Two Republican members of Congress got into a dispute over where the next session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly should take place.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) spoke on the House floor, celebrating OSCE’s decision to hold its 2027 annual session in Charleston, South Carolina, back in May. But that took a turn last week when Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) informed him that it wasn’t going to happen anymore.
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“It was so disappointing to me that I didn’t know he opposed the summer meeting till Thursday,” Wilson told Semafor, adding that Wicker’s stated reasons included the lack of “sufficient catering in Charleston” and the high cost of staffing for the event.
He added on social media on Tuesday, “Grateful that the coming OSCE PA annual session will be held in Charleston. Canceling the event would harm the people of the United States because it clearly is a false message to our allies and enemies that America is not reliable.”
The dispute came to a head over the weekend during the 2026 OSCE parliamentary assembly session, which took place in The Hague, Netherlands.
“The matter is settled and no amount of your saying otherwise will change that,” Wicker responded in texts to Wilson that were obtained by Semafor “It is time for you to stop embarrassing yourself and the US delegation.”
“Unless, you immediately stop … You … ARE NO LONGER A PART OF CODEL wicker,” Wicker added in a subsequent message. “PLEASE MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO RETURN TO THE US BY OTHER MEANS.”
Wicker ultimately texted Wilson again and told him they could take their original flight back.
“Sadly, standing up for America almost left me stranded in Europe despite representing our country in an official delegation to the OSCE PA,” Wilson added on social media.
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Wicker is the chairman of the Helsinki Commission, a group of U.S. officials that monitors human rights in OSCE countries, while Wilson serves as co-chair. OSCE has not held its annual session in the U.S. since 2005.
The South Carolina lawmaker said on social media there are “attempts to sabotage next year’s OSCE PA meeting in Charleston, SC!”
