Joseph D. Neguse ( ; born May 13, 1984) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the
U.S. representative for
Colorado's 2nd congressional district since 2019. The district is based in
Boulder and includes many of
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
's northwestern suburbs, as well as
Fort Collins
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. A member of the
Democratic Party, he was a
regent of the University of Colorado from 2008 to 2015. Neguse is the first
Eritrean-American elected to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
and Colorado's first black member of Congress.
Early life
Neguse's parents immigrated to the United States from
Eritrea. They met while living in
Bakersfield, California, where they married and had Joe and his younger sister.
The family moved to Colorado when he was six years old. After living in
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
,
Littleton, and
Highlands Ranch
Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The p ...
, the family settled in
Boulder.
Neguse graduated from
ThunderRidge High School;
the
University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...
, where he served as student body president, with a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
and
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
''
summa cum laude'' in 2005; and the
University of Colorado Law School
The University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor or Master of Studies in ...
, with his
Juris Doctor in 2009.
Earlier career
While he was a student, Neguse founded New Era Colorado, an organization to get young people involved in politics. He worked at the
Colorado State Capitol
The Colorado State Capitol Building, located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, United States, is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado and Lieutenant Governor of Colorado.
History ...
as an assistant to
Andrew Romanoff when Romanoff was a member of the
Colorado House of Representatives. In 2008 Neguse was elected to the
Regents of the University of Colorado
The Regents of the University of Colorado is the governing board of the University of Colorado system, the system of public universities in the U.S. state of Colorado. Established under Article IX, Section 9 of the Constitution of Colorado, it has ...
, representing , becoming the second African American in Colorado history to serve on the Board of Regents.
Neguse ran for
Secretary of State of Colorado in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, losing to
Wayne W. Williams, 47.5% to 44.9%. In June 2015,
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
John Hickenlooper
John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. (; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 20 ...
appointed Neguse the executive director of the
Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), making him one of the youngest state cabinet officials in the country.
At DORA, Neguse led an agency with roughly 600 employees and a $100 million budget charged with protecting consumers across the state by regulating the financial securities and insurance industries.
In 2017, Neguse resigned from DORA to run in the
2018 elections for 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 Colorado's 2nd congressional district, seeking to succeed
Jared Polis
Jared Schutz Polis (; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 20 ...
, who successfully ran for
governor of Colorado
The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either app ...
. He also joined the law firm
Snell & Wilmer, working in
administrative law
Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regulations"), ad ...
.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2018
On June 13, 2017, Neguse announced he would run for the Democratic nomination after incumbent U.S. Representative
Jared Polis
Jared Schutz Polis (; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 20 ...
announced he would not run for reelection and would run for
governor of Colorado
The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either app ...
. In the June 26, 2018, Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district—Neguse faced businessman and former
Boulder County Democratic Party chairman Mark Williams. Neguse defeated Williams with 65.7% of the vote, winning all 10 counties in the district.
Neguse then defeated the Republican nominee, businessman Peter Yu, in the November 6 general election, receiving 60.2% of the vote, and winning all but two counties. Neguse became the first Black American to represent Colorado in the House.
2020
He was reelected in 2020 with 61.5% of the vote, defeating Republican Charles Winn.
Tenure
Shortly after his election to the House, Neguse was elected by his House colleagues to serve in House leadership as the Co-Freshman Representative.
Neguse voted for the
impeachment of Donald Trump in 2019.
In 2020, he was named the most bipartisan member of the Colorado congressional delegation by the
Lugar Center.
In November 2020, Neguse's House colleagues unanimously elected him to serve as a co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, the number eight position in House Democratic leadership. In December 2022, he was elected chair, the fifth-highest position in the Democratic Party leadership.
On January 12, 2021, Speaker Pelosi appointed Neguse as a House impeachment manager for Trump's
second impeachment trial, making him the youngest impeachment manager in U.S. history. During the trial, Neguse and his fellow House impeachment managers built their case by drawing connections between
Trump's claims of election fraud in the 2020 election and the
attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. In the end, the Senate voted to acquit Trump, but with seven Republican senators voting to convict, it was the most bipartisan impeachment trial in U.S. history.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Natural Resources
**
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
**
Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife
*
Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary may mean:
* United States House Committee on the Judiciary
* United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standi ...
**
Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law (vice chair)
**
Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship (vice chair)
*
Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
Caucus memberships
*
Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...
*
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 ...
* House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force (vice chair)
*
Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus
The Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus was formed by openly gay representatives Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank June 4, 2008, to advance LGBT+ rights. The caucus had 165 members (164 Democrats and one Republican, Jeff Van Drew) in the 116t ...
*
Congressional Cannabis Caucus
*
Medicare for All Caucus
Political positions
Social issues
Neguse supported the
Equality Act.
He supports the
Voting Rights Act and has introduced legislation to allow people aged 16 and 17 to preregister to vote. He co-sponsored the
Emmett Till Antilynching Act
The Emmett Till Antilynching Act is a landmark United States federal law which makes lynching a federal hate crime.
The act amends the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and prior hate crime laws to define lynching a ...
.
Neguse supports the national legalization of
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
.
Neguse supports
universal background checks
Proposals for universal background checks would require almost all firearms transactions in the United States to be recorded and go through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), closing what is sometimes called the priv ...
and believes there are limitations to the
Second Amendment
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
.
Climate change
Neguse has called
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
an "existential threat". He has introduced legislation to create an expansion of the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
to focus on forest management and wildfire mitigation.
Neguse opposed the Trump administration's withdrawal from the
Paris Agreement. He supports the
Green New Deal
Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...
.
He supports efforts to increase
fuel efficiency and federal incentives for renewable energy use.
Neguse supports
endangered wildlife protections, including sponsoring bills to support wildlife protections on the
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. It ...
. He also wants to expand the size of
Arapaho National Forest
Arapaho National Forest is a National Forest located in north-central Colorado, United States. The region is managed jointly with the Roosevelt National Forest and the Pawnee National Grassland from the United States Forest Service office in ...
.
Economic issues
Neguse opposed the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs A ...
.
He opposes increased military spending.
Healthcare
Neguse supports
Medicare for All and
universal health care
Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...
. He also supports mandatory coverage of preexisting conditions and opposes repealing the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
.
Neguse supports the national expansion of COVID-19 testing and voted in support of stimulus funding related to the pandemic. He opposed the Trump administration's decision to leave the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
during the pandemic.
Voting rights
Neguse supports national mail-in voting.
He also supports the
Voting Rights Act.
Immigration and criminal justice
The son of immigrants, Neguse supports immigration reform and serves as the vice chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. He supports a pathway for citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and the
DREAM Act
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal to grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, to illegal immigrants who entered the United States a ...
.
He supports
police reform.
Electoral history
Personal life
Neguse is married to Andrea Jimenez Rael. They met in
Boulder County.
Their daughter
was born in August 2018.
They live in
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...
, east of Boulder.
See also
*
List of African-American United States representatives
The United States House of Representatives has had 156 elected African Americans, African-American members, of whom 150 have been representatives from U.S. states and 6 have been Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives, ...
References
External links
Congressman Joe Neguseofficial U.S. House website
Joe Neguse for Congress
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neguse, Joe
1984 births
21st-century American politicians
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado
African-American members of the United States House of Representatives
American people of Eritrean descent
Living people
Politicians from Bakersfield, California
Politicians from Boulder, Colorado
University of Colorado Law School alumni
21st-century African-American politicians
20th-century African-American people
House managers for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump