List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress explained

This is a list of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans in the U.S. Congress.

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The term refers to a panethnic group that includes diverse populations with ancestral origins in East Asia, South Asia or Southeast Asia, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.^[1]

Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, Pacific Islander Americans or Native Hawaiian and/or other Pacific Islander Americans, are Americans who have ethnic ancestry among the indigenous peoples of Oceania (viz. Polynesians, Melanesians and Micronesians). For its purposes, the U.S. Census also counts Indigenous Australians as part of this group.^{[2] [3]}

As of June 3, 2024, there are 18 representatives and 2 senators of Asian-American descent who are currently serving in Congress. In addition, there are three non-voting delegates of Pacific Islander descent who currently are also serving. Since 1900, 21 Pacific Islanders have been elected to the House of Representatives (18 of them as non-voting Resident Commissioners, Delegates or Resident Representatives) and one has been elected to the U.S. Senate. Hawaii was the first territory to send a Pacific Islander to the House of Representatives (in 1900) and was also the first state to send a Pacific Islander to the U.S. Senate (in 1990). Since 1957, 41 Asian Americans have been elected as U.S. Representatives and 9 as U.S. Senators. Hawaii was the first of four states to send an Asian American to the Senate (1959) and Illinois is the most recent state to elect a senator of similar descent for the first time (2016). With respect to the House of Representatives, California was the first of 13 states to elect an Asian American to the House (1956), and Oklahoma is the most recent to do so for the first time (2020). Three Asian-American women have been elected to the Senate (two of whom currently are incumbents and represent Hawaii and Illinois, respectively), and 13 have been elected to the House (nine of whom currently are incumbents) from seven separate states.

Out of the 20 current Asian-American members of Congress, 16 are Democrats (two senators and 14 representatives) and four are Republicans (four representatives).

Senate

(Note: Senators are organized first in chronological order according to their first term in office, then second in alphabetical order according to their surname.)

Senator	Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity	Party	State	Tenure			Notes
Term start				Term end	Length of service
		Chinese^[4]		Republican	Hawaii				Retired
		Japanese^[5]		Democratic	Hawaii
		Japanese		Republican	California				Retired
		Japanese		Democratic	Hawaii				Died in office
		Hawaiian, Chinese^[6]		Democratic	Hawaii				Initially appointed; later re-elected Retired
		Filipino^[7]		Republican	Nevada				Resigned
		Japanese^[8]		Democratic	Hawaii		Incumbent
		Thai, Chinese^[9]		Democratic	Illinois		Incumbent
		Indian^[10]		Democratic	California				Resigned to become Vice President

Notes

House of Representatives

(Note: Representatives are organized first in chronological order according to their first term in office, then second in alphabetical order according to their surname.)

Representative	Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity	Party	State	Tenure			Notes
Term start				Term end	Length of service
		Indian^[11]		Democratic	California				Lost reelection
		Japanese^[12]		Democratic	Hawaii				Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senate
		Japanese		Democratic	Hawaii				Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senate
		Japanese^[13]	Democratic	Hawaii				Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate
							Died in office
		Japanese		Democratic	California				Resigned Later served as Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Transportation
		Hawaiian, Chinese^[14]		Democratic	Hawaii				Resigned after being appointed to the U.S. Senate
		Japanese		Democratic	California				Died in office
		Indian^[15]		Democratic	California				Retired
		Japanese		Republican	Hawaii				Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate
		Korean^[16]		Republican	California				Lost renomination
		Filipino^[17]		Democratic	Virginia		Incumbent
		Filipino		Republican	Nevada				Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate Later elected to the U.S. Senate from Nevada
		Taiwanese^[18]		Democratic	Oregon				Resigned
		Japanese		Democratic	California				Lost reelection
		Indian		Republican	Louisiana				Resigned to run successfully for Governor
		Japanese		Democratic	California		Incumbent		Elected to succeed late husband
		Japanese		Democratic	Hawaii				Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senate
		Filipino		Republican	Ohio				Retired following decennial redistricting
		Vietnamese^[19]		Republican	Louisiana				Lost reelection
		Chinese^[20]		Democratic	California		Incumbent
		Thai, Chinese^[21]		Republican	Hawaii				Lost reelection
		Bangladeshi^[22]		Democratic	Michigan				Lost renomination following decennial redistricting
		Japanese	Democratic	Hawaii				Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate
							Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor
		Indian		Democratic	California		Incumbent
		Thai, Chinese^[23]		Democratic	Illinois				Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senate
		Samoan^[24]		Democratic	Hawaii				Retired after having run unsuccessfully for President, became an independent in 2022
		Taiwanese^[25]		Democratic	New York		Incumbent
		Japanese^[26]		Democratic	California		Incumbent
		Taiwanese		Democratic	California		Incumbent
		Japanese		Democratic	Hawaii				Died in office
		Indian^[27]		Democratic	Washington		Incumbent
		Indian		Democratic	California		Incumbent
		Indian		Democratic	Illinois		Incumbent
		Vietnamese^[28]		Democratic	Florida			6 years, 0 days	Retired
		Filipino, Chinese		Democratic	California				Lost reelection
		Korean		Democratic	New Jersey		Incumbent
		Pakistani^[29]		Republican	Oklahoma		Incumbent
		Hawaiian		Democratic	Hawaii			2 years, 0 days	Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor
		Korean^[30]		Republican	California		Incumbent
		Korean		Republican	California		Incumbent
		Korean		Democratic	Washington		Incumbent
		Indian		Democratic	Michigan		Incumbent
		Japanese		Democratic	Hawaii		Incumbent
		Chinese		Republican	California		Incumbent

Notes

House delegates (non-voting members)

Resident Commissioners were House delegates from the Philippines, then an American territory.^{[31] [32] [33]} Two were elected at-large by the Philippine Legislature from 1907 to 1935, and, following the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, a single Resident Commissioner was appointed by the President of the Philippines (with the consent of the Commonwealth's Commission on Appointments) from 1936 to 1946.

From 1978 to 2009, the Northern Mariana Islands elected four Resident Representatives who had no privileges in the House. American Samoa similarly elected three Delegates at-large from 1971 to 1981 and Guam elected one Washington Representative from 1965 to 1973.

(Note: Delegates are organized first in chronological order according to their first term in office, then second in alphabetical order according to their surname.)

Delegate	Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity	Party	Territory	Tenure			Notes
Term start				Term end	Length of service
		Hawaiian	bgcolor=	Home Rule	Hawaii				Lost reelection
		Hawaiian		Republican	Hawaii				Died in office
		Filipino		Federalist	Philippine Islands				Retired
		Filipino		Democrat	Philippine Islands				Retired
		Filipino	bgcolor=	Nacionalista	Philippine Islands				Retired Later served as President of the Philippines
		Filipino		Independent	Philippine Islands				Retired
		Filipino	bgcolor=	Nacionalista	Philippine Islands				Retired
		Filipino, Chinese		Independent	Philippine Islands				Retired
		Filipino	bgcolor=	Nacionalista	Philippine Islands				Resigned
		Filipino	bgcolor=	Nacionalista	Philippine Islands				Retired
		Hawaiian		Democrat	Hawaii				Lost reelection
		Hawaiian		Republican	Hawaii				Lost reelection
		Filipino	bgcolor=	Nacionalista	Philippine Islands				Retired
		Filipino	bgcolor=	Nacionalista	Philippine Islands				Retired
		Hawaiian		Republican	Hawaii				Resigned
		Filipino	bgcolor=	Nacionalista	Philippines				Resigned
		Filipino	bgcolor=	Liberal	Philippines				Office eliminated following the independence of the Philippines
		Chamorro, Chinese^[34]		Democratic	Guam				Lost reelection
		Chamorro		Democratic					Lost reelection
				Republican
		Samoan^[35]		Democratic	American Samoa				Resigned
		Chamorro		Democratic					Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands Later successfully ran for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
		Chamorro		Republican	Guam				Lost reelection
		Samoan		Democratic	American Samoa				Lost reelection
		Chamorro, Carolinian^[36]		Republican					Retired to run successfully for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
		Chamorro		Democratic	Guam				Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Guam
		Chamorro		Republican					Office replaced by Delegate Lost election to new office
		Chamorro		Democratic	Guam				Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Guam
		Chamorro		Independent			Incumbent
				Democratic
				Independent
				Democratic
		Samoan, Hawaiian		Republican	American Samoa		Incumbent
		Chamorro		Republican	Guam		Incumbent

Notes

1. Web site: Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010 . Karen R. Humes . Nicholas A. Jones. Roberto R. Ramirez . March 2011 . United States Census Bureau . U.S. Department of Commerce . January 5, 2012.
2. University of Virginia. Geospatial and Statistical Data Center. "1990 PUMS Ancestry Codes." 2003. August 30, 2007.Web site: 1990 Census of Population and Housing Public Use Microdata Sample . August 31, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070825030327/http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/pums/sub/ancestry.html . August 25, 2007 .
3. Web site: Government Information. 2022-11-16. www.lib.umich.edu. en.
4. First American of Chinese ancestry elected to Congress
5. First Japanese American elected to the Senate
6. First Native Hawaiian to serve in the Senate
7. First person of Filipino ancestry elected to the Senate
8. First Asian-American woman elected to the Senate
9. First Thai American elected to the Senate
10. First person of South Asian ancestry elected to the Senate; together with Pramila Jayapal, first Indian-American woman elected to Congress
11. First AAPI person elected to Congress as a non-delegate, and also first Indian American elected to Congress
12. First Japanese American elected to Congress
13. First Asian-American woman elected to Congress
14. First Native Hawaiian to serve as a voting member of Congress
15. First Dougla elected to Congress
16. First Korean American elected to Congress
17. First American-born Filipino elected to Congress
18. First Taiwanese American elected to Congress
19. First Vietnamese American elected to Congress
20. First Chinese-American woman elected to Congress
21. First Thai American elected to Congress
22. First person of Bangladeshi ancestry elected to Congress
23. First Thai-American woman elected to Congress
24. First woman of Pacific Islander ancestry elected to Congress
25. First Taiwanese-American woman elected to Congress
26. First openly gay person of AAPI ancestry elected to Congress
27. Together with Kamala Harris, first Indian-American woman elected to Congress
28. First Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress
29. First person of Pakistani ancestry elected to Congress
30. Reps. Kim, Steel, and Strickland are collectively the first Korean-American women elected to Congress
31. Web site: Map Layer Info . July 23, 2012 . National Atlas of the United States . United States Department of the Interior . December 10, 2012 . The Philippines became a territory of the United States after the Spanish–American War. . https://web.archive.org/web/20130104003407/http://www.nationalatlas.gov/mld/usacqup.html . January 4, 2013 . dead .
32. Book: Berhow, Mark . American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898–1945 . December 10, 2012 . 2012 . Osprey Publishing . 978-1-78200-435-6 . 6.
33. Book: Min . Pyong Gap . Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues . 10 December 2012 . 2005 . . 978-1-4129-0556-5 . 183.
34. First Chamorro person elected to Congress
35. First Samoan delegate elected to Congress
36. First (and so far only) Carolinian person elected to Congress

See also

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
• List of Asian Australian politicians

Further reading

• Tong, Lorraine H. (2003). "Asian Pacific Americans in the United States Congress". Congressional Research Service 97-398, 9–14.
• Web site: Rise of the Wahine Documentary Film. February 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20180331140611/http://www.riseofthewahine.com/. March 31, 2018. dead., highlighting the role of the first woman of color and first female Asian-American to serve in Congress, Patsy Mink.