Yassamin Ansari ( ; ; born April 7, 1992)"ANSARI, Yassamin , US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives"
''US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives''. Retrieved 2025-03-06. is an American politician and

climate policy The politics of climate change results from different perspectives on how to respond to climate change. Global warming is driven largely by the emissions of greenhouse gases due to human economic activity, especially the burning of fossil fuel ...

activist who has served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for

Arizona's 3rd congressional district Arizona's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district that includes most of southern, western, and downtown Phoenix, along with a southern portion of Glendale. It is currently represented by Democrat Yassamin Ansari. From 2003 to ...

since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served on the

Phoenix City Council The Phoenix City Council is the governing body of the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The council is made up of nine members, including a mayor and eight council members representing individual districts. While the mayor is elected in a citywide elect ...

from 2021 to 2024. At the time of her election to the Phoenix City Council, Ansari was the youngest person to be elected to the council and the first

Iranian American Iranian-Americans, also known as Persian-Americans, are Americans, United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian peoples, Iranian ancestry, or who hold Iranian Multiple citizenship, citizenship. Most Iranian-Americans arrived in the U ...

elected to public office in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Ansari is also the youngest female member of Congress.

Early life and education

Ansari was born in Seattle, Washington, to parents who immigrated to the United States from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Ansari grew up in

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

and attended Chaparral High School. In high school, she organized with the

Arizona Democratic Party The Arizona Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Arizona. Its headquarters are in Phoenix. Along with its main rival, the Arizona Republican Party, it is one of two major parties in the state. The Arizon ...

in support of

Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign Barack Obama, then junior United States senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for president of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. After winning a majority of delegates in the Democratic primaries of 2008, ...

and worked with her mother to tutor Somali refugees. Ansari attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, and received a bachelor's degree in international relations. During college, Ansari interned for

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

Early career

After graduation, she was selected for The John Gardner Fellowship Program and started working in the office of

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

. She worked as a senior policy advisor with Ban, spending a year working on the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...

, and later worked in the same role with Ban's successor,

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

. She started working towards a master's degree in international relations and politics from St. John's College, Cambridge in 2016, which she ultimately received. She continued to be involved in promoting climate action, helping plan the Climate Action 2016 Summit, the Global Climate Action Summit, and the first U.N. Youth Climate Summit.

Phoenix City Council

Ansari ran in a November 2020 election to fill the seat vacated by Michael Nowakowski, representing Phoenix's 7th District. The top two of the five contenders in the general election, Ansari and Cinthia Estela, continued to a runoff election that took place on March 9, 2021. Ansari took office as a council member on April 19, 2021. While in office, she created an Office of Heat Response and Mitigation. It has sought to plant trees, reduce pavement heat absorption, educate residents, and distribute resources including water. She helped develop a plan to promote use of

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

s, and advocated for the city to purchase

hydrogen fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...

and battery electric public buses. She attended the

2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, coun ...

with Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego, as well as the

2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly referred to as COP27, was the 27th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from 6 November until 20 November 2022 in Sharm El She ...

. Along with other Phoenix City Council members, Ansari was criticized in 2022 for using a suite at

Footprint Center The PHX Arena (formerly America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix Suns Arena and Footprint Center) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. It opened under the name America West Arena on June 6, 1992, at ...

, a sports venue owned by the city, to watch games and concerts; following the criticism, the council voted to review its economic development efforts and consider leasing out the suite. Ansari resigned her City Council seat on March 28, 2024, to focus on her congressional campaign. Former

Hayden Hayden may refer to: Places Inhabited places in the United States * Hayden, Alabama *Hayden, Arizona *Hayden's Ferry, former name of Tempe, Arizona *Hayden, California, former name of Hayden Hill, California *Hayden, Colorado *Hayden, Idaho *Hayde ...

Mayor Carlos Galindo-Elvira was appointed to fill the remainder of her term.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2024

Ansari had been considered a potential 2024 contender for

. She announced her candidacy for the seat on April 4, 2023, and led early fundraising in the race. In September 2023, ''

Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...

'' reported that Ansari and Raquel Terán would likely dominate the race. Ansari raised over $325,000 in the first quarter of 2024, bringing her total raised to more than $1.35 million. In August 2024, Ansari won the primary by just 39 votes, and easily won the general election in the deep-blue district, winning nearly 71% of the vote.

Tenure

In November 2024, Ansari was elected the Democratic freshman class president. Ansari chose to boycott Donald Trump's inauguration, choosing instead to attend a

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and often referred to shorthand as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year. King was the chief spokespers ...

March in Phoenix, in her district. In April 2025, she joined a group of Democratic colleagues in the House in traveling to

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

to investigate the condition of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Natural Resources ** Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources (Ranking Member) ** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations *

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...

** Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation ** Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs

Caucus memberships

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is a Caucuses of the United States Congress, caucus consisting of members of the United States Congress who are Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (Asian Pacific American, AAPI), and who ...

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the progressive faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Caucus, ...

* Congressional Labor Caucus

Political positions

Ansari has advocated for

climate action Climate action (or climate change action) refers to a range of activities, mechanisms, policy instruments, and so forth that aim at reducing the severity of human-induced climate change and its impacts. "More climate action" is a central demand o ...

and

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

efforts. Ansari has expressed support for unions and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

. She has also supported expanding temporary and affordable housing options to help address

homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

in Phoenix.

Israel and Palestine

Ansari had been endorsed by the political arm of the pro-Israel advocacy group Democratic Majority for Israel. Ansari has endorsed continued U.S. military aid to Israel “without additional conditions", and has advocated for the expansion of the

Abraham Accords The Abraham Accords are bilateral agreements on Arab–Israeli normalization signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain on September 15, 2020. Mediated by the United States, the announcement of August ...

. Ansari criticized a proposal by Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

that would block $20 billion in arm sales to Israel amid the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, arguing that "this resolution will attempt to deprive Israel of the materials needed for deterrence and defense while also accomplishing nothing to improve the situation in Gaza." In 2025, Ansari was among a minority of House Democrats to back legislation rebuking the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

(ICC) over arrest warrants issued against Israeli leaders. Ansari argued that the ICC's actions were inappropriate, stating that "As a liberal democracy with an independent judiciary, Israel has the responsibility of investigating allegations of wrongdoing".

Personal life

Her family was of Muslim origin but stopped practicing after fleeing Iran after the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

in 1979. Ansari considers herself an

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

. According to financial disclosures, Ansari's father lent her between $250,000 and $500,000 for a condo payment. Ansari's financial disclosures from October 2023 showed that she owns two properties in downtown Phoenix and made between $15,000 and $50,000 in 2023 by renting one. Ansari also estimated in the disclosure that her assets were worth between $2.5 million and $8.3 million.

Awards and honors

In 2019, Ansari was selected for the ''

Grist Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a gristmill. Its etymology derives from the verb ''grind.'' Grist can be ground into meal or flour, depending on h ...

'' 50, an annual list of people taking environmental action. In 2020, Ansari was selected for the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30: Policy and Law list.

Electoral history

Phoenix City Council elections

2020 general election

2021 runoff election

2024 U.S. House of Representatives Election

Democratic primary

General election

References

External links

*
Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansari, Yassamin 1992 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Arizona politicians 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge American politicians of Iranian descent Arizona city council members Arizona Democrats Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona Female members of the United States House of Representatives Government of Phoenix, Arizona Living people Members of the United States House of Representatives of Asian descent Stanford University alumni Women city councillors in Arizona American agnostics