Meet Ro
Ro’s mission is to confront
wealth inequality
with a bold, fresh
economic vision.
He’s creating high-paying jobs, rebuilding communities and standing up for workers rights and ownership. He is fighting for a new economic bill of rights for all Americans.
Ro Khanna is a United States Congressman from California’s 17th District in the heart of Silicon Valley. He has a vision to build America into a modern manufacturing and innovation superpower, and he partners it with a commitment to passing Medicare for All, a livable minimum wage, $10 a day childcare, and free public college and trade school. He is a progressive with a fresh economic vision.
“We will only heal the soul of America if we rebuild America. Our economic body must be strong for our national spirit to thrive.”
The City Club of Cleveland | April 14, 2025
Roots and Values
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1976, to a middle-class, immigrant family, Ro’s faith in America is rooted in his own story. His grandfather, Amarnath Vidyalanker, was part of Gandhi’s independence movement in India, spending four years in jail for writing articles against colonialism and protesting British rule.
That freedom movement inspired John Lewis and Dr. King, and led to the Immigration Reform Act of 1965, which allowed Ro’s parents to come to America.
Ro’s father worked as a chemical engineer, leaving home before dawn so he could be back in time for dinner with the family. His mother worked as a substitute teacher’s assistant for children with special needs and stayed up late helping with homework at the kitchen table. He grew up in an economically mixed community with working and middle class families. On his street on Amsterdam Avenue, there were nurses, electricians, teachers, and a vice president of a big company, whose house had a pool where all the kids would go to hang out. Thanks to neighbors, good public schools and teachers, and coaches who encouraged him, Ro grew up believing that anything is possible in America.
After college and law school, Ro moved to Silicon Valley, fascinated by the future of tech but with no money or connections. As an outsider, he ran for Congress at the age of 27 as the nation’s first anti Iraq War candidate and lost. In the years that followed, he taught economics at Stanford, practiced tech law, worked on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, and later served in the Obama administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Years later, he ran again on a platform of political reform. He lost that race too.
Then, on his third try, this country elected him – an Indian American of Hindu faith – to represent Silicon Valley, the engine of technological innovation for the nation and the world. During that campaign, President Jimmy Carter endorsed Ro for Congress, praising his idealism, energy, and deep commitment to public service, and calling him one of the next generation of leaders for our country. Once elected, Ro became Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign.
Path to Congress
In Congress, Ro has fought to give everyone the same shot at the American dream that he had. He has created thousands of jobs across 13 states stretching from Nevada to Ohio to New Hampshire through a national jobs program that connects top tech companies from Silicon Valley to community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, and Hispanic-serving institutions.
Ro has also partnered with the United Steel Workers and industry leaders to introduce legislation to build new, modern steel plants in places like Johnstown, Pennsylvania that have suffered from deindustrialization. He introduced bipartisan legislation to create a National Economic Development Council to invest in factory towns, rural communities and cities like Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Warren, Ohio, set benchmarks for implementation, and simplify the approvals process.
Bipartisan Leadership
His focus on revitalizing American industry aligns with his strong record of bipartisan work. Ro co-authored the bipartisan CHIPS and Science law to invest in semiconductor manufacturing and innovation here at home. He also passed laws to modernize the federal government, protect against cyber threats, create apprenticeships for veterans and make it easier for the National Guard and reserve forces to access disability and pension benefits. This willingness to engage earned him the title of California House Democrat most likely to get a bill signed into law. He was also awarded the Publius Award from the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress for his bipartisan leadership, including laws to modernize federal websites, expand apprenticeship opportunities for veterans, and study barriers faced by the National Guard and reserve members in accessing disability and pension benefits.
Ro partnered with Republican Congressman Thomas Massie to release the Epstein files. Their work resulted in a historic House vote passing 427 to 1 to release the files and bring transparency and justice for survivors. He also worked with Massie on a war powers resolution to prevent the war with Iran.
As a leading progressive, Ro has led the charge to cancel student loan debt, ban members of Congress from taking PAC money or trading stocks, cancel all medical debt, and establish term limits and a judicial code of ethics for Supreme Court Justices. He also supports making billionaires pay their fair share and introduced a wealth tax with Senator Bernie Sanders to reduce inequality.
Education and Service
Before being elected to Congress, Ro graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in economics with honors and received a law degree from Yale University. As a student at the University of Chicago, Khanna worked on the campaign of a little-known candidate for State Senate named Barack Obama before eventually working on his presidential campaign and in his administration.
Ro is proud to call Fremont home and he and his wife Ritu have two young children. He is a Phillies fan and roots for the 49ers.