Ro Khanna | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 17th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Mike Honda |
Personal details | |
Born | Rohit Khanna September 13, 1976 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Ritu Ahuja Khanna (m. 2015) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Amarnath Vidyalankar (grandfather) |
Education | University of Chicago (BA) Yale University (JD) |
Website | House website |
Rohit Khanna (/ˈkʌnə/ KUH-nə; born September 13, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated eight-term incumbent Democratic Representative Mike Honda in the general election on November 8, 2016, after first running for the same seat in 2014. Khanna also served as the deputy assistant secretary in the United States Department of Commerce under President Barack Obama from August 8, 2009, to August 2011. Khanna co-chaired the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign.
Khanna identifies as a progressive capitalist, and has called for a "new economic patriotism" as a governing philosophy.[1][2][3][4] He states that he only accepts campaign donations from individuals and is one of only six members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and ten members of Congress, who state that they do not take campaign contributions from political action committees (PACs) or corporations.[5][6][7][8]