Raja Krishnamoorthi facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Raja Krishnamoorthi
Official portrait, 2017

Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party
Incumbent
Assumed office February 1, 2023
Preceded by	Position established
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2017
Preceded by	Tammy Duckworth

Personal details
Born	(1973-07-19) July 19, 1973 (age 51) New Delhi, India
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Priya Krishnamoorthi
Children	3
Education	Princeton University (BS) Harvard University (JD)

Raja Krishnamoorthi (born July 19, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician. He serves as a U.S. representative for Illinois's 8th district. He has held this position since 2017. His district includes many western and northwestern suburbs of Chicago. These include places like Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg.

Krishnamoorthi is a member of the Democratic Party. He is a key leader on the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. He also serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. He is also part of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Raja Krishnamoorthi was born in New Delhi, India. He grew up in Peoria, Illinois. He is the first Indian-American to be a top leader on a full committee in the U.S. Congress. He also works as an assistant whip, helping to organize votes.

Early Life and Education

Raja Krishnamoorthi was born in 1973 in New Delhi, India. His family moved to Buffalo, New York, when he was just three months old. His father was going to graduate school there.

In 1980, his family moved to Peoria, Illinois. His father became a professor at Bradley University. Raja went to public schools in Peoria. He was the top student in his graduating class at Richwoods High School.

Krishnamoorthi then went to Princeton University. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering with high honors. Later, he got a law degree from Harvard Law School. While in law school, he worked on a law review about Chicago public schools.

Early Career

Raja Krishnamoorthi and Barack Obama in July 2002

After finishing law school, Krishnamoorthi worked for a judge. He also helped with Barack Obama's 2000 election campaign. Later, he was a director for Obama's 2004 campaign for the United States Senate. He also helped Obama prepare a big speech for the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Krishnamoorthi then worked as a special assistant attorney general. He helped start a unit to fight corruption in Illinois. From 2007 to 2009, he was the deputy state treasurer for Illinois. Before joining Congress, he was president of some high-tech small businesses. He left these roles to avoid any conflicts of interest.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 2010, Krishnamoorthi ran for Illinois Comptroller but did not win. In 2012, he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Illinois's 8th district. He lost that election to Tammy Duckworth.

In 2016, when Tammy Duckworth ran for the U.S. Senate, Krishnamoorthi ran again for the House. He won the primary election in March 2016. Then, he won the general election in November. He promised to fight for middle-class families in Congress.

He was re-elected in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. He has won his elections by large margins.

Tenure

Krishnamoorthi officially started his job in Congress on January 3, 2017.

He attended President Donald Trump's inauguration in 2017. He said he wanted to show that he would oppose policies that hurt working families. He was seen as a rising leader in the "Trump resistance" in Washington.

He has voted with President Joe Biden's positions most of the time.

Helping Communities

In May 2022, Krishnamoorthi helped get $150,000 for the Hoffman Estates Domestic Violence Project. This money helps local groups fight domestic violence. It provides special police training and funds for counselors. It also creates an emergency fund for survivors.

In June 2022, he helped get $340,000 for the Schaumburg Police Department. This money is for a mobile unit that helps with mental health and substance misuse calls. Social workers and experts work with the police on these calls.

Education and Jobs

In 2017, the House passed a bill that Krishnamoorthi helped lead. It was called the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act. This law helps states improve job training and technical education programs. President Trump signed it into law in July 2018.

Health Care

In 2017, Krishnamoorthi spoke against canceling the Affordable Care Act. He said that removing it would hurt the economy and many middle-class families. He explained that health coverage is very important for workers and businesses.

Presidential Pardons

In July 2017, Krishnamoorthi introduced a bill called the Presidential Pardon Transparency Act. This bill would require that all presidential pardons be made public within three days. He proposed this after reports that the President was thinking about pardoning family members or himself.

Security Clearances

In October 2017, Krishnamoorthi questioned an official about mistakes in a senior advisor's security clearance. He asked if so many errors had ever happened before without someone losing their clearance. The official said he had never seen that many mistakes.

Immigration and Travel

In January 2017, a new rule restricted people from certain countries from entering the U.S. Krishnamoorthi went to O'Hare International Airport when travelers were detained. He spoke out against the rule, calling it harmful.

He also helped send a letter to the Department of Homeland Security. This letter was about delays that caused some immigration applications to be late. The department later changed its mind and allowed people to resend their applications.

National Security

Krishnamoorthi wrote the KREMLIN Act. This bill passed the House in 2019. It asks the Director of National Intelligence to share information with Congress about Russia's plans toward NATO.

He also wrote the SEMI Act and the GPS Act. The SEMI Act would provide money for research into new microelectronics. The GPS Act would give more funding to improve access to satellite imaging data for security.

First Impeachment of Donald Trump

Krishnamoorthi was involved in the first impeachment of Donald Trump. He was a member of the House Oversight Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. These committees investigated the accusations against Trump. Krishnamoorthi also questioned witnesses during public hearings.

U.S. Capitol Attack

After the U.S. Capitol was attacked on January 6, 2021, Krishnamoorthi said that President Trump should be removed from office. He suggested either impeachment or using the 25th Amendment.

Vaping and E-cigarettes

Time magazine called Krishnamoorthi a major opponent of the vaping industry. In 2019, he held hearings to investigate how vaping companies market their products, especially to children. After his investigation, the FDA warned a big e-cigarette company, which then stopped all its marketing. Krishnamoorthi has also worked on laws to reduce e-cigarette use among young people.

COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Krishnamoorthi supported the CARES Act. This was a large relief package signed into law in March. He also voted for other bills to help with the pandemic's health and economic effects.

He led investigations into the federal government's response to the pandemic. This included looking into ventilator shortages and how funds meant for public awareness were used. He also investigated how the FDA handled antibody tests early in the pandemic.

Committee Assignments

For the current Congress, Raja Krishnamoorthi is on these important committees:

Committee on Oversight and Accountability
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (where he is a top leader)

Caucus Memberships

Krishnamoorthi is part of many groups in Congress that focus on specific issues. Some of these include:

New Democrat Coalition
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Co-chair of the CAPAC Immigration Task Force)
Congressional Solar Caucus (co-founder)
Congressional Caucus to End the Youth Vaping Epidemic (co-founder)
LGBT Equality Caucus (Vice-chair)
COVID-19 Global Vaccination Caucus (Co-founder & Co-chair)
Manufacturing Caucus
Congressional Arts Caucus
Community College Caucus
Congressional Animal Protection Caucus
Congressional Blockchain Caucus

Personal Life

Raja Krishnamoorthi's wife, Priya, is a doctor. They live in Schaumburg, Illinois, with their three children.

In January 2017, Krishnamoorthi and his older son went to the White House. They were there to celebrate the Chicago Cubs' World Series victory. He has been a Cubs fan his whole life.