Gregory Meeks | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2018 | |
| Ranking Member of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Michael McCaul |
| Chair of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Eliot Engel |
| Succeeded by | Michael McCaul |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York | |
| Assumed office February 5, 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Floyd Flake |
| Constituency | 6th district (1998–2013) 5th district (2013–present) |
| Member of theNew York State Assembly from the31st district | |
| In office January 1, 1993 – January 3, 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Anthony S. Seminerio |
| Succeeded by | Pauline Rhodd-Cummings |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gregory Weldon Meeks (1953-09-25)September 25, 1953 (age 72) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Simone-Marie Meeks |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Adelphi University (BA) Howard University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Meeks opening aHouse Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on theUN and U.S. global leadership. Recorded June 16, 2021 | |
Gregory Weldon Meeks (born September 25, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who has been aU.S. representative fromNew York since 1998. He is a member of theDemocratic Party and chaired theHouse Committee on Foreign Affairs from 2021 to 2023. He still sits on the committee as ranking member. He is also the chair of the Queens County Democratic Party.[1] He will become the dean of New York’s House delegation upon the retirement ofJerry Nadler in 2026.
In the last Congress, Meeks's district included most of southeasternQueens, includingJamaica,Laurelton,Rosedale,Cambria Heights,Saint Albans,Springfield Gardens,The Rockaways, and theJohn F. Kennedy International Airport. It was made up largely of economically diverseAfrican-American andWest Indian American communities, but also included a small part ofOzone Park and part ofHoward Beach known asOld Howard Beach, both of which are predominantly middle-classItalian-American communities. He also represented much ofKew Gardens and northernRichmond Hill, as well as the largelyIrish American western part ofRockaway Peninsula.
Meeks was born inEast Harlem, New York City and raised in a housing project. He received hisB.A. degree fromAdelphi University and hisJ.D. degree fromHoward University School of Law. He is a member ofAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[2] He worked as an Assistant District Attorney and for theSpecial Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York before joining the Investigations Commission on official misconduct andorganized crime. He then was Supervising Judge for the New York State Workers Compensation System. Meeks was a member of theNew York State Assembly (31st D.) from 1993 to 1998.
Meeks was criticized for initially supportingHillary Clinton overBarack Obama for president. His House primary election challenger was to beRuben Wills, a former chief of staff for State SenatorShirley Huntley and an organizer for Obama. Wills said, "I was on board with Obama from Day 1; Meeks had to be dragged across the line." Some suggested that a young black political class was seeking to assert the neighborhood's power against what it saw as an older establishment, based in Harlem, that had long exercised disproportionate influence inNew York City.[3][4] Wills did not qualify for the ballot, so no primary election took place.
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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) named Meeks one of the most corrupt members of Congress in 2011.[5] It was subsequently reported that his continuing ethical and criminal probes would cause his premature exit from Congress,[6] but Meeks has denied this.[7] In October 2011,hiphop artist and law school graduate Mike Scala announced his candidacy in the Democratic primary.[8] Meeks won the primary and was reelected in the November general election with 90% of the vote.
On March 3, 2015, Meeks participated with fellow Democrats in a boycott of the speech delivered by Israeli prime ministerBenjamin Netanyahu to Congress.[9]
In July 2020, after the primary defeat ofHouse Foreign Affairs Committee chairEliot Engel, Meeks declared his candidacy for chair. On December 3, 2020, Meeks defeatedJoaquin Castro 148-78 in aHouse Democratic Caucus vote.[10]
Meeks voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[11]
In November 2021, Meeks called for increasing the cap on SALT deductions.[12]
On August 25, 2007,Silvestre Reyes, chair of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and theArmed Services Committee, and four other representatives visited American troops deployed in the southernPhilippines to overview the US-Philippines relationship. Reyes headed the bipartisan delegation, which includedRodney P. Frelinghuysen, member of the Appropriations Committee and the select intelligence oversight panel;Heather Wilson of the Committee on Energy and the Intelligence Committee; Meeks; andDutch Ruppersberger of the Appropriations and Intelligence Committees. They drove to the base of the Joint Special Operation Task Force Philippines (JSOTFP), a US-led body that trains Filipino soldiers against terror in Barangay Upper Calarian.[13]
On the day of thefall of Kabul, Meeks said in a statement that theTaliban victory was "inevitable". He also said, "It is abundantly clear that the Taliban's advance was ultimately inevitable, at least without a commitment to surge tens of thousands of U.S. troops for an unknown span of time. That is a commitment the American public has made clear it does not support."[14]
In 2013,Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Meeks as one of the most corrupt politicians in Washington.[15] This was as a result of claims that he purchased a home for over $150,000 less than it was worth,[16] met with former Venezuelan presidentHugo Chávez on behalf of a donor,[17][18][19] and failure to disclose a private loan on congressional financial statements.[20]
The New York Times reported that Meeks utilizes the option to use tax dollars to lease a car for use as a member of Congress. This option does not exist for Senate members. The lease is forgone by many members of Congress, but Meeks has held the most-expensive lease among all members. He has used tax dollars to lease a 2007Lexus LS 460 for $998 per month. Meeks was unwilling to provide further comment when questioned by theTimes about the lease arrangement, saying, "These are never lighthearted stories."[21]
In August 2022, Meeks traveled to Malaysia with House SpeakerNancy Pelosi and other members of Congress as part of Pelosi's Asia tour. Malaysia was their second stop after Singapore.[22] They discussed security challenges, economic opportunities and governance priorities between Malaysia and the U.S.[23]
On October 6, 2022,The United States embassy at Jakarta stated that Meeks represented Pelosi and would deliver the keynote address at theP20 Bali summit's plenary session on "Effective Parliament, Dynamic Democracy". His speech discussed the importance of defending democratic values, combating climate change, strengthening food and energy security, advancing sustainable development and recovery from COVID-19, and deepening inter-parliamentary coordination to address these challenges.[24]
For the119th Congress:[25]
Meeks hasAfrican-American heritage, and according to DNA analysis, he descends mainly from people ofSierra Leone.[37] His great-grandparents lived inSouth Carolina when slavery was abolished.[38]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 6th congressional district 1998–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 5th congressional district 2013–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee 2021–2023 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 26th | Succeeded by |
| Order of precedence of the United States | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
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