List_of_Asian_Americans_and_Pacific_Islands_Americans_in_the_United_States_Congress

List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress

List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress

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This is a list of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans in the U.S. Congress.

Map of congressional districts represented by Asian Americans or Pacific Islander Americans in the 117th Congress.
  State had an Asian Senator at the beginning of the 117th Congress
  State has in the past had an Asian Senator

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The term refers to a panethnic group that includes diverse populations with ancestral origins in East Asia, South Asia or Southeast Asia, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.[1]

Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, Pacific Islander Americans or Native Hawaiian and/or other Pacific Islander Americans, are Americans who have ethnic ancestry among the indigenous peoples of Oceania (viz. Polynesians, Melanesians and Micronesians). For its purposes, the U.S. Census also counts Indigenous Australians as part of this group.[2][3]

As of February 2021, there are 15 representatives and 2 senators of Asian-American descent who are currently serving in Congress. In addition, there are one representative and three non-voting delegates of Pacific Islander descent who currently are also serving. Since 1900, 20 Pacific Islanders have been elected to the House of Representatives (17 of them as non-voting Resident Commissioners, Delegates or Resident Representatives) and one has been elected to the U.S. Senate. Hawaii was the first territory to send a Pacific Islander to the House of Representatives (in 1900) and was also the first state to send a Pacific Islander to the U.S. Senate (in 1990). Since 1957, 38 Asian Americans have been elected as U.S. Representatives and 9 as U.S. Senators. Hawaii was the first of four states to send an Asian American to the Senate (1959) and Illinois is the most recent state to elect a senator of similar descent for the first time (2016). With respect to the House of Representatives, California was the first of 13 states to elect an Asian American to the House (1956), and New Jersey is the most recent to do so for the first time (2018). Three Asian-American women have been elected to the Senate (two of whom currently are incumbents and represent Hawaii and Illinois, respectively), and 13 have been elected to the House (eight of whom currently are incumbents) from six separate states.

Senate

(Note: Senators are organized first in chronological order according to their first term in office, then second in alphabetical order according to their surname.)

More information Senator, Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity ...
  1. [S 1]
    First American of Chinese ancestry elected to Congress
  2. [S 2]
    First Japanese American elected to the Senate
  3. [S 3]
    First Native Hawaiian to serve in the Senate
  4. [S 4]
    First person of Filipino ancestry elected to the Senate
  5. [S 5]
    First Asian-American woman elected to the Senate
  6. [S 6]
    First Thai American elected to the Senate
  7. [S 7]
    First person of South Asian ancestry elected to the Senate; together with Pramila Jayapal, first Indian-American woman elected to Congress

House of Representatives

(Note: Representatives are organized first in chronological order according to their first term in office, then second in alphabetical order according to their surname.)

More information Representative, Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity ...
  1. [H 1]
    First AAPI person elected to Congress as a non-delegate, and also first Indian American elected to Congress
  2. [H 2]
    First Japanese American elected to Congress
  3. [H 3]
    First Asian-American woman elected to Congress
  4. [H 4]
    First Native Hawaiian to serve as a voting member of Congress
  5. [H 5]
    First (and so far only) Dougla elected to Congress
  6. [H 6]
    First Korean American elected to Congress
  7. [H 7]
    First American-born Filipino elected to Congress
  8. [H 8]
    First Taiwanese American elected to Congress
  9. [H 9]
    First Vietnamese American elected to Congress
  10. [H 10]
    First Chinese-American woman elected to Congress
  11. [H 11]
    First Thai American elected to Congress
  12. [H 12]
    First person of Bangladeshi ancestry elected to Congress
  13. [H 13]
    First Thai-American woman elected to Congress
  14. [H 14]
    First woman of Pacific Islander ancestry elected to Congress
  15. [H 15]
    First Taiwanese-American woman elected to Congress
  16. [H 16]
    First openly gay person of AAPI ancestry elected to Congress
  17. [H 17]
    Together with Kamala Harris, first Indian-American woman elected to Congress
  18. [H 18]
    First Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress
  19. [H 19]
    First person of Pakistani ancestry elected to Congress
  20. [H 20]
    Reps. Kim, Steel, and Strickland are collectively the first Korean-American women elected to Congress

House delegates (non-voting members)

Resident Commissioners were House delegates from the Philippines, then an American territory.[4][5][6] Two were elected at-large by the Philippine Legislature from 1907 to 1935, and, following the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, a single Resident Commissioner was appointed by the President of the Philippines (with the consent of the Commonwealth's Commission on Appointments) from 1936 to 1946.

From 1978 to 2009, the Northern Mariana Islands elected four Resident Representatives who had no privileges in the House. American Samoa similarly elected three Delegates at-large from 1971 to 1981 and Guam elected one Washington Representative from 1965 to 1973.

(Note: Delegates are organized first in chronological order according to their first term in office, then second in alphabetical order according to their surname.)

More information Delegate, Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity ...
  1. [D 1]
    First Chamorro person elected to Congress
  2. [D 2]
    First Samoan delegate elected to Congress
  3. [D 3]
    First (and so far only) Carolinian person elected to Congress

See also

Notes and references

  1. [1]
    Karen R. Humes; Nicholas A. Jones; Roberto R. Ramirez (March 2011). "Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  2. [2]
    University of Virginia. Geospatial and Statistical Data Center. "1990 PUMS Ancestry Codes." 2003. August 30, 2007."1990 Census of Population and Housing Public Use Microdata Sample". Archived from the original on August 25, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2007.
  3. [3]
    "Government Information". www.lib.umich.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  4. [4]
    "Map Layer Info". National Atlas of the United States. United States Department of the Interior. July 23, 2012. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2012. The Philippines became a territory of the United States after the Spanish–American War.
  5. [5]
    Berhow, Mark (2012). American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898–1945. Osprey Publishing. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-78200-435-6. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  6. [6]
    Pyong Gap, Min, ed. (2005). Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues. Pine Forge Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-4129-0556-5. Retrieved 10 December 2012.

Further reading
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