74 Facts About Ro Khanna

1.

Rohit Khanna is an American politician and lawyer serving as the US representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017.

2.

Ro Khanna served as the deputy assistant secretary in the United States Department of Commerce under President Barack Obama from August 8,2009, to August 2011.

3.

Ro Khanna identifies as a progressive capitalist, and has called for a "new economic patriotism" as a governing philosophy.

4.

Rohit Ro Khanna was born on September 13,1976, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into an Indian Punjabi Hindu family.

5.

Ro Khanna's parents immigrated to the US from Punjab, India.

6.

Ro Khanna's father is a chemical engineer who graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology and then the University of Michigan; his mother is a former schoolteacher.

7.

Ro Khanna's maternal grandfather Amarnath Vidyalankar was from Bhera City, Shahpur District, Punjab Province, British India and was a part of the Indian independence movement, working with Lala Lajpat Rai, and spent two years in jail in the pursuit of Dominion status for India.

8.

Ro Khanna graduated from Council Rock High School North, a public school in Newtown, Bucks County in 1994.

9.

Ro Khanna received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics with honors from the University of Chicago in 1998, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School of Yale University in 2001.

10.

Ro Khanna interned for Jack Quinn when Quinn served as the chief of staff for Vice President Al Gore.

11.

In that role, Ro Khanna led international trade missions and worked to increase United States exports.

12.

Ro Khanna was later appointed to the White House Business Council.

13.

Ro Khanna was a visiting lecturer of economics at Stanford University from 2012 to 2016, taught law at the Santa Clara University School of Law, and taught American jurisprudence at San Francisco State University.

14.

Ro Khanna served on the board of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte from 2006 until 2013 while on leave from the Obama Administration.

15.

In 2014, Ro Khanna left Wilson Sonsini for his first, unsuccessful campaign for California's 17th congressional district seat.

16.

Ro Khanna lost a close election to the incumbent, Mike Honda, but garnered substantial support from the Silicon Valley tech industry.

17.

Ro Khanna then took a job as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Smart Utility Systems.

18.

Ro Khanna played a key role in year long negotiations with Senator Joe Manchin to secure the $369 billion climate investment in the Inflation Reduction Act and bring House progressives and environmental groups on board.

19.

Ro Khanna criticized oil executives for increasing their oil production on October 28,2021; conversely, in March 2022, he called for an increase in production after gas prices increased.

20.

Ro Khanna called climate activist Greta Thunberg to testify in a hearing on eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and worked with executive director of Greenpeace Annie Leonard to lead the campaign to stop new fossil fuel permitting in California.

21.

In March 2019, Ro Khanna was one of 14 members of the House to cosponsor the PFAS Detection Act, legislation intended to provide $45 million to the US Geological Survey for the purpose of developing advanced technologies that can detect PFAS and afterward conduct nationwide sampling for PFAS in the environment.

22.

Kerry and Ro Khanna called for the creation of an infrastructure bank to finance a high-speed rail system to relieve congestion, reduce pollution, increase energy efficiency, and provide alternatives to regional air travel.

23.

Ro Khanna has said that creating a Select Committee specifically dedicated to a Green New Deal would be a "very commonsense idea", based on the recent example of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which proved effective in developing a 2009 bill for cap-and-trade legislation.

24.

In October 2018, Ro Khanna released a set of principles for an Internet Bill of Rights, including the right of US citizens to have full knowledge of and control over their personal online data, the right to be notified and consent when an entity seeks to collect or sell one's personal data, and the guarantee of net neutrality.

25.

The White House invited Ro Khanna to be on stage with President Biden when he signed the Chips and Science bill.

26.

Ro Khanna's Valor Act passed both the House and the Senate and was signed by President Donald Trump on November 21,2017.

27.

Ro Khanna called for additional funds to existing community colleges and land grant universities to create technology institutes, endorsed an $80 billion investment in high-speed fiber internet throughout the country, and called for federal incentives for government hiring of rural-based software development companies.

28.

Ro Khanna led a delegation of Silicon Valley executives to Jefferson, Iowa, where they partnered with local community colleges and Pillar Technology to create software designer jobs paying $65,000 a year.

29.

Ro Khanna spearheaded a joint effort with Google, community colleges, HBCUs, and HSIs to establish a public-private partnership aimed at offering financial assistance, skills training, and access to high-paying positions in the technology sector to more than 100 students.

30.

Ro Khanna has argued that Silicon Valley should share its economic success with the rest of the US He has been a longtime supporter of bringing advanced manufacturing jobs across America, the topic of his book, Entrepreneurial Nation: Why Manufacturing Is Still Key To America's Future.

31.

In March 2017, Ro Khanna traveled to Paintsville, Kentucky, known as "Silicon Holler", with a bipartisan delegation from Congress, to lend support to TechHire Eastern Kentucky, a program that trains Kentuckians in fields like computer technology and coding.

32.

Ro Khanna expressed support for a broad technology apprenticeship program that could help areas of the United States like Appalachia by giving blue-collar workers the skills they need to launch careers in the technology sector.

33.

In May 2017, Ro Khanna stood up for the Appalachian Regional Commission and Manufacturing Externship Partnership, a Reagan-era policy, when Trump's proposed 2018 budget zeroed out its funding.

34.

Ro Khanna passed his first legislative initiative as the lead Democrat with Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to enable veterans to use GI funding for tech training programs.

35.

Ro Khanna called on Silicon Valley executives and technology companies to do more nationwide to create tech jobs and diversify their recruiting efforts by making sure to recruit the next generation of tech workers from not just Ivy League institutions but state schools and historically black colleges and universities.

36.

Ro Khanna has been called an "unconventional ambassador" for the Democratic Party in bringing technology and innovation across America.

37.

Ro Khanna has called on his colleagues to adopt a more progressive economic platform.

38.

Ro Khanna is an original co-sponsor of Senator Bernie Sanders's College For All Act, legislation aiming to make public colleges tuition-free.

39.

Ro Khanna has proposed $1 trillion expansion of the earned income tax credit, financed by a financial transaction tax, to help working families across America.

40.

Ro Khanna has co-sponsored the Reward Work Act of 2018, to reform US labor law and corporate law by guaranteeing the right of employees in listed companies to elect one third of the board of directors.

41.

Ro Khanna led Congress in writing a letter to Howard Schultz to stand up for Starbucks workers' right to unionize.

42.

Ro Khanna led the legislation to implement a gender-inclusive "X" identifier on US passports that served as a basis for the State Department's action on the issue.

43.

In 2017, Ro Khanna co-founded the NO PAC Caucus in the House with two other members, Beto O'Rourke and Jared Polis.

44.

Ro Khanna has worked with Republican Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin on reform proposals.

45.

Ro Khanna has said he believes the Democratic Party needs to rethink its political program by running on progressive issues like free college, Medicare for all, and the removal of corporate influence and money from politics.

46.

Ro Khanna founded and co-chairs the Antitrust Caucus in the House.

47.

In 2018, along with Senator Bernie Sanders, Ro Khanna proposed the Stop BEZOS Act, which would tax firms for every dollar that employees earn in government health care benefits or food stamps.

48.

Ro Khanna wrote a letter to the inspector general of the Department of Defense requesting that he look into TransDigm Group, an aviation-parts manufacturer, and supplier of companies like Boeing.

49.

Ro Khanna said he wants to make sure the TransDigm Group is not adding unnecessary costs to the US taxpayer and is not contributing to the $54 billion increase in defense spending proposed by the Trump administration.

50.

On January 18,2018, Ro Khanna organized a group of 33 House members to sign a letter urging Trump to reestablish military-to-military communications with North Korea.

51.

Ro Khanna called for two other steps that should be taken to alleviate tension with the DPRK.

52.

Ro Khanna reintroduced a bill explicitly stating that the President of the United States should not be allowed to launch a nuclear strike without congressional approval, and called upon Trump to send a bipartisan team to negotiate directly with the North Koreans.

53.

In November 2018, after American and Saudi officials announced that the Trump administration had halted its inflight refueling support for the Saudi-led coalition aircraft engaged in Yemen, Ro Khanna called the decision "a major victory" while asserting the need for Congress to pass a resolution ensuring all American involvement was ended.

54.

On December 22,2018, Ro Khanna laid out the progressive case for withdrawal of military forces from Syria and Afghanistan, noting that Congress never authorized the involvement of US troops in the Syrian civil war.

55.

Ro Khanna has worked with former president Jimmy Carter, who has agreed to travel to North Korea to meet with Kim Jong Un; in 1994, Carter met with Kim's grandfather, Kim Il Sung.

56.

In 2019, Ro Khanna was one of eight lawmakers to sign a pledge stating their intent "to fight to reclaim Congress's constitutional authority to conduct oversight of US foreign policy and independently debate whether to authorize each new use of military force" and to bring "the Forever War to a responsible and expedient conclusion" after 17 years of US military conflict.

57.

Ro Khanna has been critical of Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right politician criticized for misogynistic, homophobic and anti-immigrant views who has been embraced by the Trump administration as an ally and partner.

58.

Ro Khanna asked the Trump administration to investigate the case that imprisoned former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on corruption charges, following The Intercept's expose that showed Judge Sergio Moro plotted with prosecutors to convict Lula and prevent the Workers' Party from returning to power.

59.

Ro Khanna led efforts in the House to make the standard for the use of force only as a last resort.

60.

Ro Khanna has been a vocal advocate of abolishing the filibuster and passing voting rights legislation.

61.

Ro Khanna has led a bill to limit Supreme Court justices' terms.

62.

Ro Khanna ran one of the nation's first anti-Iraq war campaigns for the United States House of Representatives in the 2004 elections, unsuccessfully challenging Tom Lantos in the Democratic primary in.

63.

Ro Khanna received endorsements from prominent officials, including Matt Gonzalez, and newspapers, including the San Mateo County Times, but lost.

64.

Ro Khanna intended to run for the House in in the 2012 election, hoping to succeed Democrat Pete Stark after Stark's eventual retirement, though stating he would not challenge Stark directly.

65.

Ro Khanna raised $1.2 million, receiving support from Governor Brown, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Anna Eshoo, and businessmen Vinod Khosla and John W Thompson.

66.

Ro Khanna assembled a campaign team composed of top members of President Barack Obama's reelection team, including Jeremy Bird, Obama's 2012 national field director, and Steve Spinner, one of Obama's top three fundraisers.

67.

On March 28,2014, the Court disqualified one of the candidates and ruled that Ro Khanna had no connection with the incident.

68.

In June 2015, Ro Khanna announced his intention to run again for the House in California's 17th congressional district.

69.

Ro Khanna took no donations from PACs or corporations for his 2016 campaign.

70.

Ro Khanna raised $480,500 from individuals associated with the securities and investment industry and $170,752 from individuals associated with the electronics manufacturing industry.

71.

On June 7,2016, Ro Khanna won the primary with 52,059 votes.

72.

On May 10,2017, Ro Khanna officially joined the Justice Democrats.

73.

Ro Khanna is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

74.

Ro Khanna is an Indian-American, a Punjabi-American and a practicing Hindu-American, describing his faith as "Gandhian".