Filemón Bartolomé Vela Jr. ( ; born February 13, 1963) is an American lobbyist, lawyer and politician who served as the
U.S. representative
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 c ...
for from 2013 until his resignation in 2022. He is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. Vela was also vice chair of the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
, having been nominated by President
Joe Biden. In March 2022, Vela resigned in the middle of his term to work at
Akin Gump
Akin may refer to:
People
*Akin (given name), a list of people
*Akin (surname), a list of people
*Akın, a list of people with the Turkish given name or surname
Places
*Akin, Illinois, a town in the United States
*Akin, Aksaray, a village in Ak ...
, the largest lobbying firm in the U.S.
Early life and education
Vela was born in
Harlingen, Texas
Harlingen ( ) is a city in Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than and is the second-largest city in ...
, and raised in nearby
Brownsville. His father,
Filemon Vela Sr.
Filemón Bartolomé Vela (May 1, 1935 – April 13, 2004) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Education and career
Born in Harlingen, Texas, Vela was a private in the Uni ...
, was a long-serving United States federal judge. The Reynaldo G. Garza–Filemon B. Vela United States Courthouse in Brownsville is named in Judge Vela's honor. His mother,
Blanca Sanchez Vela, served as Brownsville's first female mayor from 1999 to 2003.
[vela.house.gov]
Filemon attended
Saint Joseph Academy in Brownsville, and earned his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in 1985. During his time at Georgetown, he served as an intern at the
Federal Judicial Center
The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
According to , the main areas of respo ...
, the research and education agency of the federal judicial system. He also served as an intern in
Solomon P. Ortiz
Solomon Porfirio Ortiz (born June 3, 1937) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for , based in Corpus Christi, serving from 1983 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2010, Ortiz was narrowly ...
's office in Washington, D.C. Vela earned his
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 1987.
Career
In ''
Edinburg School District v. Landmark'', Vela represented
Edinburg to fight for more funding. In ''Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District v. Landmark'', he represented the district in fighting contractors accused of building a poorly constructed school facility.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2012
Vela ran in the newly created
34th congressional district as a Democrat. In the May 29 primary, he ranked first in an eight-candidate field with 40% of the vote. In the July 31 runoff, Vela defeated Denise Saenz Blanchard, 67% to 33%.
In the general election, Vela defeated Republican Jessica Bradshaw, 62% to 36%.
Tenure
In July 2013, Vela quit the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was fou ...
because of his opposition to the
Hoeven
Hoeven is a village in the municipality of Halderberge in the Netherlands. The name Hoeven originated from the purchase of a certain amount of ground in 1282 by the abbey of Cistercians of Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Bernard. This amount was equal ...
-
Corker
Corker is an occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Bob Corker, American politician
* Matt Corker
*Thomas Corker
Thomas Corker (1669-1670 - 10 September 1700, Falmouth, Cornwall) was known as an English agent for the Roy ...
Amendment that tied border security to a
pathway to citizenship. He said "erecting more border fence drives a wedge between border communities which are culturally united".
On March 22, 2021, Vela announced that he would not seek reelection in the
2022 United States House of Representatives elections
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2022, as part of the 2022 United States elections during incumbent president Joe Biden's term. The elections were held to elect representatives from all 435 U ...
.
In August 2021, Vela joined a group of conservative Democrats, dubbed "The Unbreakable Nine", who threatened to derail the
Biden administration
Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...
's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package meant to tackle the nation's infrastructure.
On March 24, 2022, Vela confirmed that he would resign early from Congress to take a job at
Akin Gump
Akin may refer to:
People
*Akin (given name), a list of people
*Akin (surname), a list of people
*Akın, a list of people with the Turkish given name or surname
Places
*Akin, Illinois, a town in the United States
*Akin, Aksaray, a village in Ak ...
, a lobbying and law firm.
His resignation officially went into effect before midnight on March 31.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Agriculture
**
Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
**
Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit
*
Committee on Armed Services
**
Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
**
Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces.
Caucus memberships
*
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was fou ...
*
Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus
The Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus, a United States Congress caucus, works to improve the 9-1-1 phone system and emergency response systems.[Veterinary Medicine Caucus
The Congressional Veterinary Medicine Caucus is a Congressional Member Organization within the United States Congress and is officially recognized by the Committee on House Administration.
Information and purpose
According to the Caucus's offici ...](_blank)
*
U.S.-Japan Caucus
Personal life
Vela's wife, Rose, was a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
justice on Texas's 13th
Court of Appeals
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
from 2007 to 2012.
See also
*
* ''
''
References
External links
*
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vela, Filemon Jr.
1963 births
21st-century American politicians
American lobbyists
American politicians of Mexican descent
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
Georgetown University alumni
Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
Living people
People from Harlingen, Texas
Texas lawyers
University of Texas School of Law alumni