WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today released the following statement after the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem:

“During my first year in Congress, I supported bipartisan legislation to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.  Today, the President has kept his word and America’s promise to relocate our embassy to Israel’s rightful capital.  I am proud this long-term goal has finally been achieved.  We should respect Israel’s right to determine its own capital.  Resolving this question will allow the peace process to move forward.”

The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 requires the United States to establish its embassy in Jerusalem.  Then-Congressman Wicker voted for the legislation, which passed 374-37 in the House of Representatives and 93-5 in the Senate.

The legislation includes a provision for a presidential waiver, which must be renewed every six months.  Every U.S. president since President Bill Clinton had signed the waiver, keeping the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv.

On December 6, 2017, President Trump announced that the United States would begin recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and officially open our embassy there.