Raja Krishnamoorthi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raja Krishnamoorthi
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Official portrait, 2017
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| Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party | |
| Assumed office February 1, 2023 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 8th district |
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| Assumed office January 3, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Tammy Duckworth |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Subramanian Raja Krishnamoorthi
July 19, 1973 New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Priya Krishnamoorthi |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Princeton University (BS) Harvard University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | |
Subramanian Raja Krishnamoorthi (born July 19, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician. Since 2017, he has been a U.S. representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district. This area includes several suburbs west and northwest of Chicago, like Schaumburg and Elgin.
Krishnamoorthi was born in New Delhi, India, and grew up in Peoria, Illinois. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is the first person of South Asian descent to be a Ranking Member (a leader of the minority party) of a full committee in the U.S. Congress.
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Raja Krishnamoorthi was born in 1973 in New Delhi, India, to a Tamil-speaking family. When he was just three months old, his family moved to Buffalo, New York, so his father could attend graduate school. The family faced some financial struggles at first.
In 1980, they moved to Peoria, Illinois. His father became a professor at Bradley University, and their life became more stable. Krishnamoorthi went to public schools in Peoria and graduated as a valedictorian (one of the top students) from Richwoods High School.
He went on to study at Princeton University, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering with the highest honors. After Princeton, he earned a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he also graduated with honors.
Career Before Congress
After law school, Krishnamoorthi worked as a law clerk for a federal judge. He later helped on Barack Obama's political campaigns, including his successful 2004 run for the United States Senate.
He also worked for the state of Illinois. He was a special assistant attorney general, where he helped create a unit to fight corruption. From 2007 to 2009, he was the deputy state treasurer for Illinois. Before joining Congress, he was the president of small technology companies in the Chicago area.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
Krishnamoorthi first ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 but did not win the Democratic party's nomination. He ran again in 2016 when the seat became open. This time, he won the primary election with 57% of the vote.
In the main election in November 2016, he defeated his Republican opponent with 58.1% of the vote. He has been reelected several times since then, often winning by large margins.
Working in Congress
Krishnamoorthi was sworn into office on January 3, 2017. He has focused on several key areas during his time in Congress. He has voted in line with President Joe Biden's positions 100% of the time during the 117th United States Congress.
Job Training and Education
In 2017, Krishnamoorthi helped lead a bill to improve career and technical education. This type of education helps students prepare for skilled jobs. The bill, called the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, passed with support from both parties and was signed into law in 2018.
Health Care
Krishnamoorthi is a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). He has argued that getting rid of the ACA would hurt the economy and many families. He believes that good health coverage is important for both workers and businesses.
Immigration
In 2017, when President Trump issued an order restricting travel from several Muslim-majority countries, Krishnamoorthi went to Chicago's O'Hare Airport to help people who were detained. He spoke out against the order, saying it was unfair to people who had followed the law to come to the U.S.
Fighting the Youth Vaping Epidemic
Time magazine once called Krishnamoorthi the vaping industry's "biggest enemy in D.C." As a leader of a House subcommittee, he held hearings in 2019 to investigate how e-cigarette companies marketed their products, especially to young people.
His work led to the FDA sending a warning to the e-cigarette maker Juul. He also helped pass laws to reduce e-cigarette use among teens and increase funding for prevention programs.
COVID-19 Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Krishnamoorthi supported major laws to help the country. This included the CARES Act, which provided financial relief to people and businesses. He also helped write the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act to help small businesses keep their employees.
As a subcommittee chairman, he led investigations into the government's response to the pandemic. This included looking into shortages of medical equipment and how government funds were used.
Impeachment of Donald Trump
Krishnamoorthi was involved in both impeachments of President Donald Trump. Impeachment is a process the Congress can use to charge a high-level official with a crime. As a member of the Intelligence and Oversight committees, he questioned witnesses during the first impeachment hearings.
After the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, he voted to impeach Trump a second time. He gave a speech saying he was voting for impeachment to protect the "American Dream."
Committee Assignments
For the 119th Congress:
- Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
- Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services (Ranking Member)
- Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- Subcommittee on Central Intelligence Agency
- Subcommittee on Open Source Intelligence
- Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (Ranking Member)
Caucus Memberships
Krishnamoorthi is a member of many groups in Congress, called caucuses. These groups work on specific issues. Some of the caucuses he belongs to include:
- New Democrat Coalition
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
- Congressional Solar Caucus (co-founder)
- Congressional Caucus to End the Youth Vaping Epidemic (co-founder)
- LGBT Equality Caucus
- Black Maternal Health Caucus
- Diabetes Caucus
2026 U.S. Senate Campaign
On May 7, 2025, Krishnamoorthi announced that he was running for the United States Senate. He is seeking the seat of Senator Dick Durbin, who is not running for reelection in 2026. If he wins, Krishnamoorthi would be the first person born in India to become a U.S. Senator.
Personal Life
Krishnamoorthi is married to Priya, a doctor. They live in Schaumburg, Illinois, and have three children. He is a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. In 2017, he and his son attended a White House ceremony to celebrate the Cubs' World Series victory.
See also
In Spanish: Raja Krishnamoorthi para niños
- List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress
- List of Princeton University people (United States Congress, Supreme Court, Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention)
- List of Harvard University politicians
