Kai Kahele facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kai Kahele
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Official portrait, 2021
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| Chair of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees | |
| Assumed office December 5, 2024 |
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| Preceded by | Carmen Hulu Lindsey |
| Member of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees from the Hawaii Island district |
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| Assumed office December 5, 2024 |
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| Preceded by | Mililani Trask |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 2nd district |
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| In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023 |
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| Preceded by | Tulsi Gabbard |
| Succeeded by | Jill Tokuda |
| Member of the Hawaii Senate from the 1st district |
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| In office February 17, 2016 – December 16, 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Gil Kahele |
| Succeeded by | Laura Acasio |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 28, 1974 Miloli'i, Hawai'i, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Maria Fe Day |
| Children | 3 |
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| Education | Hawaii Community College University of Hawaii, Hilo University of Hawaii, Manoa (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 2001–present |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | Hawaii Air National Guard |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War War in Afghanistan |
| Awards | Air Medal Armed Forces Reserve Medal Combat Readiness Medal Commendation Medal Meritorious Service Medal National Defense Service Medal |
Kaialiʻi Kahele (born March 28, 1974) is a politician, teacher, and commercial pilot from Hawaii. He represented Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2021 to 2023. Before that, he served in the Hawaii Senate from 2016 to 2020.
In 2024, Kahele was elected as a trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. His fellow board members then chose him to be their chair. He is a member of the Democratic Party, just like his father, the late Hawaii Senator Gil Kahele.
In 2019, Kahele announced he would run for Congress. He won the election in 2020. This made him the second Native Hawaiian to serve in Congress from Hawaii since it became a state. After one term in Congress, Kahele ran for governor of Hawaii in 2022 but was not elected. He made a comeback in 2024 by winning a seat on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board.
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Early Life and Education
Kai Kahele is a Native Hawaiian. His family comes from the small fishing village of Miloliʻi in South Kona, where he was born on March 28, 1974. His parents are Linda Haggberg and Gil Kahele.
He graduated from Hilo High School. He then attended Hawaiʻi Community College and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. In 1998, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Career Highlights
Military Service
Kahele is both a military and civilian pilot. He is an officer in the Hawaii Air National Guard. He serves as a lieutenant colonel with the 201st Air Mobility Operations Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base.
Kahele is a combat veteran. He has been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan since 2005. He flew 108 combat missions and spent over 3,000 hours flying military aircraft. He commanded C-17 combat missions. He has received many awards for his service, including the Air Medal. He was also named Pacific Air Forces Guard Officer of the Year.
Besides his military flying, Kahele also works as a civilian pilot for Hawaiian Airlines. He has also taught at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
Hawaii State Senate
Kahele was appointed to the 1st district of the Hawaii Senate on February 16, 2016. This happened after his father, Gil Kahele, passed away. Kahele won the election for the seat later that year. He won again by a large amount in 2018.
In 2019, Kahele became the Majority Floor Leader in the Senate. He also chaired the Senate Committee on Water and Land. He was part of other important committees, including Ways and Means. Lawmakers from other states chose him as their class president for the Council of State Governments (CSG) West.
Kahele wanted to improve the University of Hawaiʻi System. He introduced bills to freeze or reduce tuition costs for students. He also supported creating a new program for commercial aviation at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Other important goals for him included redeveloping Banyan Drive and getting funding for rat lungworm disease research.
In 2017, Kahele was Vice Chair of the Education Committee. He also chaired the Higher Education Committee. On December 16, 2020, Kahele left the Hawaii Senate. He did this to prepare for his new role in the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2020 Election
In January 2019, Kahele began his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives. The person holding the seat, Tulsi Gabbard, decided not to run again. Kahele won the primary election on August 8, 2020. He then won the general election by more than 30 percentage points.
Time in Office
Kahele voted to impeach former President Donald Trump a second time. This happened after the events at the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. In his first speech in Congress, Kahele said that Trump had broken his promise to the country.
From February to April 2022, Kahele voted by proxy for all 120 votes. This means someone else voted for him while he was working as a commercial pilot. Reports about his absence and outside job led to an investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Two weeks after this began, he left Congress to run for governor of Hawaii in the 2022 election. The committee then stopped its investigation.
Committee Roles
While in the U.S. House, Kahele served on two main committees:
- Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
- Subcommittee on Readiness
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Aviation
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
He was also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.
Personal Life
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When Kahele was on the Rainbow Warriors men's volleyball team at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, his teammates voted him "most inspirational" in 1997. He lives in Hilo, on Hawai‘i Island, with his wife and their daughters. Hilo has been his home his entire life.
See also
- List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress
