Grace Meng | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
孟昭文 | |||||||
 Official portrait, 2012 | |||||||
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's6th district | |||||||
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 | |||||||
| Preceded by | Gregory Meeks | ||||||
| Member of theNew York State Assembly from the22nd district | |||||||
| In office January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2012 | |||||||
| Preceded by | Ellen Young | ||||||
| Succeeded by | Michaelle Solages | ||||||
| Personal details | |||||||
| Born | (1975-10-01)October 1, 1975 (age 50) New York City,New York, U.S. | ||||||
| Party | Democratic | ||||||
| Spouse | |||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||
| Relatives | Jimmy Meng (father) | ||||||
| Education | University of Michigan (BA) Yeshiva University (JD) | ||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||
| Website | House website Campaign website | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 孟昭文 | ||||||
| |||||||
Meng supporting a National Museum onAsian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Recorded April 26, 2022 | |||||||
Grace Meng (Chinese:孟昭文; born October 1, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician serving as theU.S. representative forNew York's 6th congressional district[1] since 2013. Her district is situated within theNew York City borough ofQueens; it includesBayside,East Elmhurst,Elmhurst,Flushing,Forest Hills,Fresh Meadows,Glendale,Jackson Heights,Kew Gardens,Maspeth,Middle Village,Woodside andRego Park. A member of theDemocratic Party, Meng represented the 22nd district in theNew York State Assembly from 2009 until 2012. She is the firstAsian American to be elected to theUnited States Congress from New York.[2]
Zhaowen "Grace" Meng was born to aTaiwanese American family on October 1, 1975, inQueens, New York.[3] She was raised in theBayside andFlushing sections of that borough.[4] She is ofwaishengren Taiwanese descent,[5] and is the daughter ofJimmy Meng, the first Asian to serve in theNew York State Assembly,[6] and Shiao-Mei Meng.[7] She attended Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School andStuyvesant High School with the intent to become a teacher, according to a classmate.[8] She received aBachelor of Arts degree from theUniversity of Michigan and aJuris Doctor from theBenjamin N. Cardozo School of Law atYeshiva University.[9] One of her early mentors wasSusan Wu Rathbone, founder of the Queens Chinese Women's Association.[10]
Meng's father, Jimmy Meng, was elected in 2004 to New York's 22nd assembly district, becoming the first Asian American to be elected to the New York State Assembly.[6] He served one term and declined to seek reelection in 2006.[11]
Meng ran for Assembly in 2006 to succeed her father, but was taken off the ballot when DemocratEllen Young challenged her residency status.[12] Young succeeded Jimmy Meng, taking office in January 2007.[13]
Grace Meng's district residency issues were resolved,[14] and she ran for Assembly again in 2008.[8] On September 9, she defeated Young in the Democratic primary, 59%–41%.[15] Meng's primary victory over Young "sent shock waves through the Democratic Party in Flushing".[16] Meng went on to win the November election, defeating Young (who remained on the ballot as the nominee of theIndependence Party and theWorking Families Party), 87%-13%.[17] In 2010, Meng was reelected unopposed.[18][19]
Meng was the author of the Reverse Mortgage Act of 2009[20] that prohibited proceeds received fromreverse mortgages from being considered as income, so senior citizens can get their partial property tax exemption. Seven other of her pieces of legislation were signed into law.[20]
In 2009, Meng was named one ofCity & State's "New York City Rising Stars: 40 Under 40".[21]
During Meng's time as a member of the New York Assembly,Linda Sun worked as a member of her staff. In 2024, Sun was arrested and charged with several federal felony violations for acting as anunregistered agent of the People's Republic of China.[22][23][24] Meng was not charged with any wrongdoing. In response to Sun's arrest, Meng commented, "Like every American patriot, I am deeply, deeply concerned about the national security threat that the Chinese Communist Party's government poses to the United States, and I believe we need to protect our nation from it."[6]
In June 2012, Meng faced fellow Assembly memberRory Lancman andNew York City Council memberElizabeth Crowley in a primary election for New York's 6th congressional district and won. She received the endorsement of the Queens County Democratic Party,[25] and aNew York Times reporter wrote that she was "poised to become the biggest political star from New York City's fastest-growing demographic group." Meng said her focus would be to create jobs, improve transportation, and grow tourism opportunities in her borough.[8] Like her father, she garnered local community support from theHenan Association of Eastern America, a localHenanhometown association co-founded by Meng's grandmother.[6]
Meng's father, Jimmy Meng, was arrested during anFBI sting investigation in 2012.[26] He later pleaded guilty towire fraud in connection with abribery scheme.[27]
On November 6, 2012, Grace Meng defeated RepublicanNew York City CouncilmemberDan Halloran, making her the first Asian American elected to Congress from New York.[28]
Inaugurated on January 3, 2013, Meng helped form the Bipartisan Freshman Caucus, asserting that "the American people are just sick and tired of blaming each other without getting anything done."[29]
Her district includes the Queens neighborhoods ofAuburndale, Bayside,Briarwood,Elmhurst, Flushing, Forest Hills,Fresh Meadows, Glendale,Kew Gardens,Kew Gardens Hills,Maspeth,Middle Village, andRego Park.
On February 10, 2014, Meng introduced the billTo amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to include the desecration of cemeteries among the many forms of violations of the right to religious freedom (H.R. 4028; 113th Congress) into the House.[30] The bill would amend the findings of theInternational Religious Freedom Act of 1998 by including thedesecration ofcemeteries among the various violations of the right toreligious freedom.[30][31] Meng said that "this legislation would be a new and important tool in our fight against the desecration of cemeteries" because it would "combat religiously-motivated vandalism of cemeteries and also prevent developers from building over cemeteries, a new and emerging threat in places where there are no Jewish communities left to protect burial grounds."[32]
In 2015, Meng opposed theIran Nuclear Deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action supported by President Obama and Secretary of StateJohn Kerry. A press release issued by Meng stated that she didn't support immediate sanctions relief, and believed that the inspections procedure laid out in the deal were flawed. She called for a new deal to be negotiated.[33] Two years later, she boycottedDonald Trump's inauguration.[34] In February 2017 she became Vice Chair of theDemocratic National Committee (DNC) in Atlanta.[35]
In July 2019, Meng reintroduced the Community College Student Success Act to improve graduation rates at under-resourced publiccommunity colleges to have the necessary funding to develop and implement support services for their low-income and minority students. It replicates nationwide the success of theCUNY Accelerated Study in Associate Programs which helps students earnassociate degrees within 3 years by offering a range of financial, academic, and personal assistance. The program has been found to double the graduation rates of participants.[36]
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On February 23, 2021, Meng introduced House Resolution 151, "Condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19," responding to the growth of hate crimes against Asian-Americans, in the wake of Trump's repeated characterization of COVID-19 as "Kung Flu" and the "Chinese virus". It urged education and reporting about harassment. It drew initial support from 140 co-sponsors, and by March 3, 46 more, all Democrats.[37][38]
Meng voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[39]
She was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[40]
Meng voted in favor of three military aid package supplementals forUkraine,Israel, andTaiwan respectively in April 2024, along with most Democrats.[41][42][43]
For 2021, Meng was given a 100% rating fromNARAL Pro-Choice America.[44]
In 2023, Meng was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed PresidentJoe Biden to remove U.S. troops fromSyria within 180 days.[45][46]
In July 2025, Meng said in a statement about thefamine caused by theIsraeli blockade of the Gaza Strip: "It is important to recognize that Israel has facilitated the entry of over 1.8 million tons and over 96,000 trucks into Gaza, while Hamas continues to hold hostages, extort the aid system, and refuse ceasefire deals to stay in power and prolong the war."[47]
For the119th Congress:[48]
Meng married Wayne Kye (계원종, 桂源鍾), aKorean American dentist and assistant professor atNYU,[8] in June 2005.[7] The couple resides in Queens with their two sons, Tyler Kye (계창명, 桂昌明) and Brandon Kye (계창호, 桂昌浩).[9] They attend a Protestant church inForest Hills, Queens.[8]
In November 2013, Meng was robbed and assaulted by a purse-snatcher in theEastern Market area of Washington, D.C.[54] She suffered injuries to her head, left knee, hand, and face, and was treated atGeorge Washington University hospital.[54]
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 6th congressional district 2013–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theCongressional Asian Pacific American Caucus 2025–present | |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 109th | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |