Summary
Roger Wicker was born in 1951 and is currently serving as the senior United States Senator from Mississippi. Senator Wicker was reelected in 2018 and his seat will be up for election in 2024.
Senator Wicker served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force and then joined the Air Force Reserve. He retired from the Reserve in 2004 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Wicker served in the Mississippi State Senate from 1988 to 1994, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District. He served in the House from 1995 to 2007. In 2007, he was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour to fill the Senate seat vacated by Trent Lott. He won the 2008 special election for the remainder of the term and was reelected to a full term in 2012.
Senator Wicker is currently the Chairman of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; and the Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission). He also serves on the Armed Services Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; and the Rules and Administration Committee.
Below is Senator Wicker’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish community.
Senator Wicker responded to the American Jewish Congress 2018 Senate Candidate Questionnaire and his answers are reflected on this page.
Senator Wicker opposed the Iran nuclear deal and opposed the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which claims that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity. Senator Wicker supported the Combating BDS Act of 2017 and the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, two pieces of legislation aim at fighting the boycott movement against Israel. He supported the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
He also cosponsored and supported the United States-Israel Security Authorization Act of 2018, a legislation that supported full funding of security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding.
In 2019, Senator Wicker voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things strengthens Israel’s security, and allows a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.
