US Rep. Ted Lieu Elected To House Democratic Leadership Post

Source: Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) Website

Washington, DC – California congressman, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), was elected in a four-way race among his colleagues to serve as the House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair. He takes the position over from Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Inland Empire) who was elected to serve as the Democratic Caucus Chair. Rep. Aguilar issued this statement about Rep. Lieu:

“Ted is a dedicated public servant who served his country in the Air Force and continues to be a leader in the House. I could not ask for a better partner to help lead our Caucus and continue our work to put people over politics.”

The Democratic Caucus Vice Chair is the 5th ranking position in the House Democratic leadership when the party is in the minority. Lieu beat out Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, Joyce Beatty of Ohio, and Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania. According to Roll Call, Dean got 18 votes on the first ballot, Beatty fell off after getting 46 votes on the second ballot, and Dingell lost 74 to 141 on the final ballot.

Roll Call describes Rep. Lieu’s victory as “a big win for the large delegation of California Democrats”.

Rep. Lieu’s win also gives California two of the five top leadership seats in the House minority caucus and the sole AAPI member in leadership at this time. Lieu is the highest ranking AAPI in the history of the House Democratic Caucus leadership.

California’s Rep. Ami Bera and Rep. Tony Cardenas are both vying to be appointed to lead the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the caucus’ political arm responsible for defending incumbents and elected new Democrats in two years. The caucus voted to change the chair of the DCCC to an appointed instead of an elected position. The newly elected House Democratic Leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, will make the appointment.

As the new Vice Chair, Rep. Lieu says he will push for more translation services and expanded outreach and engagement on social media for Democrats. Lieu currently has nearly 179,000 followers on Twitter. Comparatively, Rep. Debbie Dingell has nearly 26,000 followers on Twitter.

Rep. Lieu is a Taiwanese American and a United States Air Force Reserve Command colonel and has represented the 33rd congressional district since 2015. Prior to serving in Congress, Lieu served in the California State Assembly and the California State Senate. He is a graduate of Stanford University and Georgetown University Law. Rep. Lieu’s wife, Betty, serves on the Torrance School Board.