Joaquin Castro | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's20th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Charlie Gonzalez |
| Member of theTexas House of Representatives from the 125th district | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Art Reyna |
| Succeeded by | Justin Rodriguez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1974-09-16)September 16, 1974 (age 51) San Antonio,Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Julian Castro (twin brother) Rosie Castro (mother) |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Castro commemorating the Thursday Luncheon Group's 50th anniversary. Recorded February 1, 2023 | |
Joaquin Castro (born September 16, 1974)[1] is an American lawyer andDemocratic politician who has representedTexas's 20th congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives since 2013. The district includes just over half of his nativeSan Antonio. He currently serves on theUnited States House Committee on Foreign Affairs and theUnited States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
From 2003 to 2013, Castro represented the 125th district in theTexas House of Representatives.[2] While in the state legislature, he served as vice-chair of the Higher Education Committee and was a member of the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee. He also previously served on other committees, such as County Affairs, Border & International Affairs, and Juvenile Justice & Family Issues.[2]
Joaquin served as campaign chair for hisidentical twin brother,Julian Castro, during his2020 presidential campaign.[3][4]
The Center for Effective Lawmaking, at Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia, ranked him as the most effective House Democrat in the 119th Congress (2023–25).[5]
Castro was born and raised in San Antonio and attended Thomas Jefferson High School (San Antonio, TX). He was born a minute after his twin brotherJulian.[6] He has said that his interest in public service developed at a young age from watching his parents' involvement in political campaigns and civic causes. His father, Jessie Guzman, is a retiredmathematics teacher from theEdgewood Independent School District on San Antonio's west side, and his mother, Marie "Rosie" Castro, is a community activist. Jessie and Rosie never married. Castro's mother named him afterRodolfo Gonzales's poemI Am Joaquin.[7] He graduated with honors fromStanford University with aBachelor of Arts inpolitical science andcommunications and earned aJuris Doctor with his twin brother atHarvard Law School.[8] After law school, the brothers both worked for the law firmAkin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld before starting their own firm in 2005.[9]
Castro ran for Texas's 125th House district seat in 2002. In the Democratic primary, he defeated incumbent representative Arthur Reyna, 64% to 36%.[10] In the general election, he defeatedRepublican nominee Nelson Balido, 60% to 40%. He was 28 at the time of his election.[11] In 2004, he was reelected unopposed.[12] In 2006, he was reelected to a third term, defeating Balido, 58% to 38%.[12] In 2008, he was reelected to a fourth term unopposed.[12] In 2010, he was reelected to a fifth term, defeatingLibertarian Jeffrey Blunt, 78% to 22%.[12]
In June 2011, Castro announced his candidacy for the newly drawnTexas's 35th congressional district's seat in theU.S. House of Representatives. He was initially set to challenge fellow Democrat and nine-term incumbentLloyd Doggett, whose home inAustin had been drawn into the district, in the Democratic primary,[15] but on November 28, afterCharlie Gonzalez of the neighboring20th district announced his retirement after seven terms, Castro announced that he would run instead for the 20th district seat. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary, all but assuring him of winning the general election in this heavily Democratic, Hispanic-majority district. At the2012 Democratic National Convention, he introduced his brother Julián as keynote speaker.[13] In November, Castro defeated Republican nominee David Rosa 64%-34%.[16] becoming only the fifth person to represent this district since its creation in 1935.
In 2017,San Antonio Express-News columnist Bruce Davidson questioned Castro's decision not to enter the2018 U.S. Senate race against Republican incumbentTed Cruz, a2016 presidential candidate. Davidson predicted that Castro could have defeated the announced candidate,Beto O'Rourke, representative ofTexas's 16th congressional district based inEl Paso, for the Democratic nomination. "Castro is said to be ambitious, but will he ever have a better chance to move up than in the Trump-era against Ted Cruz?," Davidson wrote. He added that Texas's other senator, RepublicanJohn Cornyn, would have taken advantage of a similar opportunity to run. In 2002, Cornyn, the state's then one-termattorney general, filed to succeed retiring Republican SenatorPhil Gramm, while two other Republican hopefuls,Henry Bonilla ofTexas's 23rd congressional district andDavid Dewhurst, theland commissioner and later thelieutenant governor, vacillated and lost their chances to become a senator. Bonilla was defeated for House reelection after redistricting in 2006, and Dewhurst lost the 2012 Republican runoff Senate election to Cruz.[17]
Castro was sworn into office on January 3, 2013, becoming a member of the113th United States Congress. He was chosen as the president of the freshman class of Democrats in the 113th Congress.[18]
In the114th Congress, House Democratic whipSteny Hoyer named Castro achief deputy whip.[19] During the2016 presidential election, Castro served as a surrogate forHillary Clinton's campaign.[20] He was selected as chair of theCongressional Hispanic Caucus for the116th Congress.[21]
On January 12, 2019, Castro introduced and endorsed his twin brother, former HUD secretaryJulián Castro, at the launch rally of Julián's2020 presidential campaign.
In February 2019, Castro authored House Joint Resolution 46[22] to overturn Trump's declaration of aNational Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States, under which Trump said he would divert funds from other sources to construct awall along the U.S. and Mexico border.[23] The bill passed the House by a vote of 245–182 on February 15, and the Senate by a vote of 59–41 on March 15.[24][25] Trumpvetoed the Joint Resolution on March 15.[26]
In August 2019, Castro tweeted the names and employers of 44 San Antonio residents who had given the maximum allowable contribution to Trump's reelection campaign. He said it was "sad to see so many San Antonians" whose "contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as 'invaders'."[27] The information came from publicly available lists published by the Federal Election Commission. Republicans denounced the tweet, saying that such a "target list" invites harassment and could even encourage violence.[28]
In July 2020, following House Foreign Affairs Committee chairpersonEliot Engel's defeat for reelection, Castro declared his candidacy for chair. The other candidates were the eventually victoriousGregory Meeks andBrad Sherman, who had defeated former chairpersonHoward Berman in a 2012 primary.[29][citation needed]
On January 12, 2021, Castro was named animpeachment manager (prosecutor) forTrump's second impeachment trial.[30]
Castro was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[31]
Castro votes with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time, according toFiveThirtyEight analysis completed in January 2023.[32]
Castro is the son of Jesse Guzman and Rosie Castro and the identical twin brother ofJulián Castro, the formermayor of San Antonio and the 16thUnited States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;[4] he is one minute younger than Julián.[39] In 2019, Joaquin grew a beard so that people could distinguish him from his brother.[40]
In 2013, Castro became engaged to Anna Flores. Julián Castro made the announcement on his Facebook page.[41] The couple had a daughter in 2013,[42][43] a son in 2016,[44] and a second daughter in 2022.[45]
While in theTexas Legislature, Castro practiced law in San Antonio. He has also been avisiting professor of law atSt. Mary's University and anadjunct professor atTrinity University in San Antonio.[46] He sits on several boards ofnonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education, including the National College Advising Corps.
In February 2023, Castro had surgery to removeneuroendocrine tumors and described his prognosis as "good" afterward.[47]
In 2022, doctors discovered that Castro had two neuroendocrine tumors that had spread from his small intestine to his liver. At MD Anderson Cancer Center, he underwent major surgery that removed a third of his colon, his gall bladder, appendix, and 44 lymph nodes, 20 of which were cancerous. His treatment includes monthlyLanreotide injections to slow the tumors' growth, and he receives cancer scans every six months. Castro has said the tumors have not grown since diagnosis, but acknowledged the seriousness of his condition, joking he hopes they don’t grow for another 40 years. Despite his illness, he said he remains more concerned about the country than his own cancer which is why he remains interested in the2026 Texas Senate race. He has three children aged 3 to 11 and lives with his wife Anna Flores as of 2025.[48]
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's 20th congressional district 2013–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theCongressional Hispanic Caucus 2019–2021 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 103rd | Succeeded by |
Chairs of theCongressional Hispanic Caucus | ||
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