Yasmine P. Taeb ( fa, یاسمین طائب) is an Iranian-American human rights attorney and

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 ...

official. She is a senior policy counsel at the

Center for Victims of Torture The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) is an international non-profit headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota that provides direct care for those who have been tortured, trains partner organizations in the United States and around the world who can ...

. In 2014 she sought the Democratic nomination for election to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

in the 48th district; after moving to the district to run, she challenged

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

Minority Leader

Dick Saslaw Richard Lawrence Saslaw (born February 5, 1940) is an American politician serving as Majority Leader of the Senate of Virginia since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1976–80, then was el ...

in the June 2019 Democratic primary for the 35th district, but came in second place.

Early life and education

At the age of six, Taeb, along with her mother and three siblings, fled Iran during the Iran-Iraq War, seeking refuge in the United States. According to her campaign video, she entered the United States via a hole in a wire fence on the U.S.-Mexico border undocumented and was “caught by U.S. authorities.” She was raised in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where she attended

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSDH or MSD) is a State school, public Secondary school, high school in Parkland, Florida, United States. It was established in 1990 and is part of the Broward County Public Schools district. It is named aft ...

in Parkland. Taeb received a B.A. in political science from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and a Graduate Certificate in International Human Rights Law from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. She holds a J.D. from the

Penn State Dickinson School of Law Penn State Dickinson Law, formerly Dickinson School of Law, is a public law school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separately accredited law schools of The Pennsylvania State University. According to Penn State Dickinson Law's 2019 A ...

Political career

Taeb is a senior policy counsel at the

. In 2014, she was one of seven candidates for the Democratic nomination in the special election to succeed Bob Brink as representative of the 48th district in the Virginia House of Delegates. At an event organised by the

National Iranian American Council The National Iranian American Council (NIAC; fa, شورای ملی ایرانیان آمریکا) is a NGO based in Washington, D.C. The NIAC Action, the sister organization of NIAC, was formed in 2015 to build political power for Iranian American ...

, she stated she considers herself a "lifelong activist" and emphasized the necessity of Iranians' engaging directly in civic life. She attended the

2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...

as a delegate for

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

. Taeb was critical of the nomination of

Gina Haspel Gina Cheri Walker Haspel (born October 1, 1956) formerly an American intelligence officer, was director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2018 to 2021. The first woman to hold the post on a permanent basis, she had previously worked a ...

to head the Central Intelligence Agency, stating that Haspel was "personally responsible for the near-total secrecy that continues to shroud her background" and that senators did not have access to sufficient information to make an informed decision on the nomination. Taeb criticised DNC Chairman Tom Perez's endorsement of

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

, arguing it would not reflect well on the

. According to Taeb, the DNC should not only be inclusive to people of different races and backgrounds, but should also allow members to be diverse in thoughts and ideas. Taeb, who has led research into anti-Islamic sentiment for the

Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The president and chief executive officer ...

, was opposed to

Executive Order 13780 Executive Order 13780, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, was an executive order signed by United States President Donald Trump on March 6, 2017. It placed a 90-day restriction on entry to the U.S. b ...

, claiming that it was a policy centered on "advancing a white nationalist agenda". On September 20, 2018, after moving from Arlington to

Falls Church Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Churc ...

, Taeb announced she would be challenging Virginia Senate Minority Leader

for the 35th district in the state's June Democratic primary. She came in second place, with approximately 46% of the vote to Saslaw's 49%.

Private life

Taeb is a practicing Muslim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taeb, Yasmine Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Iranian emigrants to the United States American politicians of Iranian descent Dickinson School of Law alumni University of Florida alumni Virginia lawyers American Muslims People from Parkland, Florida