Mondaire Jones facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mondaire Jones
Member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023
Appointed by	Nancy Pelosi
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 17th district
In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Nita Lowey
Succeeded by	Mike Lawler
Personal details
Born	(1987-05-18) May 18, 1987 (age 38) 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 congressional district from 2021 to 2023.

Before 2022, many saw Jones as a rising leader in the Democratic Party. He supports ideas like Medicare for All, which aims for healthcare for everyone. He also supports the Green New Deal, a plan for a cleaner environment and new jobs. In 2020, he spoke about fighting unfairness in society. When he was first elected, he became one of the first two openly gay Black members of Congress.

After new district maps were drawn in 2020, Jones decided not to run again in his old district. Instead, he ran for Congress in New York's 10th congressional district in New York City. He finished third in that election. In July 2023, Jones announced he would run for Congress again in his former 17th district in 2024. He was defeated by the Republican, Mike Lawler, in the main election.

Early Life and Education

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. He went to public schools in the East Ramapo Central School District.

Jones earned his first college degree from Stanford University in 2009. After Stanford, he 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

Elections

2020 Election for Congress

2020 election results for New York's 17th congressional district

Jones announced he would run for the Democratic Party nomination. He wanted to represent the New York's 17th congressional district. This district includes most of central and northwestern Westchester County and all of Rockland County. He ran against Nita Lowey, who had been in office for a long time. Three months after Jones joined the race, Lowey said she would not run again. Jones supported ideas like healthcare for all and the Green New Deal. He also spoke about changing policing to fight unfairness.

In a crowded election with eight Democratic candidates, Jones won. He defeated several other candidates, getting 42% of the votes. The results were announced in July 2020. This was a few weeks after the primary election. The counting took longer because many people voted by mail due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2020, Jones filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump. He also sued the Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy. The lawsuit aimed to reverse changes made to the United States Postal Service (USPS). These changes affected how mail, including ballots, was delivered. Jones argued that Trump and DeJoy were trying to weaken the USPS. In September, a judge ordered the USPS to restore overtime. The judge also said all mail-in ballots must be treated as important mail.

In the November general election, Jones ran against Maureen McArdle Schulman. She was a former firefighter. He also ran against other candidates. Jones won the election. He and Ritchie Torres became the first openly gay African Americans elected to the United States House of Representatives.

2022 Election for Congress

After new district maps were drawn, Jones's old district changed. Sean Patrick Maloney, another Democratic leader, decided to run in the new 17th district. This meant he would run against Jones. Many people, especially those in the Congressional Black Caucus, were upset. They felt Maloney was putting his own career first.

Jones decided not to challenge Maloney in the new 17th district. Instead, in May 2022, he announced he would run in New York's 10th congressional district. This district is entirely in New York City. Jones had not lived or represented this area before. He moved to Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn before the election. Some people criticized him for moving just to run for office.

He finished third in the Democratic primary election. Dan Goldman won, and Yuh-Line Niou came in second. Jones received 18.2% of the votes.

2024 Election for Congress

In July 2023, Jones announced he would run for Congress again. He moved to Sleepy Hollow, which is in the 17th district. He wanted to return to his former district.

After the Speaker of the House was removed in October 2023, Jones posted a photo. The photo showed the former Speaker and Mike Lawler meeting with Jewish leaders. Jones's post caused some misunderstanding. He later took down the post and apologized. Other politicians accepted his apology.

Jones became the main Democratic candidate for the race. By April 2024, he had raised over $3 million for his campaign. On Election Day, Jones was defeated by the Republican, Mike Lawler.

Time in Office

Jones voted to confirm the results of the 2020 United States presidential election. He also voted to impeach President Trump a second time. He and another representative wrote a letter asking for Rudy Giuliani to lose his law license. This was because of Giuliani's role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

Jones helped stop the deportation of Paul Pierrilus. Pierrilus was a person from Jones's district. He was going to be sent to Haiti, a country he had never visited. Jones stepped in, and the deportation was stopped.

Jones, along with other lawmakers, pushed for the Supreme Court to have more judges. They wanted to increase it from 9 to 13 judges. Jones also wrote an article calling for a "Third Reconstruction" in the country. He felt that President Barack Obama should have supported expanding the Supreme Court.

Committee Roles

• House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee
• House Judiciary Committee
  • Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law
  • Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet
• House Committee on Education and Labor
  • Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment
• House Committee on Ethics

Group Memberships

• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Congressional Black Caucus
• Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus (co-chair)

After Congress

In 2023, Jones was appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. This is a government agency that looks into civil rights issues. In the same year, he started working for CNN as a commentator. He also began working with a group called Future Forward USA Action. This group supports progressive causes.

Personal Life

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. They named him 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

2020

2022

2024

See also

• List of African-American United States representatives
• List of LGBT members of the United States Congress