Debbie Jessika Mucarsel-Powell (born January 18, 1971) is an Ecuadorian-born American politician and academic administrator who served as a U.S. representative for from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, her district covered the western part of

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

, including Homestead, as well as the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

. Mucarsel-Powell was the first Ecuadorian American and first

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

n-born immigrant to serve as a member of the U.S. House and the U.S. Congress. Murcarsel-Powell was defeated in her 2020 re-election bid by

mayor Carlos Giménez.

Early life and education

Mucarsel-Powell was born in

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

, and raised in Miami, the daughter of Imelda Gil and Guido Mucarsel Yunes. Mucarsel-Powell immigrated to the United States when she was 14 years old, with her mother and three older sisters. She began working in a doughnut shop and continued to work to help support her family, who shared a one bedroom apartment. Mucarsel-Powell attended

Pomona Catholic High School Pomona Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic, co-ed middle school and all-girls high school in Pomona, California, established in 1898. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It is a part of the tri-school comm ...

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyt ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from

Pitzer College Pitzer College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. One of the Claremont Colleges, the college has a curricular emphasis on the social sciences, behavioral sciences, international programs, and media studies. Pitzer is k ...

and a Master of Arts in international political economy from

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate ( Pomona College, Claremont McKenna ...

Earlier career

Mucarsel-Powell worked for non-profits like the Hope Center, Zoo Miami Foundation, and the Coral Restoration Foundation. From 2003 to 2007, she served as the director of development at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

(FIU). She was the associate vice president for advancement at the

FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine is the medical school of Florida International University, located in Modesto A. Maidique Campus in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. The College of Medicine is one of the university's 26 schools ...

from 2007 to 2011. Mucarsel-Powell became an associate dean at the

. Mucarsel-Powell volunteered for the presidential campaigns of

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

. In 2016, she ran unsuccessfully against

Anitere Flores Anitere Flores (born September 8, 1976) is a Republican politician from Miami, Florida. She served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives from 2004 to 2010. Subsequently, she served in the Florida Senate from 2010 to 2020. In the 20 ...

for the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In August 2017, Mucarsel-Powell announced she would challenge Republican Rep.

Carlos Curbelo Carlos Luis Curbelo (born March 1, 1980) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 26th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. In 2018, he was narrowly defeated for re-election by Democrat Debbie Mucarse ...

in of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in the

2018 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa * 2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general elec ...

. She defeated veteran Demetries Grimes in the Democratic Party primary election, receiving 63.5% of the vote. In the November 6 general election, Mucarsel-Powell defeated Curbelo, receiving 50.9% of the vote, becoming the first Ecuadorian-born person to be elected to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

and the first woman to represent Florida's 26th congressional district.

2020

Mucarsel-Powell was defeated for re-election by the Republican nominee,

Mayor Carlos A. Giménez.

Tenure

On December 18, 2019, Mucarsel-Powell voted to impeach President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

Committee assignments

* Committee on the Judiciary ** Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security ** Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship * Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ** Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management ** Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Source: Clerk of the House of Representatives

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues * Congressional Hispanic Caucus * Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus *

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Cau ...

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters. As of ...

Post-congressional career

In April 2021, Mucarsel-Powell joined

Giffords Giffords is an American advocacy and research organization focused on promoting gun control. The organization draws its name from of one of its co-founders, Gabby Giffords, a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. ...

as a senior adviser, with the goal of lobbying the U.S. Senate to pass the

Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 The Bipartisan Background Checks Act is a proposed United States law that would establish new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties. It would prohibit a firearm transfer between private parties until a license ...

Electoral history

Personal life

Mucarsel-Powell is of Ecuadorian and Lebanese ancestry. When she was 24 years old, her father was killed outside of his home in Ecuador by a gunman. She and her husband, Robert Powell, have three children. Powell is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

.https://www.pewforum.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2019/01/Detailed-tables-NUMBER-CHECK-COMPLETE-1-3.pdf

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mucarselpowell, Debbie 1971 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American academic administrators American politicians of Ecuadorian descent American politicians of Lebanese descent American Roman Catholics American university and college faculty deans Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Catholics from Florida Catholic politicians from Florida Claremont Graduate University alumni Ecuadorian emigrants to the United States Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Female members of the United States House of Representatives Florida International University faculty Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress Living people People from Guayaquil Pitzer College alumni Women deans (academic) American women academics