Nicole "Nikki" Jai Budzinski (born March 11, 1977) is an American politician and labor union leader. She has 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

Illinois's 13th congressional district The 13th congressional district of Illinois is currently represented by Democrat Nikki Budzinski. Redistricting 2020 redistricting Following the 2020 census and the subsequent redistricting cycle, the 13th congressional district was signifi ...

since 2023, as 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 ...

. In 2021, Budzinski served as chief of staff to the director of the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

(OMB) in 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 ...

Early life and education

Budzinski was born in Peoria, Illinois. Her grandparents were both union members: Leonard Budzinski, her grandfather, as a painter employed by the Peoria School District, and her grandmother as a teacher in the same district. Budzinski graduated from the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univers ...

and interned for

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 ...

Dick Gephardt, U.S. Senator Paul Simon, and Planned Parenthood. After college, she worked for the

United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...

union as national political director in Washington, D.C.

Early career

During the

2018 Illinois gubernatorial election The 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of Illinois, concurrently with the 2018 Illinois general election and other midterm elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner ran for ...

, Budzinski led

J. B. Pritzker Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the worldwide ...

exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...

and was later a

senior advisor In some countries, a senior advisor (also spelt senior adviser, especially in the UK) is an appointed position by the Head of State to advise on the highest levels of national and government policy. Sometimes a junior position to this is called a N ...

to his campaign, focusing on political strategy, messaging and outreach. After Pritzker won, she was named transition director. When Pritzker became governor on January 14, 2019, Budzinski was appointed senior advisor. She simultaneously chaired the

Broadband In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...

Advisory Council (BAC), a state agency "charged with...expand ngbroadband access, adoption, and utilization" in Illinois. Budzinski resigned as senior advisor to the governor in March, 2020. She worked with

John Podesta John David Podesta Jr. (born January 8, 1949) is an American Political consulting, political consultant who has served as Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden for clean energy innovation an ...

to advise the National Climate Resource Center and was Executive Director for Clean Jobs Illinois. In February 2021, Budzinski, recommended for the post by Podesta, was appointed chief of staff of the

(OMB). During her tenure as chief of staff, she helped set up the OMB's Made in America division. On July 16, 2021, Budzinski resigned to return to Illinois, saying she "felt it was a good time to come back o Illinois..after getting things off the ground here."

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Ted Lieu Campaigning with Nikki Budzinski

2022

On August 24, 2021, Budzinski announced her bid for the Democratic nomination for

, newly redrawn to favor Democrats. She won the primary in June 2022 against David Palmer and the general election in November against the

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 ...

nominee, Regan Deering.

Committee assignments

•

House Committee on Agriculture The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of s ...

•

House Committee on Veterans Affairs The standing committee, standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new Act of Congress, bills or amendments concerning U.S. military veteran ...

References

External links

Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski
official U.S. House website
Nikki Budzinski for Congress
campaign website , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Budzinski, Nikki 1977 births 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Executive Office of the President of the United States Female members of the United States House of Representatives Illinois Democrats Living people Politicians from Peoria, Illinois University of Illinois alumni Women in Illinois politics