Ritchie Torres

Democrat Representative of New York's 15th district

Representative
New York, district 15
January 3, 2021 - January 3, 2023
Representative
New York, district 15
January 3, 2023 - January 3, 2025

202-225-4361

@RepRitchie

ritchietorres.house.gov

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Congresses Served

House Terms

March 12, 1988 (36 years old)

Birthday

Born in 1988
Represents the poorest Congressional district in the United States
Served on the New York City Council from 2013 to 2020
First openly gay candidate elected to legislative office in the Bronx and the council’s youngest member
Chaired the Committee on Public Housing and was a deputy majority leader
Focused on taxi medallion predatory loans and the city’s Third Party Transfer Program as chair of the Oversight and Investigations Committee
Was a delegate for the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016
Announced candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019 and assumed office in 2021
One of the first openly gay Black men and the first openly gay Afro-Latino elected to Congress
Co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus in the 117th United States Congress
Raised in a public housing project and frequently hospitalized for asthma as a child
Attended Herbert H. Lehman High School and was part of the inaugural class of the Coro New York Exploring Leadership Program
Does not hold a college degree, having dropped out of New York University due to severe depression
Worked on legislation to combat gig worker tip theft and proposed legislation against cashless businesses to preserve access for those who rely on cash
Helped open the first homeless shelter for LGBT youth in the Bronx and secured funds for senior centers to serve LGBT people in all five NYC boroughs
Announced the city council was awarding $36.2 million for gun violence prevention and reduction in 2019
Voted with President Joe Biden’s stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis
Voiced support for a Green New Deal and was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters in 2020
Describes himself as “the embodiment of a pro-Israel progressive” and has rejected joining the Squad due to their support of the BDS movement
Voted in favor of directing President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days in 2023
Voted for a ban on cluster munitions to Ukraine in July 2023
Rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war in November 2023, calling claims of genocide against Palestinians a “blood libel”
Voted to censure a fellow House member for promoting false narratives regarding an attack and using a slogan calling for the destruction of Israel
Viewed as an ally of the cryptocurrency industry and a member of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus
Committee assignments include the Committee on Financial Services, Committee on Homeland Security, and the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party