Lummis waits on endorsement

Wyoming's Sen. Cynthia Lummis refrained from formally endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis following the official launch of his 2024 presidential bid on Thursday despite previously saying she believes he is the leader of the Republican Party.

Lummis served in the U.S. House of Representatives with DeSantis. Both were founding members of the U.S. House Freedom Caucus.

"They are friends and she believes his strong conservative policies are in line with where the majority of Republicans stand today," a spokesperson for Lummis said in an email to the Star-Tribune on Thursday.

Shortly following the general elections in November, Lummis told a Politico reporter that she believed DeSantis, not former President Donald Trump, to be the "leader of the Republican Party, whether he want to be or not."

She reiterated that belief earlier this month in an interview with a reporter for Insider.

"Clearly, President Trump is leading the pack for the presidential nomination at this point," she said. "But DeSantis — his style, and the issues he chooses to emphasize — are very much in keeping with what the public is talking about. That's why I think he's the leader of the party."

She told Insider that, whatever happens to DeSantis' bid for president, she suspects there will be a lot of "DeSantis-type policy embedded in the Republican platform."

But Lummis also served in the House with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who launched his own presidential bid Monday. Her spokesperson explained that they're friends and have work closely on issues including banking and housing policy.

As a result, Lummis doesn't plan on endorsing a candidate right now and will support whoever becomes the Republican nominee, her spokesperson said. There was no mention of Trump, who announced his bid for office in November following the general elections. Multiple polls show Trump leading the pack of Republican candidates so far, with DeSantis trailing in a far second and Scott much farther behind.

Wyoming's Rep. Harriet Hageman — Trump's pick to unseat his political foe, former Rep. Liz Cheney — enthusiastically endorsed the former president shortly after he announced his bid for office.

Though he had in the past crafted himself as a Trump loyalist, Sen. John Barrasso has remained neutral, saying he will support whomever becomes the Republican presidential nominee.

Follow Maya Shimizu Harris on Twitter @M_ShimizuHarris