Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall had previously challenged the 2020 presidential election results.
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Thursday declined to call President Joe Biden the "duly elected" and "lawfully serving" president of the United States.
The refusal came as Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island questioned Marshall during the fourth day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Marshall, invited by Republican leadership, testified against Jackson's confirmation before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"Is Joseph R. Biden of Delaware the duly elected and lawfully serving president of the United States of America?" Whitehouse asked Marshall.
Marshall replied, "He is the president of this country."
Whitehouse pressed Marshall again, asking: "Is he the duly elected and lawfully serving president of the United States?"
"He is the president of our country," Marshall repeated.
"Are you answering that omitting the language 'duly elected and lawfully serving' purposefully?" Whitehouse asked.
"I'm answering the question. He is the president of the United States," Marshall said again.
"And you have no view as to whether he was duly elected or is lawfully serving?" Whitehouse asked for the last time.
"I'm telling you he's the president of the United States," Marshall replied.
—CSPAN (@cspan) March 24, 2022
Marshall challenged the 2020 presidential election results by signing on to a brief that asked the Supreme Court to reject the votes in four key battleground states that then-nominee Joe Biden won. The Supreme Court tossed out the lawsuit, which was brought by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton and backed by the Trump campaign.
Marshall also served as the head of the Republican Attorneys General Association's fundraising arm, which sent a robocall promoting former President Donald Trump's January 6 rally that took place before rioters stormed the Capitol, The Tennessean reported. Marshall, at the time, condemned the call and said he was "unaware of unauthorized decisions."
During Thursday's hearing, Marshall said, "We've denounced lawlessness, not only as it related to what took place on January 6, but also the lawlessness that continues to go on in our country with violent crime."
A spokesperson for Marshall did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
