Amy Dominello, Media General News Service
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss, speak just before Wicker is sworn in Tuesday morning.
By Amy Dominello, Media General News Service
By Amy Dominello, Media General News Service
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WASHINGTON -- Roger Wicker was sworn in as Mississippi’s newest U.S. senator Tuesday morning.
Vice President Dick Cheney did the honors during a brief ceremony. Several senators came onto the Senate floor to watch the swearing in and congratulate the new senator.
A Republican, Wicker was appointed to the seat by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to replace Trent Lott, who resigned last month.
Wicker, 56, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 when he replaced Jamie Whitten in District 1.
Wicker said some of what he will focus on will include:
Click the play button below to hear Sen. Roger Wicker talk about what Congress can do to further Katrina recovery efforts.
Wicker will serve until a state-mandated special election, which is scheduled to be held Nov. 4.
The winner will serve out the remainder of Lott's term, which runs through 2012. Wicker said he has already spent time campaigning for the seat.
Former Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove and former congressman Ronnie Shows, both Democrats, also announced plans to run for the open seat. Candidates will run without party labels.
Wicker said political pundits have estimated a campaign could cost a candidate between $5 to $7 million.
Mississippi's attorney general, Jim Hood, filed a lawsuit challenging the timing of the special election. Hood contends Barbour should have set the special election much earlier in the year than the general election.
Wicker said he has no control over when the election will be held but that it makes sense to hold the election in November in conjunction with the general election. That would prevent the state from having to pay for two separate elections, he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(Amy Dominello can be reached at adominello@mediageneral.com or 202-662-7671)
Vice President Dick Cheney did the honors during a brief ceremony. Several senators came onto the Senate floor to watch the swearing in and congratulate the new senator.
A Republican, Wicker was appointed to the seat by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to replace Trent Lott, who resigned last month.
Wicker, 56, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 when he replaced Jamie Whitten in District 1.
Wicker said some of what he will focus on will include:
- Ensuring that U.S. troops in Iraq have the resources they need to continue the fight against terrorism;
- Working to move an economic stimulus package through Congress;
“We need to make sure the coming months don’t turn into a recession,” Wicker said.
- And aiding the further recovery of the Gulf Coast from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
“Katrina is not over,” he said. “There is still huge suffering.”
Click the play button below to hear Sen. Roger Wicker talk about what Congress can do to further Katrina recovery efforts.
Wicker will serve until a state-mandated special election, which is scheduled to be held Nov. 4.
The winner will serve out the remainder of Lott's term, which runs through 2012. Wicker said he has already spent time campaigning for the seat.
Former Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove and former congressman Ronnie Shows, both Democrats, also announced plans to run for the open seat. Candidates will run without party labels.
Wicker said political pundits have estimated a campaign could cost a candidate between $5 to $7 million.
Mississippi's attorney general, Jim Hood, filed a lawsuit challenging the timing of the special election. Hood contends Barbour should have set the special election much earlier in the year than the general election.
Wicker said he has no control over when the election will be held but that it makes sense to hold the election in November in conjunction with the general election. That would prevent the state from having to pay for two separate elections, he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(Amy Dominello can be reached at adominello@mediageneral.com or 202-662-7671)