GOP lawmaker gifts 'chip of the Berlin Wall' to colleagues in bid for top committee spot
Rep Wilson is in a 4-way race for House Foreign Affairs Committee chair
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FIRST ON FOX: A senior GOP lawmaker is getting creative with his campaign to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee next year.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., is giving fellow lawmakers chips from the Berlin Wall, according to a photo provided by a source to Fox News Digital.
An inscription accompanying the chip suggests Wilson got the pieces himself nearly 35 years ago, an indirect affirmation of his decades of foreign affairs work. "This symbolizes the collapse of totalitarian communism and the success of democratic capitalism," the elaborate display reads.
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Rep. Joe Wilson is one of four Republicans running for the House Foreign Affairs Committee gavel. (Getty Images/Fox News Digital)
It said the chip was "secured by State Senator Joe Wilson on June 12, 1990, at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany."
"Sen. Wilson was returning from service as a member of the U.S. Observation Delegation of the June 10, 1990, parliamentary elections in the Republic of Bulgaria, that country's first free elections after 59 years of Nazi and Communist dictatorship," it said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wilson told Fox News Digital the chips "serve as important symbols of Peace through Strength." His office also provided a photo of Wilson, then a state lawmaker, chipping portions of the Berlin Wall himself.
"This is a critical time and as Chair I am best positioned to work with President Trump to present a unified, conservative vision for the House Foreign Affairs Committee and American foreign policy," he said of his candidacy.
When reached for comment, Wilson's office sent Fox News Digital a photo of the congressman chipping pieces of the Berlin Wall himself (Office of Congressman Joe Wilson)
The race for the House Foreign Affairs Committee gavel is one of the most critical happening ahead of the 119th Congress.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The role will be of particular importance in U.S. relations with the rest of the globe next year, when Republicans are set to control all the main levers of power in Washington, D.C.
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Wilson is running against fellow committee members Reps. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Darrell Issa, R-Calif. The subcommittee chair for Oversight & Accountability, Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., is also in the race.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wilson is chair of the panel's subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.
A photo provided to Fox News Digital shows a chip from the Berlin Wall attached to an elaborate display. (Fox News Digital)
Current Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is stepping aside in order to adhere to House Republicans' internal conference rules that mandate a lawmaker serve no more than three terms in the top spot on a committee.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It has been an honor to serve as your Chairman and leader for the last six years," McCaul wrote to colleagues in a message obtained by Fox News Digital. "[O]ut of respect for the will of the Conference, I intend to abide by these rules and support new leadership."
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"Serving as Chairman has truly been the most rewarding highlight of my career in Congress! I would like to thank all of you for your hard work and patriotism in confronting the major challenges we face across the Globe."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News Digital reached out to Wilson's office for comment.