A Democratic lawmaker in South Carolina has called on his state party’s leaders to rescind their invitation to Gov. Wes Moore to speak at a high-profile fundraising dinner next week because of the governor’s veto of a bill to study reparations in Maryland.

Moore is set to headline the South Carolina Democratic Party’s annual Blue Palmetto Dinner — a frequent stop for potential presidential candidates in one of the most important early primary states.

But after the governor’s veto of a bill to study reparations on Friday, South Carolina Rep. John Richard Christopher King said Moore’s invitation should be rescinded.

“This was not just a policy decision — it was a painful dismissal of the ongoing struggle for justice that Black Americans continue to face across this country,” King wrote in an open letter to his party on Monday. “It was a rejection of the very acknowledgment that the wounds of slavery still bleed into the lives of our people today.”

The head of the party, Chair Christale Spain, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that the organization was honored to host Moore, who she said “is showing what bold, progressive leadership looks like in action” as he works to combat child poverty and expand economic opportunity.

“As a combat veteran, bestselling author, and trailblazing governor, he embodies the values we’re fighting for here in South Carolina,” Spain wrote.

Moore, currently the only Black governor in the country, in his veto letter applauded the sponsors’ intentions bill but said he believed it was important to act faster than waiting on “another study.”

“(N)ow is the time to focus on the work itself: Narrowing the racial wealth gap, expanding homeownership, uplifting entrepreneurs of color, and closing the foundational disparities that lead to inequality — from food insecurity to education,” Moore wrote, adding that he would be proposing policies to act on those ideas.

Backlash from Maryland’s Legislative Black Caucus and other supporters was swift, with longtime supporters of Moore calling his actions deeply disappointing and confusing.

King, who is Black and has served in the South Carolina House of Representatives since 2009, in another Facebook post wrote that it was important to listen to Moore’s perspective. But he said the bill was a “significant step” that would not have immediately provided reparations payments but instead offered meaningful further study of the issue.

Studying the issue is “part of the repair” work after centuries of harm that has largely gone unacknowledged, he wrote.

“The optics of a Black governor vetoing a reparations study commission are, frankly, painful,” King wrote. “And while Governor Moore may feel that action is more important than study, the two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, action without the moral, historical, and structural grounding that a commission provides runs the risk of being shallow, temporary, or politically expedient.”

Moore’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. King also did not immediately return a request for comment.

During his trip to South Carolina on May 30, Moore is also scheduled to attend U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn’s “World Famous Fish Fry.”

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