Eli Crane

Elijah James Crane (born January 3, 1980) is an American politician and businessman elected as the U.S. representative from Arizona's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Crane served in the United States Navy SEALs and co-founded Bottle Breacher, a company that manufactures bottle openers made of .50 caliber shell casings. In the 2022 House elections, Crane defeated incumbent Democrat Tom O'Halleran.

Early life and education
Crane was born in Tucson, Arizona, and raised in Yuma. His father worked as a pharmacist. Crane graduated from Cibola High School in 1998 and studied sociology at Arizona Western College and the University of Arizona. One week after the September 11 attacks, he dropped out of college and enlisted in the United States Navy.

Career
Crane served in the U.S. Navy from 2001 to 2014. He graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training class 256. After SEAL Qualification Training (SQT), he received the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) 5326 as a Combatant Swimmer (SEAL), entitled to wear the Special Warfare Insignia. During his career, he was a member of the United States Navy SEALs and was deployed five times.

After leaving the military, Crane co-founded Bottle Breacher, a company that manufactures bottle openers made of .50 caliber shell casings. He and his wife pitched the product on an episode of Shark Tank and received investments from Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban. Crane sold Bottle Breacher in 2022.

2022 election
During his 2022 campaign for AZ's 2nd congressional district, Crane was endorsed by Donald Trump. Crane additionally accepted the endorsement of far-right state Senator Wendy Rogers before the date of the primary election. Crane won the August Republican primary, defeating state Representative Walter Blackman and others. Crane promoted the false conspiracy theory that there were "massive amounts of fraud" in the 2020 United States presidential election. Crane called upon the Arizona State Legislature to decertify Joe Biden's victory in the state, and for the Attorney General of Arizona to launch a criminal investigation into alleged voter fraud. In the general election, Crane unseated Democratic Congressman Tom O'Halleran by a 54% to 46% margin.

Tenure
Crane did not support Kevin McCarthy for House Speaker, and was one of six Republicans to vote against him on every ballot in the initial Speaker election in 2023. In the 15th and final round of voting, Crane dropped his support for a different candidate and voted "present". He would later be one of eight Republicans to support the removal of Kevin McCarthy from the Speakership.

Syria
In 2023, Crane was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
Crane was among the 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.

Ukraine
In 2023, Crane voted for a moratorium on aid to Ukraine.

In 2023, Crane was among 98 Republicans to vote for a ban on cluster munitions to Ukraine.

Removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House
On October 3, 2023, Crane was one of eight Republicans who voted to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House after the latter allowed the passage of a temporary spending bill which did not include any conservative policy.

Israel
Crane voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress:
 * Committee on Homeland Security
 * Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence
 * Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability
 * Committee on Small Business
 * Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development
 * Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations
 * Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity

Caucus memberships

 * Freedom Caucus

Personal life
Crane is Protestant. He lives in Oro Valley, Arizona.