Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., on Wednesday offered an ambiguous response when asked if Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were legitimately elected in 2020, appearing to align with President Donald Trump's claims of a rigged election.
Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram asked Lummis directly if she believed Ossoff and Warnock, both from Georgia, were elected fairly. Lummis responded, "I don't know."
Trump is scheduled to deliver a primetime address on Thursday, during which he is expected to repeat unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the 2020 election. He is also anticipated to present new allegations and specifically target Ossoff and Warnock, who won their runoff contests on Jan. 5, 2021. Their victories gave Democrats a narrow majority in the Senate.
Trump has previously suggested he might seek a third term, stating last year that he was "not joking" and earlier this year that it would be his "reward" for what he perceives as fraud in the 2020 election against President Joe Biden.
Senator Ossoff commented on X, formerly Twitter, about the report that Trump intended to target him in his speech. "Donald Trump’s spiral continues," Ossoff wrote. "The failed president, pocketing billions as he drives up prices, is afraid to lose the midterms. So he will reheat debunked election conspiracy theories and tell bizarre new lies to deny his 2020 defeat and attack voting rights."
During a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Ossoff questioned Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence. Ossoff pressed Clayton on whether Trump or Biden won the 2020 election. "You refuse to answer a basic question about who won a presidential election, but you ask to lead America’s intelligence community?" Ossoff asked Clayton. "Isn’t it humiliating to be unable to answer this question, to have to indulge the president’s delusions?"
The events surrounding Trump's election claims precede the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, which was incited by his supporters' adherence to his election denialism.