List of Arab and Middle Eastern Americans in the United States Congress
This article is a list of all Arab Americans and Middle Eastern Americans who have ever served in the United States Congress . This list includes North Africans in the United States who identify as Arabs as well as Middle Eastern Americans who are not Arabs .
The first Arab American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives was George A. Kasem in 1959, and the first Arab-American U.S. senator was James Abourezk in 1973. In the 115th Congress , there were six U.S. representatives and no U.S. senators of Arab-American descent serving in Congress.[1] [2] On November 6, 2018, four additional Arab Americans, all of whom are female, were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives: Debbie Mucarsel-Powell , Ilhan Omar , Donna Shalala and Rashida Tlaib . Tlaib and Omar were also the first Muslim women in Congress.[3] The U.S. House of Representatives currently has five Arab-American members.
The first Assyrian American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives was Adam Benjamin in 1977,[4] and the first Iranian-American U.S. Representative was Stephanie Bice in 2021.[5] There currently are one Assyrian-American and one Iranian-American U.S. Representative serving in Congress.
Senate
Picture
Senator(lifespan)
Arab or Middle Eastern ethnicity
Party
State
Term start
Term end
Notes
James Abourezk (1931–2023)
Lebanese
Democratic
South Dakota
January 3, 1973
January 3, 1979
Retired[6]
George J. Mitchell (born 1933)
Lebanese
Democratic
Maine
May 17, 1980
January 3, 1995
Retired[7]
James Abdnor (1923–2012)
Lebanese
Republican
South Dakota
January 3, 1981
January 3, 1987
Lost reelection[8]
Spencer Abraham (born 1952)
Lebanese
Republican
Michigan
January 3, 1995
January 3, 2001
Lost reelection[9] [10]
John E. Sununu (born 1964)
Palestinian ,Lebanese
Republican
New Hampshire
January 3, 2003
January 3, 2009
Lost reelection[11] [12]
House of Representatives
Picture
Representative(lifespan)
Arab or Middle Eastern ethnicity
Party
State
Term start
Term end
Notes
George A. Kasem (1919–2002)
Lebanese
Democratic
California
January 3, 1959
January 3, 1961
Lost reelection
Abraham Kazen (1919–1987)
Lebanese
Democratic
Texas
January 3, 1967
January 3, 1985
Lost renomination
James Abourezk (1931–2023)
Lebanese
Democratic
South Dakota
January 3, 1971
January 3, 1973
Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from South Dakota
James Abdnor (1923–2012)
Lebanese
Republican
South Dakota
January 3, 1973
January 3, 1981
Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from South Dakota
Toby Moffett (born 1944)
Lebanese
Democratic
Connecticut
January 3, 1975
January 3, 1983
Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Connecticut
Adam Benjamin (1935–1982)
Assyrian
Democratic
Indiana
January 3, 1977
September 7, 1982
Died in office
Mary Rose Oakar (born 1940)
Lebanese ,Syrian
Democratic
Ohio
January 3, 1977
January 3, 1993
Lost reelection
Nick Rahall (born 1949)
Lebanese
Democratic
West Virginia
January 3, 1977
January 3, 2015
Lost reelection
Pat Danner (born 1934)
Lebanese
Democratic
Missouri
January 3, 1993
January 3, 2001
Retired
Anna Eshoo (born 1942)
Assyrian
Democratic
California
January 3, 1993
Incumbent
John Baldacci (born 1955)
Lebanese
Democratic
Maine
January 3, 1995
January 3, 2003
Retired to run successfully for Governor of Maine
Ray LaHood (born 1945)
Lebanese
Republican
Illinois
January 3, 1995
January 3, 2009
Retired to become U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Chris John (born 1960)
Lebanese
Democratic
Louisiana
January 3, 1997
January 3, 2005
Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Louisiana
John E. Sununu (born 1964)
Palestinian ,Lebanese
Republican
New Hampshire
January 3, 1997
January 3, 2003
Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from New Hampshire
Darrell Issa (born 1953)
Lebanese
Republican
California
January 3, 2001
January 3, 2019
Retired
January 3, 2021
Incumbent
Charles Boustany (born 1956)
Lebanese
Republican
Louisiana
January 3, 2005
January 3, 2017
Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Louisiana
Justin Amash (born 1980)
Palestinian ,Syrian
Republican (2011–2019)
Michigan
January 3, 2011
January 3, 2021
Retired
Independent (2019–2020)
Libertarian (2020–2021)
Richard L. Hanna (1951–2020)
Lebanese
Republican
New York
January 3, 2011
January 3, 2017
Retired
Ralph Abraham (born 1954)
Lebanese
Republican
Louisiana
January 3, 2015
January 3, 2021
Retired
Gwen Graham (born 1963)
Lebanese
Democratic
Florida
January 3, 2015
January 3, 2017
Retired
Garret Graves (born 1972)
Lebanese
Republican
Louisiana
January 3, 2015
Incumbent
Darin LaHood (born 1968)
Lebanese
Republican
Illinois
September 10, 2015
Incumbent
Charlie Crist (born 1956)
Cypriot ,Lebanese
Democratic
Florida
January 3, 2017
August 31, 2022
Resigned
Rubén Kihuen (born 1980)
Lebanese
Democratic
Nevada
January 3, 2017
January 3, 2019
Retired
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (born 1971)
Lebanese
Democratic
Florida
January 3, 2019
January 3, 2021
Lost reelection
Ilhan Omar (born 1981)
Somali [Note 1]
Democratic
Minnesota
January 3, 2019
Incumbent
Donna Shalala (born 1941)
Lebanese
Democratic
Florida
January 3, 2019
January 3, 2021
Lost reelection
Rashida Tlaib (born 1976)
Palestinian
Democratic
Michigan
January 3, 2019
Incumbent
Stephanie Bice (born 1973)
Iranian
Republican
Oklahoma
January 3, 2021
Incumbent
References
Notes
References
^ "Meet Arab American Members in 115th Congress - Arab American Institute" . www.aaiusa.org .
^ "Arab American Members of Congress - Arab American Leadership Council Political Action Committee" . www.aaleadershipcouncil.org .
^ Boorstein, Michelle. "The nation's first two Muslim congresswomen are sworn in, surrounded by the women they inspired" . Washington Post . Retrieved January 3, 2019 .
^ "Assyrians in Middle America A Historical and Demographic Study of the Chicago Assyrian Community" (PDF) . jaas.org. Retrieved December 14, 2012 .
^ Firozi, Paulina. "House GOP chipped away at Democratic majority. They can thank female candidates" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
^ Hall, Loretta (1999). "James Abourezk". Arab American biography . Vol. I: A-J. Detroit: U.X.L. pp. 18–25. ISBN 978-0-7876-2953-3 . {{cite book }}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link )
^ Hall, Loretta (1999). "George John Mitchell". Arab American biography . Vol. II: K-Z. Detroit: U.X.L. pp. 311–316. ISBN 978-0-7876-2953-3 . {{cite book }}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link )
^ Schudel, Matt (May 16, 2012). "James Abdnor, GOP congressman and senator from South Dakota, dies at 89" . The Washington Post .
^ Hall, Loretta (1999). "Spencer Abraham". Arab American biography . Vol. I: A-J. Detroit: U.X.L. pp. 33–38. ISBN 978-0-7876-2953-3 . {{cite book }}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link )
^ "Bioguide Search" . bioguide.congress.gov . Retrieved 2022-02-17 .
^ Cromwell, Sharon (2008). Arab Americans . Florida: Rourke Publishing. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-60472-751-7 . {{cite book }}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link )
^ "John E. Sununu" . www.congress.gov . Retrieved 2022-02-17 .
^ "Arab American Roster" . Arab American Institute . Retrieved March 11, 2019 .
Membership
Members Senate House New members
Leaders
Districts Groups
Related
Powers, privileges, procedure, committees, history, media