Roger Wicker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States Senator fromMississippi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office December 31, 2007 Serving with Cindy Hyde-Smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Trent Lott | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMississippi's1st district | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 3, 1995 – December 31, 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Jamie Whitten | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Travis Childers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theMississippi Senate from the 6th district | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 5, 1988 – January 3, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Constituency established | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Alan Nunnelee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Roger Frederick Wicker (1951-07-05)July 5, 1951 (age 73) Pontotoc, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Republican | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | University of Mississippi (BA,JD) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Senate website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch/service | United States Air Force | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of service |
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| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Roger Wicker supporting theUnited States Innovation and Competition Act Recorded May 20, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Roger Frederick Wicker (born July 5, 1951) is an American politician, attorney, andAir Force veteran serving as theseniorUnited States senator fromMississippi, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of theRepublican Party, Wicker was aMississippi State Senator from 1988 to 1995 and theU.S. representative fromMississippi's 1st congressional district from 1995 until 2007.
Born inPontotoc, Mississippi, Wicker is a graduate of theUniversity of Mississippi and theUniversity of Mississippi School of Law.[1] He was an officer in theUnited States Air Force from 1976 to 1980 and a member of theUnited States Air Force Reserves from 1980 to 2003. During the 1980s, he worked as a political counselor to then-CongressmanTrent Lott on theHouse Rules Committee. In 1987, Wicker was elected to the Mississippi State Senate, representing the 6th district, which includedTupelo.
Wicker was elected to the U.S. House of Representativesin 1994, succeeding retiring 27-termDemocratic CongressmanJamie Whitten. Wicker served in the House from 1995 to 2007, when he was appointed to the Senate by GovernorHaley Barbour to fill the seat vacated by Lott. Wicker subsequently won aspecial election for the remainder of the term in 2008 and was reelected to a full term in2012. Wicker served as chair of theNational Republican Senatorial Committee from 2015 to 2017 and is a deputy Republicanwhip. He was reelected in2018, defeating Democratic nomineeDavid Baria. He was reelected again in2024, defeating Democratic nominee Ty Pinkins.
Wicker serves on four committees in the 119th Congress: the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Senate Armed Services Committee, which he chairs.[2]
Wicker was born on July 5, 1951, inPontotoc, Mississippi, to Wordna Glen (née Threadgill) and Thomas Frederick "Fred" Wicker, a lawyer and onetimeMississippi state senator.[3] At age 16, Wicker worked as aUnited States House of Representatives page for RepresentativeJamie L. Whitten ofMississippi's 1st congressional district.[4] He graduated fromPontotoc High School in 1969.[5]
Wicker attended theUniversity of Mississippi,[5] where he was a member of theSigma Nu fraternity[6] and student body president.[7] He was inducted intoOmicron Delta Kappa for his student leadership and academic merit. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism andpolitical science in 1973 and aJ.D. degree in 1975 from the university.[5]
After graduation, Wicker commissioned into theUnited States Air Force as aJudge Advocate from 1976 to 1980.[5][8] Starting in 1980, he was a member of theAir Force Reserve; he retired from the reserve in 2003 as alieutenant colonel.[5][9]
Wicker began his political career in 1980 asHouse Rules Committee counsel to U.S. RepresentativeTrent Lott.[4] He was elected to theMississippi State Senate in 1987, spending $25,000 on the race.[4] He represented the 6th district, which includedTupelo, from 1988 to 1994.[citation needed] He amended a 1994 state Medicaid bill to authorize theMississippi Attorney General to contract private attorneys on contingency.[10]
In 1994,Jamie Whitten declined to seek reelection; he had represented the 1st District for 53 years, longer than any other congressman at the time. Wicker ran to succeed him, spending $750,000 on his campaign.[4] He finished first in a crowded six-way Republican primary with 7,156 votes (26.62%) and proceeded to a runoff with attorney Grant Fox, who received 5,208 votes (19.37%). Former U.S. Attorney Bob Whitwell finished 600 votes short of the runoff with 4,606 votes (17.14%), 1992 nominee Clyde E. Whitaker came fourth with 4,602 votes (17.12%), 1986 nominee Larry Cobb came fifth with 4,162 votes (15.48%) and 1990 nominee Bill Bowlin took the remaining 1,147 votes (4.27%).[11] In the runoff, Wicker defeated Fox, 11,905 votes (53.07%) to 10,527 (46.93%).[12]
In the general election, Wicker defeated Fulton attorney Bill Wheeler, 80,553 votes (63.06%) to 47,192 (36.94%),[13] making him the first Republican to represent the 1st district in over a century. This was not considered an upset, as the 1st has always been a rather conservative district (especially in theMemphis suburbs). The district had only supported the Democratic nominee for president once since 1956, whenJimmy Carter carried the district in 1976. Although Whitten had a nearly unbreakable hold on the district, it had been considered very likely that he would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired.
Wicker was reelected six times without serious difficulty, never receiving less than 65% of the vote. In 2004, he was unopposed by a Democratic candidate, facing onlyReform Party nomineeBarbara Dale Washer, whom he defeated by 219,328 votes (79.01%) to 58,256 (20.99%).[14]
Assuming office in 1995, Wicker was president of the freshman class, which included 53 other new Republican representatives, elected as part of the1994 "Republican Revolution".[4]
Wicker was a member of theHouse Appropriations Committee. He was also deputy Republicanwhip.
In Congress, Wicker worked on issues related to medical research and on economic development for his home state. He advocated private-public partnerships to bring investment to rural areas. Wicker also worked for veterans' issues while serving as a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee.[15] In his final year as representative, Wicker topped the list inearmarks.[16]
In 2007, Wicker was criticized after securing a $6 million earmark for a defense company whose executives had made significant contributions to his campaign.[17]
On November 26, 2007, SenatorTrent Lott announced that he would resign before the end of the year to become a lobbyist. At a press conference on December 31, 2007, Mississippi GovernorHaley Barbour appointed Wicker to fill the Senate seat Lott vacated on December 18, 2007.[19] He was sworn in by the Senate clerk just before that news conference.[20]
Wicker ran for the remainder of Lott's term in the November 2008 special election against DemocratRonnie Musgrove, Barbour's predecessor as governor. Wicker defeated Musgrove, 683,409 votes (54.96%) to 560,064 (45.04%). Wicker's resignation from the House also triggered a May 13, 2008,special election to fill the vacancy in the House, which was won by Democratic nomineeTravis Childers.
Wicker ran for reelection to a full term in 2012. He was opposed by Robert Maloney andTea Party activist E. Allen Hathcock in the Republican primary, defeating them by 254,936 votes (89.17%) to 18,857 (6.60%) and 12,106 (4.23%), respectively.[21] In the general election, he defeated Albert Gore, the Chairman of theOktibbeha County Democratic Party and a distant relative of former Vice PresidentAl Gore, 709,626 votes (57.16%) to 503,467 (40.55%).[22]
Wicker defeated Democratic nominee David Baria, a state legislator, with 58.5% of the vote.[23]
Wicker defeated two opponents in the Republican primary with roughly 60% of the vote[24] and Democratic nominee Ty Pinkins in the general election with 62.8% of the vote.[25][26]
On September 16, 2010, PresidentBarack Obama announced his intent to nominate Wicker as representative of the United States to the Sixty-fifth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.[27]
In the Senate, Wicker is a member of the Senate Republicans' whip team and has repeatedly introduced a bill to overturnRoe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision ruling abortion bans unconstitutional. Wicker called theAffordable Care Act the "great fight for the rest of this term, maybe our lifetimes" and later introduced a bill to enable state officials to challenge the law. In the interest of protecting gun owners, he amended a fiscal 2010 transportation spending bill to allow Amtrak passengers to carry firearms and ammunition in checked baggage.[28]
Wicker and RepresentativeGene Taylor pushed amendments allowing purchasers of federal flood insurance to add wind coverage to their policies, helpful to a hurricane-prone state. As a member of theCommission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) monitoring human rights and other issues, in late 2012 Wicker worked with SenatorBen Cardin to enact a bill imposing penalties on Russians accused of violating human rights. The measure led Russian PresidentVladimir Putin to announce a subsequent ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian-born children.[28]
Wicker was one of three politicians targeted during theApril 2013 ricin letters bioterrorism attack. On April 16, 2013, a letter addressed to Wicker tested positive for the poisonricin as part of a series of letters.[29] The letter was detected by postal officials and law enforcement and prevented from reaching the Capitol.[30] The letter was tested three times, with each test confirming the presence of ricin.[30]
In July 2013, Wicker proposed that the Senate meet to discuss a controversial change tofilibuster rules. The Senate held the private meeting in the Old Senate chamber to discuss Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid's threat of the so-called "nuclear option", which would change the rules for Senate votes on Obama's executive branch nominees. Wicker said he hoped the chamber's bipartisan past could serve as an inspiration for the debate about the nuclear option: "I think there are concessions that can be made on both sides. And then I would just hope that, institutionally, we can get away from this mindset."[31]
Wicker supported theBipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 (S. 2363; 113th Congress), a bill related to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation, aimed at improving "the public's ability to enjoy the outdoors."[32] He said, "Mississippians know the importance of efforts to preserve our natural resources for future generations."[32]
Wicker was elected chair of theNational Republican Senatorial Committee for the 114th U.S. Congress on November 13, 2014.[33]
Weeks after the2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign andUmbrella Movement broke out, demandinggenuine universal suffrage among other goals, Wicker joined SenatorSherrod Brown and RepresentativeChris Smith's effort to introduce theHong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would update theUnited States–Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 and U.S. commitment toHong Kong's freedom and democracy. "U.S. should stand steadfast with thepeople of Hong Kong intheir fight to exerciseself-determination," Wicker said, and "speak with a unified American voice in support ofuniversal freedom anddemocratic values. The Congress and the Obama Administration should act to ensure China honors itslongstanding obligation underinternational law to maintain Hong Kong'sautonomy."[34][35][36][37]
In March 2017, Wicker co-sponsored theIsrael Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which made it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts againstIsrael andIsraeli settlements in theWest Bank if protesting actions by the Israeli government.[38][39]
In May 2020, a group of Senate Republicans planned to introduce a privacy bill that would regulate the data collected by coronavirus contact tracing apps. The COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act would "provide all Americans with more transparency, choice, and control over the collection and use of their personal health, geolocation, and proximity data", according to a joint statement. Wicker said the legislation also would "hold businesses accountable to consumers if they use personal data to fight theCOVID-19 pandemic." The act would permit the creation of "platforms that could trace the virus and help flatten the curve and stop the spread – and maintaining privacy protections forU.S. citizens", Wicker said.[40]
In September 2020, less than two months before the next presidential election, Wicker supported an immediate Senate vote on Trump's nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburg's death, saying that Senate Republicans had "promised to confirm well qualified, conservative judges" and that there was a "constitutional duty" to fill vacancies. In March 2016, Wicker had taken the opposite position by declining to consider Obama's Supreme Court nominee during a presidential election year, saying that the "American people should have the opportunity to make their voices heard before filling a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court."[41]
Wicker announced before the2021 United States Electoral College vote count that he would vote to certify the election on January 6, 2021.[42] He was participating in the certification when Trump supportersattacked the U.S. Capitol. When the Capitol was secure and Congress returned to complete the certification, Wicker voted to certify the count, with his senate counterpart,Cindy Hyde-Smith objecting to the count.[43] In the wake of the violence and certification, Wicker called for perpetrators to be prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law" and said, "we must work together to rebuild confidence in our institutions."[44] Wicker opposed Trump's removal from office, encouraging apeaceful transfer of power on Inauguration Day.[45]
In March 2021, after Congress passed theAmerican Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Wicker highlighted on social media that the bill awarded $28.6 billion of "targeted relief" to "independent restaurant operators" to "survive the pandemic". In that post, he neglected to mention that he had voted against the bill.[46]
In August 2021, Wicker voted for theInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.[47]
After PresidentJoe Biden said that he planned to select a black woman to appoint to theSupreme Court in January 2022, Wicker told Mississippi radio hostPaul Gallo that the nominee would be a "beneficiary" of an affirmative action "quota",[48] drawing a rebuke from the White House.[49]
Wicker was one of 18 Republican senators to vote forthe $1.7 trillion omnibus bill that PresidentDonald Trump heavily criticized.[50] He was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.[51]
The Heritage Foundation gave Wicker a lifetimeconservative rating of 61% (the average Republican scored 79%).[52] As of December 2017, Wicker ranks 14th of 98 in theBipartisan Index compiled byThe Lugar Center, which reflects a low level of partisanship.[53] Wicker identifies as afiscal conservative, but has voted to increase federal spending for agriculture, infrastructure, and military projects throughout Mississippi.[54][55][56]
As a U.S. representative, Wicker supported theIraq War and called it just.[57] He believed it was necessary to removeSaddam Hussein from power.[57]
Wicker supported the 2001United States invasion of Afghanistan and called the U.S. withdrawal in 2021 "one of the biggest foreign policy catastrophes in my lifetime.” He also said, "we were better off with a Korea-like presence".[58] Afterward, he cosponsored legislation that would have ended official diplomatic relations with Afghanistan's newTaliban government.[59]
In December 2021, Wicker said the U.S. should consider a preemptive nuclear strike against Russia: "we don't rule out first-use nuclear action."[60] He said this two months before theRussian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.[61][62] Wicker also supported implementing ano-fly zone over Ukraine in 2022, which theNational Review called "a very bad idea".[63]
Wicker is an ardentZionist and one of the most pro-Israel U.S. politicians. According to theAmerican Jewish Congress, he "opposed theIran Deal and opposed UN Security Resolution 2334", which affirmed thatIsrael's settlement activity violatedinternational law.[64] Wicker also voted for theIsrael Anti-Boycott Act, supported the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, and cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Authorization Act of 2018, which allocated military funding for Israel regardless of thePalestinian question.[64] He opposed opening a U.S. Palestinian consulate in East Jerusalem, which would have answered to theU.S. Department of State.[65] Wicker opposes any form of humanitarian aid to Palestinians during theGaza war.[66]
Wicker strongly supports expanding U.S. visas forUkrainian refugees.[67] He previously opposed Mississippi acceptingSyrian refugees who fled from war-torn Syria.[68]
Wicker has been one of Ukraine's strongest Republican supporters. He voted each time for aid to Ukraine.[69] In a press release, Wicker wrote: "President Reagan once called the Soviet Union 'the focus of evil in the modern world.' After two months of unprovoked brutality, it is obvious that the Kremlin remains one of the chief forces for evil in our world."[69][70]
On February 13, 2024, Wicker voted for Schumer's bill to appropriate aid for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel.[71] TheWashington Post characterized this as deserting the Republican Party, when in reality the split was 22-28.[72] On April 23, Wickervoted in favor of aid to Ukraine.[73] It was remarked that "Reagan Republicans", including Wicker,Mitch McConnell, and House SpeakerMike Johnson, had split from Trump, at the time the presumptive Republican nominee.[74]
In May 2024, Wicker,John Thune, andJohn Cornyn urged Speaker Johnson not to agree to anything withMarjorie Taylor Greene, who was plotting to oust him, in order to save his position.[75]
From 2015 until it wasfinally changed in 2020, Wicker sought to change theMississippi flag, calling it offensive to many of his "fellow citizens".[76] 64% of Mississippians voted to keep the flag in a2001 referendum.[77] Wicker supported nullifying that vote in 2020 and replacing the flag without a new referendum.[78]
While discussing Mississippi'sprevious state flag, Wicker said hisConfederate military ancestors were "Americans" and "brave".[79]
In 2015, Wicker was the only U.S. senator to vote against an amendment declaring thatclimate change is real. The final vote was 98 to 1, with SenatorHarry Reid, the Democratic leader from Nevada, not voting.[80] The amendment affirmed that "climate change is real and not a hoax."[81]
In 2017, Wicker was one of 22 senators to sign a letter[82] to President Trump urging him to withdraw the United States from theParis Agreement. According toOpenSecrets, Wicker has received over $200,000 from the oil and gas industry since 2012.[83]
In November 2023, Wicker initially supported the Foreign Pollution Fee Act co-sponsored byLindsey Graham andBill Cassidy. Endorsed by theSierra Club, the bill (S. 3198; referred to theSenate Finance Committee) proposed imposing acarbon tariff on energy and industrialimports based on the good'semission intensity orcarbon footprint as compared with the same domestic good to impose acarbon price on goods fromcountries with greater greenhouse gas emissions than theUnited States.[84][85][86] Wicker subsequently withdrew co-sponsorship of the bill.[87]
Wicker's support for pro-gun legislation and gun rights has earned him an A+ rating from theNRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF). The NRA-PVF endorsed Wicker during the 2012 election.[88] Wicker has said that he willfilibuster any bill that he feels "infringes" on the Second Amendment, including weapon bans.[89] He has received $21,350 in funding from gun lobbyists for his political activities.[90]
In 2009, Wicker introduced a bill allowingAmtrak passengers to check unloaded and lockedhandguns in their luggage. The law passed 68–30. His rationale for the bill was that people's Second Amendment rights were violated on a federally subsidized train system if they could not bring their guns.[91]
One day after the2015 San Bernardino attack, Wicker voted against a bill, co-sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican, that would makebackground checks mandatory when a person buys a gun. He said he voted against it because he feared it would have "opened the door to a nationalgun registry."[92]
In 2017, Wicker voted in favor of "a joint resolution of disapproval aimed at former President Obama's executive action requiring the Social Security Administration (SSA) place beneficiaries on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System 'mental defective' list."[93]
Wicker asked theUnited States Navy to deny the admission of asecular humanist to theChaplain Corps, saying, "It is troubling that the Navy could allow a self-avowed atheist to serve in the Chaplain Corps."[94]
On May 28, 2021, Wicker voted against creating an independent commission to investigate theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack.[95]
In 2020, Wicker received a score of 74 from theAmerican Conservative Union. He has a lifetime rating of 83.62.[96]
Wicker has been married to Gayle Long since 1975. They have three children and six grandchildren. The Wickers reside inTupelo, where Wicker is adeacon and a member of the First Baptist Church Tupelo choir.[97]
He previously served on the Board of Advisors for theGlobal Panel Foundation [de], a nongovernmental organization that works in crisis areas.[98]
The top earmark requester in the House last year—now Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi—has not yet posted any earmarks for this year.
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMississippi's 1st congressional district 1995–2007 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Mississippi 2007–present Served alongside:Thad Cochran,Cindy Hyde-Smith | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theJoint Helsinki Commission 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Commerce Committee 2019–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Maria Cantwell | Ranking Member of theSenate Commerce Committee 2021–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Armed Services Committee 2023–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Armed Services Committee 2025–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theJoint Helsinki Commission 2025–present | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromMississippi (Class 1) 2008,2012,2018,2024 | Most recent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theNational Republican Senatorial Committee 2015–2017 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas United States Senator from Minnesota | Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States senators by seniority 19th | |
Statewide political officials ofMississippi | ||
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| State government | ||
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| Supreme Court |
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Chairs of theUnited States Senate Committee on Armed Services | ||
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| Military Affairs Committee (1816–1947) | | |
| Naval Affairs Committee (1816–1947) | ||
| Armed Services Committee (1947–present) | ||
| Commerce and Manufactures (1816–1825) | | |
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| Commerce (1825–1947) | ||
| Interstate Commerce (1887–1947) | ||
| Interstate and Foreign Commerce/Commerce (1947–1977) | ||
| Commerce, Science, and Transportation (1977–present) | ||
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