Pramila Jayapal
Chair of theCongressional Progressive Caucus
In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2025 Serving with Mark Pocan (2019–2021)
Preceded by	Raúl Grijalva
Succeeded by	Greg Casar
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2017
Preceded by	Jim McDermott
Member of theWashington Senate from the37th district
In office January 12, 2015 – December 11, 2016
Preceded by	Adam Kline
Succeeded by	Rebecca Saldaña
Personal details
Born	(1965-09-21)September 21, 1965 (age 59) Chennai,Madras (nowTamil Nadu,India)
Citizenship	Indian (1965–2000) American (2000–present)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Steve Williamson
Children	2
Relatives	Maya Jayapal (mother) Susheela Jayapal (sister)
Education	Georgetown University (BA) Northwestern University (MBA)
Signature
Website	House website
Jayapal's voice Jayapal on her support for theAmerican Families Plan Recorded June 15, 2021

Pramila Jayapal^[a] (born September 21, 1965)^[1] is an American politician serving as theU.S. representative fromWashington's 7th congressional district since 2017. A member of theDemocratic Party, she represents most ofSeattle, as well as some suburban areas ofKing County. Jayapal represented the37th legislative district in theWashington State Senate from 2015 to 2017. She is the firstIndian-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district's first female member of Congress, she is also the firstAsian American to representWashington at the federal level.

Before entering electoral politics, Jayapal was a Seattle-basedcivil rights activist, serving until 2012 as the executive director of OneAmerica, a pro-immigrant advocacy group.^[2] She founded the organization, originally called Hate Free Zone, after theSeptember 11 attacks. Jayapal co-chaired theCongressional Progressive Caucus from 2019 to 2021, henceforth serving as chair.^[3] She serves on both theJudiciary Committee andBudget Committee.^[4]

Jayapal was born into aMalayali family inChennai,India, toMaya Jayapal, a writer, and Jayapal Menon, a marketing professional. She spent most of her childhood inIndonesia andSingapore.^[5][6] Jayapal attendedJakarta Intercultural School.^[7] She immigrated to the U.S. in 1982, at age 16, to attend college. She earned aBA fromGeorgetown University and anMBA from theKellogg School of Management atNorthwestern University.^[8]

After graduating from college Jayapal worked forPaineWebber as afinancial analyst. At PaineWebber, she began to work on development projects fromChicago toThailand. Later, she briefly worked in sales and marketing for a medical company before moving into the public sector in 1991.^[9]

Jayapal founded Hate Free Zone after the 2001September 11 attacks as an advocacy group for immigrant groups. Hate Free Zone registered new American citizens to vote and lobbied on immigration reform and related issues. It successfully sued theBush Administration's Immigration and Naturalization Services to prevent the deportation of over 4,000Somalis across the country.^[10] In 2008, the group changed its name to OneAmerica.^[11][12] Jayapal stepped down from her leadership position in May 2012. In 2013, she was recognized by theWhite House as a "Champion of Change".^[13][14]

On June 29, 2018, Jayapal participated inWomen Disobey and the sit-in at theHart Senate Office Building to protest theTrump administration's"zero-tolerance" approach to illegal immigration.^[15] The protest resulted in the arrest of over 500 people, including Jayapal. She said she was "proud to have been arrested" for protesting the administration's "inhumane and cruel" policy.^[16]

Jayapal served on the Mayoral Advisory Committee that negotiated Seattle's $15 minimum wage^[17] and co-chaired the mayor's police chief search committee, which resulted in the unanimous selection of the city's first female police chief.^[18]

After State SenatorAdam Kline announced his retirement in early 2014, Jayapal entered the race to succeed him. She was endorsed by Seattle MayorEd Murray^[11] and won more than 51% of the vote in the August 5 primary, out of a field of six candidates.^[19] She defeated fellow Democrat Louis Watanabe in November.^[20]

In the Washington State Senate, Jayapal was the primary sponsor of SB 5863, which directs the Washington State Department of Transportation to administer a pre-apprenticeship program targeting women and people of color; the bill passed into law in July 2015.^[21] She co-sponsored a bill to test and track thousands of police departmentrape kits.^[22]

Jayapal endorsedSenatorBernie Sanders forPresident of the United States in the2016 Democratic primaries.^[23]

In January 2016, Jayapal declared her candidacy for Congress inWashington's 7th congressional district, after RepresentativeJim McDermott announced his retirement.^[24] In April, she was endorsed byBernie Sanders.^[25] On August 2, Jayapal finished first in the top-two primary, alongside state representativeBrady Walkinshaw, also a Democrat.^[26] This was the first time in the state's history that a federal seat was contested by two Democrats. Both identified as progressive Democrats.^[27] The 7th is the most Democratic district in thePacific Northwest, and the seat was all but certain to stay in Democratic hands even if a Republican took the second spot in the primary.

In the final weeks of the race, Jayapal and her supporters contested claims from Walkinshaw that she had not advanced enough legislation.^[28][29] Jayapal won the general election with 56% of the vote.^[30]

Jayapal became the firstIndian-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.^[31][32]

On January 6, 2017, Jayapal objected to Georgia's 16electoral votes, whichDonald Trump had won by over 200,000 votes.^[33] Because no senator joined her objection, the objection was dismissed.^[34]

During Trump's inauguration, Jayapal met with constituents in her congressional district instead of attending the ceremony.^[35]The Nation called her "a leader of the resistance," quoting Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi calling Jayapal "a rising star in the Democratic caucus."^[36] In September, RepresentativeDon Young apologized to her after calling her "young lady" in an exchange that wentviral.^[37] Jayapal has described facing sexism from colleagues in Congress.^[38]

On January 20, 2020, Jayapal endorsed SenatorBernie Sanders in the2020 Democratic presidential primaries.^[39][40]

In September 2021,BuzzFeed reported that 14 former staffers had described Jayapal's congressional office as a volatile and dysfunctional workplace. Jayapal's office responded with a statement calling the allegations "sexist", "ugly stereotypes", and lacking context.^[41]

In 2024, Jayapal raised over $400,000 for the election campaign ofVice President Harris, as well as making other public statements in praise of Harris.^[42]

Jayapal voted against a House resolution condemning theU.N. Security Councilresolution onIsraeli settlements built on theoccupied Palestinian territories in theWest Bank.^[43] In July 2019, she voted against a House resolution condemning theBoycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. The resolution passed 398–17.^[44] On July 16, 2023, she addressed the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and described Israel as a “racist state”. Later, she apologized for the remarks and issued a statement criticizing the government ofBenjamin Netanyahu as "extreme right-wing" and said it had "engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies". She voted for a resolution proposed byAugust Pfluger which states that “the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state", that Congress rejects "all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia" and that “the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel."^[45][46]

On April 25, 2018, 57 members of the House of Representatives, including Jayapal,^[47] released a condemnation ofHolocaust distortion inUkraine andPoland.^[48] They criticized Poland'snew Holocaust law, which would criminalize accusing Poles (as a nation^{[nb 1]}) of complicity in theHolocaust,^[50] and Ukraine's2015 memory laws glorifying theUkrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and its pro-Nazi leaders, such asRoman Shukhevych.^[47]

In April 2019, after the House passed the resolution withdrawing American support for theSaudi-led coalition in Yemen, Jayapal was one of nine lawmakers to sign a letter to Trump requesting a meeting with him and urging him to sign "Senate Joint Resolution 7, which invokes theWar Powers Act of 1973 to end unauthorized US military participation in the Saudi-led coalition's armed conflict againstYemen's Houthi forces, initiated in 2015 by the Obama administration." They asserted the "Saudi-led coalition's imposition of an air-land-and-sea blockade as part of its war against Yemen’s Houthis has continued to prevent the unimpeded distribution of these vital commodities, contributing to the suffering and death of vast numbers of civilians throughout the country" and that Trump's approval of the resolution through his signing would give a "powerful signal to the Saudi-led coalition to bring the four-year-old war to a close".^[51]

In December 2019, Jayapal introduced a bill to urgeIndia to lift curbs on communications in Kashmir. These curbs were introduced as part ofrevocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.^[52] Later that month, theForeign Minister of India canceled a meeting with U.S. lawmakers, citing Jayapal's inclusion on the invitee list.^[53] The bill has seen no movement since its introduction in Congress.^[54]

An October 24, 2022, letter, led by Jayapal and signed by 30 progressive Democrats, called on President Biden to pursue negotiations withVladimir Putin to end theinvasion of Ukraine. The letter was withdrawn a day later after Jayapal said it was drafted months ago and was released by a staffer "without vetting". The reason for the retraction was disputed, andPolitico reported that Jayapal approved the letter's release on October 24.^[55]

On July 6, 2023, US PresidentJoe Biden authorized the provision ofcluster munitions to Ukraine in support of aUkrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces in Russian-occupied southeastern Ukraine.^[56] Jayapal opposed the decision of the Biden administration to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine.^[57]

Jayapal supports decreasingU.S. military spending.^[58] She,Barbara Lee andMark Pocan attempted to reduce the size of the $740 billionNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, but their motion failed 93-324.^[59]

Jayapal was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.^[60]

She supportsuniversal health care and co-sponsored the Expanded and Improved Medicare For All Act.^[61]

In February 2019, Jayapal sponsored and introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2019 with more than 100 co-sponsors. The bill would create a publicly financed comprehensive, universal, and guaranteed healthcare insurance system for every U.S. resident. It represented the continuation of progressives' long-term campaign in Congress to introduce a guaranteed health care system.^[62][63] In 2021, Jayapal introduced similar legislation for the 117th Congress.^[64]

Jayapal and RepresentativeJamie Raskin introduced the Trump Transparency Package, a series of bills aimed at promoting transparency and eliminating conflicts of interest in the Trump White House.^[65]

She supports a ban on members trading in stocks.^[66][67]

Jayapal and her fellow co-chairs of the United for Climate and Environmental Justice Task Force introduced a package ofenvironmental justice bills to fight theimpact of climate change onfrontline communities.^[68]

Jayapal is a co-sponsor of legislation intended to make public colleges and universities free for most families and significantly reduce student debt.^[69] Jayapal is a supporter of Illinois Rep.Jesús "Chuy" García'sNew Way Forward Act, which calls forimmigration reform.^[70][71] Jayapal is also a supporter of theEqual Rights Amendment.^[72]

• Senior Whip,Democratic Caucus of the United States House of Representatives
• Vice Ranking Member,United States House Committee on the Budget
• Chair,Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Co-chair and co-founder, United for Climate and Environmental Justice Task Force
• Chair, Immigration Task Force,Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)
• Co-chair, Women's Working Group on Immigration Reform
• DNC Transition Team Member

• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship
  • Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law
• Committee on Education and Labor
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development
  • Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
• Committee on the Budget

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus^[73]
• Medicare for All Caucus
• Congressional Freethought Caucus
• Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus (vice chair)
• Congressional Progressive Caucus (chair)^[74]

Jayapal was formerly married to Alan Preston.^[75] She initially lost hergreen card when she gave birth prematurely in India and was unable to return in time to maintain Permanent Resident status.^[76] She became a U.S. citizen in 2000.^[12] She is the author ofPilgrimage: One Woman's Return to a Changing India, published in March 2000.^[77][78]

Jayapal lives inSeattle with her husband, Steven R. Williamson.^[79] Kashika, Jayapal's child from her previous marriage to Preston, istransgender and previously identified asnon-binary.^[80][81] She also has a stepson, Michael.^[4] In 2019, Jayapal publicly wrote that she had chosen to abort a pregnancy because it risked her and the unborn child's health.^[82]

Jayapal's older sisterSusheela has served on theMultnomah County Commission since 2019.^[83] Susheela announced that she is running inOregon's 3rd congressional district afterEarl Blumenauer announced that he is retiring in the2024 election.^[84][85][86] Susheela ultimately lost toMaxine Dexter in the Democratic primary.^[87]

Jayapal tested positive forCOVID-19 on January 11, 2021. In a statement released after her diagnosis, she criticized her Republican colleagues for refusing to wear masks when members of Congress were placed on lockdown during the2021 United States Capitol attack.^[88]

On July 9, 2022, Seattle resident Brett Forsell was arrested after he arrived at Jayapal's Seattle house and yelled obscenities and threats at her.^[89] Forsell was released and charged when more evidence had been collected.^[90] Forsell had driven by her house repeatedly for weeks, shouting insults. When arrested, he was armed with a handgun with a round in its chamber. He was charged with felonystalking and released on $150,000 bail.^[91] In June 2023, Forsell pled guilty to stalking and was sentenced to 364 days in jail followed by 24 months of probation.^[92]

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