This is a list of Arab Americans and Middle-Eastern Americans in the U.S. Congress.
Arab Americans are Americans of either Arab ethnic or cultural and linguistic heritage or identity, who identify themselves as Arab. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World.
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the Federal Government of the United States. The legislature consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
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The first Arab American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives was George A. Kasem in 1959, and the first Arab-American U.S. Senator was James Abourezk in 1973. In the 115th Congress, there were six U.S. Representatives and no U.S. Senators of Arab-American descent serving in Congress. [1] [2] On November 6, 2018, three additional Arab Americans were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives: Ilhan Omar, Donna Shalala and Rashida Tlaib. Tlaib and Omar are also the first Muslim women in Congress. [3] The U.S. House of Representatives currently has eight Arab-American members.
George Albert Kasem was a U.S. Representative from California's 25th congressional district. He was of Lebanese descent and was the first Arab American elected to the United States Congress.
James George Abourezk is a former American attorney and politician who served as a United States Representative and United States Senator from South Dakota. He was the first Greek Orthodox Christian of Lebanese-Antiochite descent to serve in the United States Senate. He was generally viewed as critical of US foreign policy in the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) area—notably regarding Palestine and Israel.
Ilhan Abdullahi Omar is a Somali-American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019. The district includes all of Minneapolis and some of its suburbs.
The first Assyrian American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives was Adam Benjamin in 1977, [4] and there currently is one Assyrian-American U.S. Representative serving in Congress.
Adam Benjamin Jr. was an American politician and a United States Representative from Indiana's 1st congressional district, serving from 1977 until his death from a heart attack in Washington, D.C. in 1982. Benjamin was the first Assyrian-American to be elected to the United States House of Representatives in American history. Benjamin served in the Indiana Senate from 1971 to 1977, the Indiana House of Representatives from 1967 to 1971, and was a member of the Democratic Party.
