U.S. Senator Roger Wicker bumped from government flight for Thad Cochran’s funeral

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - United States Senator Roger Wicker was bumped from a government flight to Mississippi for Thad Cochran’s funeral and two staff members were demoted over the incident.

According to Politico, the incident “has become a controversy over Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby’s running of the once-powerful panel”

Taxpayers had to pay for this mistake because when the flight was missed, a Navy jet had to quickly be brought in for Wicker and the others to get to the funeral.

Politico reports that when Wicker was trying to get on the plane, Shelby’s staff members said that only Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont was on the flight and it was too full for Wicker to get on.

After this incident, two of Shelby’s staff members were told they could either resign or be demoted.

According to Politico, Senator Wicker’s office declined to give a statement on the incident. According to Senate staff sources, Wicker was not upset over the incident.