryant informed Cranfield that he was able to once-again discharge the duties of the office of the president, and Cranfield reassumed the duties of the vice president shortly thereafter.

Following the February 2021 midterm elections, where the Republicans lost the majority in the House by four seats, it was speculated that Cranfield may be planning a run for president in the March 2021 presidential election. Cranfield's apparent effort to succeed President Bryant initiated claims that Bryant was attempting to institute a presidential dynasty that included vice president Cranfield and former president Edwin House.

On February 22, Cranfield announced he would be traveling to Sacramento, California for a major announcement. It was widely speculated he would be declaring candidacy for the presidency. Between the evening and morning of February 22 and 23, numerous Republican officials and affiliates of the party endorsed former president and season three presidential candidate Hillary Cunningham, leaving many to wonder about the strength of support for Cranfield in his apparent run.

On February 24, Cranfield officially announced he would be running for president, and it was widely speculated he would be choosing Senator Edwin House as his running mate. Following the announcement, and with the help of House and President Bryant, Cranfield managed to swing numerous Republican officeholders, who subsequently rescinded their prior endorsements of Cunningham. Following his subsequent announcement, Cranfield became the first incumbent vice president to challenge for the presidency.

On February 25, Cranfield announced that he had chosen Senator Edwin House to be his running mate for vice president. His shortlist included Senator Harry Bennett of Washington and Senator Charlie Williams of Massachusetts. Following this announcement, Cranfield's polling numbers improved slightly, but never crested above 40 per cent in the fortnight preceding the election, trailing Cunningham by a consistently considerable margin of around 20 per cent.

Cranfield presided over a session of the Senate on March 3, where numerous Republican officeholders filibustered the Floyd-Taylor Act of 2021, notable for passing the House almost unanimously. After having taken four votes on the legislation, it finally passed with a Democratic majority of members present for the vote. The filibuster was led by Cranfield's running mate, Senator Edwin House, who received stark criticism for his role in delaying the vote for well over two hours. House's filibuster time exceeded 40 minutes, in which he orated about American prosperity and prudence. The Republicans' efforts were a result of the contents of the bill containing the federal legalization of recreational marijuana. On March 5, Cranfield maintained that he supported the passage of the bill, despite siding with House's opposition in the bill's debate period.

Cranfield officially became the first lame-duck vice president on March 6, 2021 when he suspended his campaign for president. He later filed to run for his former seat in the Senate, running unopposed.

On his final day in office, President Benjamin Bryant awarded Cranfield the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, one of only three members of the community to recieve the honor. The outgoing president also awarded the Medal to Chief Justice Everett Terry. It was revealed concluding the inauguration of Lucas Underwood as vice president that Cranfield left a letter for him. Underwood remarked that it was "probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me in government".

Season four presidential election

Cranfield had been considered as a potential successor for President Benjamin Bryant by many, and it was widely reported he would be running for president in season four. In late February, season two and three presidential candidate Hillary Cunningham announced her candidacy, as well as Senator Rachel Harper. Harper's initial announcement was taken in jest by many in the community, and she failed to gain much traction. Cranfield officially announced his candidacy for president of the United States on February 24, 2021. He immediately struggled to gain support, even from members of his own party. At the end of February, Cranfield never polled above 40 per cent to Cunningham's range of 60 to even 70 per cent. Senator Harper managed to garner around ten per cent in polling and wasn't seen as having enough support to even gain debate privileges. On February 25, Cranfield announced he had chosen Senator Edwin House as his vice presidential nominee. This announcement was met with stark criticism and little commendation.

In the first week of March, Cranfield's support continued to dwindle, and while he managed to regain the support from high-profile members of his party in late February, they once again began to turn on him as it was claimed there was a lack of enthusiasm from the ticket. The dynamic of the race shifted dramatically when Harper announced she had chosen former president Kenneth Allen as her running mate. This established Harper's credibility in the ever-changing field of candidates, and this announcement eventually led to the demise of the Cranfield campaign. On a poll conducted on March 6, he managed to only garner around five per cent of eligible voters having polled, and he officially suspended his campaign later that evening.

Cranfield is the first incumbent vice president to have suspended a major presidential campaign before party primaries, and is the lowest-polling executive official to have ran for president in DES history. On March 8, Cranfield, then a lame-duck, filed to run for the Senate seat that Rachel Harper vacated in her run for president.

U.S. Senate (Mar 2021-present)

Elections

March 2021

On March 19, Cranfield won back his seat in the United States Senate and relinquished his duties as vice president to Lucas Underwood. On March 20, Cranfield accepted a position from President Hillary Cunningham to be the special defense envoy to South Korea amidst rising tensions with North Korea. He was unopposed in his race, winning with 87.3 per cent of the vote, and was sworn-in by Underwood on March 22.

Tenure

On March 27, controversy arose when senator Jeanne Shabeen of New Hampshire, along with senator Charlie Williams of Massachusetts worked with Cranfield to expedite the confirmation of Benjamin Bryant to be an associate justice to the Supreme Court. In the session, which was being conducted with a business quorum, four senators were present, including senator Sethyy of Washington. The leadership of the Democratic caucus was completely absent and the present senators were able to confirm Bryant with a simple majority. There was minimal issue with the business quorum model as all present senators voted unanimously to confirm Bryant. He assumed his position on the court on March 29, 2021.

2021 United States Senate confirmation of Benjamin Bryant to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
March 27, 2021	Party			All votes
	Democratic	Republican	Independent
Yes	2 Sethyy (WA) Charlie Williams (MA)	2 Trey Cranfield (KY) Jeanne Shabeen (NH)	0	4
No	0	0	0	0
Business quorum simple majority (3 of 4 votes) required – Nomination confirmed

This controversy gave way to Allen v. United States, a now landmark supreme court case upholding the constitutionality of Bryant's confirmation to the Court. The 1-1 decision led to a deadlock on the court, the first in DES history, ultimately resulting in the failure of the plaintiff's case, allowing the swearing-in of Bryant to happen uncontested. Chief Justice Everett Terry authored the majority opinion, while associate justice Brett Cawthorn authored the minority opinion.

On March 30, the confirmation of Matthew Volfson to be the United States secretary of state occurred in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. During this, senator Jeanne Shabeen motioned to open the hearing up for a full-senate event, which was met with backlash from senator Kenneth Allen of Michigan. The motion was agreed to with four senators voting in the affirmative, and Volfson's hearing continued under a full-Senate jurisdiction. Prior, Cranfield motioned to the Senate to strip Allen of his committee chairmanship, which was agreed to by Shabeen, as well as Democratic senators Alexander Williams and Charlie Williams. This prompted Allen to resign his position as chair of the Democratic National Committee and later his seat in the Senate. Following his resignation, senator Charlie Williams assumed the position of Senate Majority Leader, Alexander Williams as Senate Majority Whip, and Sofia Meyers was chosen as Allen's replacement by vice president Lucas Underwood, the interim chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Cranfield's hardliner questioning of Volfson continued for nearly an hour, pressuring him on his stance regarding the Uyghur genocide and his refusal to label it as such. Cranfield also pushed Volfson on China's utilization of sinicization as well as ethnic assimilation, religious persecution, and ethnic cleansing. Cranfield challenged Volfson on his moral beliefs and the contradictions he held between that and his political ideology. He also questioned briefly on the middle east power balance between the United States, China, and Russia. The Senate rejected the nomination by a unanimous vote and Cranfield was widely credited for having changed the dynamic of Volfson's performance before the committee and the Senate.

On April 1, Hillary Cunningham resigned the presidency for the second time, and Lucas Underwood became the seventh president of the United States. Cranfield was considered as a possible replacement for vice president of the United States, along with Jeanne Shabeen, Charlie Williams, and Harry Bennett. Later that evening, Underwood nominated Bennett as the eighth vice president. It was widely reported that evening that Underwood offered Cranfield the positions of secretary of the treasury and secretary of defense, both of which Cranfield declined.

Cranfield voted to confirm Bennett on April 5, and he was sworn-in soon thereafter. Cranfield cast the tipping-point vote.

On April 12, Cranfield was reported to have been on the shortlist for vice president for Representative Jamaal Jones. That same day, Cranfield unofficially confirmed that he would not be seeking the presidency following his season four attempt. It was also reported that Cranfield was playing a major role in Jeane Shabeen's candidacy for president, and was floated as her number one choice as a running-mate. It was widely rumored that Cranfield heavily considered a bid for the presidency up until mid-April when he saw Shabeen excessively lacking in polls between her, Bennett, and Jones.

Cranfield, despite denying ambitions to be the running-mate of senator Jeane Shabeen in the season five presidential election, was placed on the ballot for vice president as the Republican nominee. The ticket received 126 electoral votes and carried 15 states, losing in a landslide to the independent ticket of incumbent vice president Harry Bennett and Senate President pro tempore Charlie Williams. It is the first time Cranfield received electoral votes for either president or vice president.

Since April 27, Cranfield's position as chair of the Republican National Committee has been disputed with Jeanne Shabeen after Shabeen took the reins of the party following Cranfield's inactivity. Cranfield has not confirmed that party leadership has been transferred to Shabeen, and on May 2, filed for re-election to his senate seat as an independent. On the same day, DES owner Everett Terry recognized Cranfield's chairmanship as defunct and a new party was formed, headed by Rachel Harper.

On May 14, Cranfield was re-elected to a third term after defeating Jamaal Jones in a race that many believed to be solid Democrat. Cranfield carried a little over 53 per cent of the vote to Jones' 45 per cent. Third party Ethan Davis won under two per cent of the vote. After the loss of George Nixon, Cranfield became the most senior senator and Dean of the Senate on May 17, 2021. Cranfield resigned from his seat on June 1, 2021 and was succeeded by Joshua Cooley. He later said his decision to resign back to private life was due to family responsibilities and stated he needed more time to contribute to Young & Associates, LLC, a law-firm for which he served as vice president before his career in politics. He joined Fox News as a weekday contributor before returning to public service upon his appointment to serve in Vice President Nate Romney's former Senate seat in New Columbia.

U.S. Senate (Aug 2021-present)

Tenure

Cranfield made a sudden return to public service in early August 2021, after a nearly two-month hiatus. Upon his return, he was floated as a potential selection to be United States secretary of defense in the newly-elected Terry Administration. It was announced on August 9 that Cranfield was nominated to be the next attorney general and his confirmation hearing was slated for the following week. Upon the ascension of Senator Nate Romney to the vice presidency, it was rumored that former president Brett Cawthorn would be appointed to fill his seat in the U.S. Senate. After Cawthorn was selected to serve on the Administration team, it was reported Cawthorn asked Cranfield directly if he would consider appointment to the seat he was formerly expected to fill. Governor George Richardson of New Columbia asked Cranfield the following day if he would be interested in filling the seat, and Cranfield accepted. He took office on August 15, 2021, his third time serving as a senator from New Columbia.

On August 18, 2021, Cranfield was awarded the Medal of Superior from Governor George Nixon, Cranfield's longtime political ally and close friend.

Electoral History

New Columbia U.S. Senator (Class II) Special Election, January 2021

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	✓ Trey Cranfield	1,145,991	59.59%	+7.17
	Democratic	Rick Fitzpatrick	774,993	40.30%	−13.16
	Write-in		1,848	0.09%
Turnout			1,922,832	100%	−1.04
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing	6.47%

New Columbia U.S. Senator (Class I) Election, March 2021

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	✓ Trey Cranfield	2,119,338	87.34%	+29.92
	Independent	Mark Robinson	307,299	12.66%
Turnout			2,426,637	100%	+35.44
	Republican hold		Swing	19.47%

New Columbia U.S. Senator (Class I) Election, May 2021

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	✓ Trey Cranfield	1,606,219	53.07%	-34.27
	Democrat	Jamaal Jones	1,361,991	45.005%	+45.00
	Independent	Ethan Davis	58,091	1.92%	-10.74
Turnout			3,026,301	100%	+56.44
	Republican hold		Swing	36.15%