List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress


This is a list of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the U.S. Congress.
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The term refers to a panethnic group that includes diverse populations, which have ancestral origins in East Asia, South Asia, or Southeast Asia, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Pacific Islands Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, Pacific Islander Americans or Native Hawaiian and/or other Pacific Islander Americans, are Americans who have ethnic ancestry among the indigenous peoples of Oceania. For its purposes, the U.S. Census also counts Indigenous Australians as part of this group.
As of 2019, there are 13 representatives and 3 senators of Asian-American descent who are currently serving in Congress. In addition, there are one representative and three non-voting delegates of Pacific Islander descent who currently are also serving. Since 1900, 19 Pacific Islanders have been elected to the House of Representatives and one has been elected to the U.S. Senate. Hawaii was the first territory to send a Pacific Islander to the House of Representatives and was also the first state to send a Pacific Islander to the U.S. Senate. Since 1957, 35 Asian Americans have been elected to the House of Representatives and 9 to the U.S. Senate. Hawaii was the first of four states to send an Asian American to the Senate and Illinois is the most recent state to elect a senator of similar descent for the first time. With respect to the House of Representatives, California was the first of 13 states to elect an Asian American to the House, and New Jersey is the most recent to do so for the first time. Three Asian-American women have been elected to the Senate, and ten have been elected to the House from six separate states.

Senate

House of Representatives

House Delegates (non-voting members)


Resident Commissioners were representatives from the Philippines, then an American territory. Two were elected at-large from 1907 to 1937, and a single Resident Commissioner from 1937 to 1946.
From 1978 to 2009, the Northern Mariana Islands elected a Resident Representative who had no actual privileges in the House.
PictureDelegate
Asian or Pacific Island EthnicityPartyTerritoryTerm startTerm endNotes
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HawaiianHome RuleHawaii6 11 19004 3 1903Lost reelection
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HawaiianRepublicanHawaii4 3 19037 1 1922Died in office
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FilipinoFederalistPhilippine Islands22 11 19074 3 1912Retired
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FilipinoDemocratPhilippine Islands22 11 190722 11 1909Retired
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FilipinoNacionalistaPhilippine Islands23 11 190915 10 1916Retired
'
FilipinoIndependentPhilippine Islands4 3 19134 3 1917Retired
'
FilipinoNacionalistaPhilippine Islands4 3 19174 3 1923Retired
'
Filipino,
Chinese		IndependentPhilippine Islands4 3 19174 3 1920Retired
'
FilipinoNacionalistaPhilippine Islands4 3 192016 7 1928Resigned
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FilipinoNacionalistaPhilippine Islands4 3 192314 2 1936Retired
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HawaiianDemocratHawaii4 3 19234 3 1927Lost reelection
'
HawaiianRepublicanHawaii4 3 19274 3 1933Lost reelection
'
FilipinoNacionalistaPhilippine Islands4 3 19293 1 1935Retired
'
FilipinoNacionalistaPhilippine Islands3 1 193514 2 1936Retired
'
HawaiianRepublicanHawaii3 1 19353 1 1943Resigned
'
FilipinoNacionalistaPhilippines14 2 193629 9 1938Resigned
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FilipinoLiberalPhilippines10 8 19444 7 1946Resigned; final Philippine representative
'
Chamorro,
Chinese		DemocraticGuam3 1 19733 1 1985Lost reelection
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ChamorroDemocratic Lost reelection
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ChamorroRepublican Lost reelection
'
SamoanDemocraticAmerican Samoa3 1 19816 9 1988Resigned
'
ChamorroDemocratic8 1 1990Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
Later served as Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
'
ChamorroRepublicanGuam3 1 19853 1 1993Lost reelection
'
SamoanDemocraticAmerican Samoa3 1 19893 1 2015Lost reelection
'
Chamorro,
Carolinian		Republican8 1 199014 1 2002Retired to run successfully for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
'
ChamorroDemocraticGuam3 1 19933 1 2003Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Guam
'
ChamorroRepublican14 1 20023 1 2009Office replaced by Delegate
Lost election to new office
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ChamorroIndependent
3 1 2009present
'
ChamorroDemocratic
3 1 2009present
'
ChamorroIndependent
3 1 2009present
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SamoanRepublicanAmerican Samoa3 1 2015present
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ChamorroDemocraticGuam3 1 2019present