Pramila Jayapal

Pramila Jayapal born September 21 1965 is an American politician serving as the US representative from Washingtons 7th congressional district since 2017 A member of the Democratic Party she represents most of Seattle as well as some suburban areas of King County Jayapal represented the 37th legislative district in the Washington State Senate from 2015 to 2017 She is the first IndianAmerican woman to serve in the US House of Representatives The districts first female member of Congress she is also the first Asian American to represent Washington at the federal level Before entering electoral politics Jayapal was a Seattlebased civil rights activist serving until 2012 as the executive director of OneAmerica a proimmigrant advocacy group She founded the organization originally called Hate Free Zone after the September 11 attacks Jayapal cochaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus from 2019 to 2021 henceforth serving as chair She serves on both the Judiciary Committee and Budget Committee