Mondaire Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mondaire Jones
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| Member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 |
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| Appointed by | Nancy Pelosi |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 17th district |
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| In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023 |
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| Preceded by | Nita Lowey |
| Succeeded by | Mike Lawler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 18, 1987 Nyack, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
Mondaire Lamar Jones (born May 18, 1987) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Jones served as a U.S. Representative for New York's 17th district from 2021 to 2023.
When he was first elected, he became one of the first two openly gay Black members of Congress. Jones is known for supporting ideas like Medicare for All, which aims to provide healthcare for everyone. He also supports the Green New Deal, a plan to fight climate change and create jobs. He has spoken about fighting against unfair systems that affect people of color.
After new district maps were drawn in 2020, Jones ran for reelection in a different district in 2022. He lost the primary election to Dan Goldman. In 2023, Jones announced he would run for Congress again in the 17th district in 2024. He won the primary but lost to the current representative, Mike Lawler, in the main election.
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Early Life and Education
Mondaire Jones was born in Nyack, New York. He grew up in Spring Valley, New York. His mother raised him and worked many jobs to support him. His grandparents also helped raise him.
He went to public schools in the East Ramapo Central School District. In 2009, he earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford University. After Stanford, Jones worked for the United States Department of Justice when Barack Obama was president. He then earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 2013.
After law school, Jones worked as a law clerk for a judge. He also worked for a law firm for four years. Later, he worked for the Westchester County Law Department for one year.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
Mondaire Jones served in the U.S. House of Representatives. This is where laws are made for the country.
Congressional Elections
Jones ran for Congress several times.
2020 Election
Jones first announced he would run for the Democratic primary in the 17th district. He was running against Nita Lowey, who had been in office for a long time. Three months after Jones started his campaign, Lowey said she would not run again.
Jones supported ideas like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. He also talked about changing how police departments work to make them fairer.
In the Democratic primary, many people ran. Jones won with 42% of the votes. The election results were delayed because many people voted by mail due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the main election, Jones won against Republican Maureen McArdle Schulman. He became one of the first openly gay African Americans elected to the United States House of Representatives. He served alongside Ritchie Torres, who was also elected from New York.
Lawsuit About Mail Service
In August 2020, Jones filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the Postmaster General. He wanted to stop changes to the United States Postal Service (USPS). These changes were affecting how mail, including election ballots, was delivered. Jones said he sued to protect fair elections.
A judge later ruled that the USPS had to restore overtime for workers and treat all mail-in ballots as First-Class mail. Jones was happy with this decision.
2022 Election
After new district maps were drawn, Jones's district changed. Another Democratic representative, Sean Patrick Maloney, decided to run in the same redrawn 17th district.
Jones chose not to run against Maloney. Instead, he decided to run in New York's 10th congressional district. In the Democratic primary for the 10th district, Jones came in third place. Dan Goldman won that primary election.
2024 Election
In July 2023, Jones announced he would try to return to Congress. He decided to run again in the 17th district. During his campaign, he posted a tweet that caused some discussion. He later removed the tweet and apologized for any misunderstanding.
His Time in Congress
While in Congress, Jones voted to confirm the results of the 2020 United States presidential election. He also voted to impeach President Donald Trump a second time. Jones and another representative, Ted Lieu, asked for Rudy Giuliani to lose his law license because of his actions related to the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
Jones helped stop the deportation of Paul Pierrilus. Pierrilus was a person from Jones's district who was going to be sent to Haiti, a country he had never visited. Jones stepped in and stopped the deportation.
Jones also supported expanding the Supreme Court of the United States. He believed the Supreme Court should have more than 9 judges. He wrote an article saying that a "Third Reconstruction" was needed. This refers to a time of rebuilding and creating more equality in the country.
Committees and Groups
While in Congress, Jones was part of several important committees and groups:
- House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee: This group helps guide the Democratic Party's plans in the House.
- House Judiciary Committee: This committee deals with laws, courts, and justice.
- Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law
- Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet
- House Committee on Education and Labor: This committee focuses on education and jobs.
- Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
- Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment
- House Committee on Ethics: This committee makes sure members of Congress follow rules of conduct.
He was also a member of these groups:
- Congressional Progressive Caucus: A group of lawmakers who support progressive policies.
- Congressional Black Caucus: A group of African American members of Congress.
- Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus (co-chair): A group that works for the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
After Congress
In 2023, Jones was appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. This is a government agency that looks into and reports on civil rights issues. In the same year, he started working for CNN as a commentator. He also began working with Future Forward USA Action, a group that supports progressive causes.
Personal Life
Mondaire Jones shared publicly that he is gay when he was 24 years old. He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Spring Valley. In 2020, a magazine called Queerty recognized Jones as one of 50 people "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people." This was to mark 50 years since the first gay Pride parade.
Election History Summary
Mondaire Jones has participated in several elections.
2020 Elections
In the 2020 Democratic primary for New York's 17th congressional district, Mondaire Jones won with about 41.9% of the votes. Other candidates included Adam Schleifer, Evelyn Farkas, David Carlucci, and David Buchwald.
In the 2020 general election for the 17th district, Mondaire Jones won with about 59.3% of the total votes. He ran as a Democrat and also received votes from the Working Families Party. His main opponent was Maureen McArdle Schulman, a Republican.
2022 Election
In the 2022 Democratic primary for New York's 10th congressional district, Mondaire Jones received about 18.2% of the votes. Dan Goldman won this primary with 25.8% of the votes.
2024 Election
In the 2024 Working Families primary for New York's 17th congressional district, Mondaire Jones received about 40.7% of the votes, losing to Anthony Frascone.
See also
- List of African-American United States representatives
- List of LGBT members of the United States Congress
