Pramila Jayapal

Pramila Jayapal
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2017
Preceded by	Jim McDermott
Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus[a]
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2021
Preceded by	Raúl Grijalva (as co-chair) Mark Pocan (as co-chair)
Member of the Washington Senate from the 37th district
In office January 12, 2015 – December 11, 2016
Preceded by	Adam Kline
Succeeded by	Rebecca Saldaña
Personal details
Born	(1965-09-21) September 21, 1965 (age 58) Chennai, Madras State (present-day Tamil Nadu), India
Citizenship	Indian (1965–2000) American (2000–present)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Steve Williamson
Children	2
Parent	Maya Jayapal (mother)
Relatives	Susheela Jayapal (sister)
Education	Georgetown University (BA) Northwestern University (MBA)
Website	House website
Pramila Jayapal's voice Pramila Jayapal on her support for the American Families Plan Recorded June 15, 2021

Pramila Jayapal (/prəˈmɪlə ˈdʒaɪəpɑːl/ prə-MILL-ə JY-ə-pahl; born September 21, 1965) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Washington's 7th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents most of Seattle, as well as some suburban areas of King County. Jayapal represented the 37th legislative district in the Washington State Senate from 2015 to 2017. She is the first Indian-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district's first female member of Congress, she is also the first Asian American to represent Washington at the federal level.

Before entering electoral politics, Jayapal was a Seattle-based civil rights activist, serving until 2012 as the executive director of OneAmerica, a pro-immigrant advocacy group.^[1] She founded the organization, originally called Hate Free Zone, after the September 11 attacks. Jayapal co-chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus from 2019 to 2021, henceforth serving as chair.^[2] She serves on both the Judiciary Committee and Budget Committee.^[3]

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