Ro Khanna
DemocratU.S. Representative, CA-17| Age | 49 (b. 1976-09-13) |
| Gender | Male |
| In office since | 2017-01-03 (~9 yrs) |
| Race / ethnicity | South Asian / Indian American |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Education | B.A. in Economics (Phi Beta Kappa), University of Chicago, 1998; J.D., Yale Law School, 2001; valedictorian, Council Rock High School North, 1994 |
| Prior occupation | Attorney (intellectual property); federal law clerk (Judge Morris S. Arnold, 8th Circuit); Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce (2009–2011); Visiting Lecturer in Economics, Stanford University (2012–2016); Adjunct Professor, Santa Clara University School of Law; board member, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte |
| Military service | No |
| Birthplace | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Languages | English, Hindi |
| Marital status | married — Ritu Ahuja Khanna |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Fremont, California |
| Notable relatives | Maternal grandfather Amarnath Vidyalankar was an Indian independence movement politician and member of the Lok Sabha (1952–77); father-in-law Monte Ahuja is a prominent Ohio businessman and philanthropist |
Pending research: openly lgbtq.
Career & politics
| First elected | 2016 |
| Previous offices | Member, California Workforce Development Board (Chair, Advanced Manufacturing Committee), appointed by Governor Jerry Brown, 2012–2016 · Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, 2009–2011 |
| Committees | House Armed Services Committee (Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems) · House Armed Services Committee (Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces) · House Committee on Oversight and Accountability · Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (Ranking Member) |
| Caucuses | Congressional Progressive Caucus (Vice Chair) · Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus · Congressional Antitrust Caucus (Founder and Co-Chair) · No PAC Caucus (Co-Founder) · Congressional YIMBY Caucus · Climate Solutions Caucus · Medicare for All Caucus · Congressional Equality Caucus · Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans (Co-Chair) · Pakistan Caucus · Vietnam Caucus |
| Leadership | Ranking Member, House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems · Ranking Member, Select Committee on Strategic Competition with China (Democratic side) · Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans (119th Congress) |
| Ideology | Self-described 'progressive capitalist'; member of Congressional Progressive Caucus; co-chaired Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign; endorsed by Justice Democrats; GovTrack rates him as one of the more progressive members of the House |
| Signature legislation | Endless Frontier Act (precursor to CHIPS and Science Act, with Schumer/Young/Gallagher; signed August 2022) · CHIPS and Science Act (2022) — attended Biden signing ceremony · Valor Act (2017, signed by Trump) — improving veterans' employment · IDEA Act (signed December 2018) — improving digital accessibility · Stop BEZOS Act (2018, with Sanders) — taxing large employers whose workers receive federal benefits · Internet Bill of Rights (2018, drafted at Pelosi's request) · Epstein Files Transparency Act (2025, with Massie) — signed by Trump, led to release of millions of documents · Raise the Wage Act of 2025 (co-sponsor) |
Financial
Net worth: disclosed $36,446,273–$101,485,000 (2023) · estimate
| MAI Capital Income and Growth Fund V, LP | fund · $1,000,001 · 2023 |
| MAI Capital Management, LLC (wealth management interest) | business_owned · $1,000,001 · 2023 |
| ARECO LP Commercial Property (Walton, OH) — 2020 Trust FBO Khanna Children | real_estate · $1,000,001 · 2023 |
| Areco Golf/Mayfield Sand Ridge Country Club (Cleveland, OH) | other · $1,000,001 · 2023 |
| Barrington Golf Club (Aurora, OH) | other · $1,000,001 · 2023 |
| Diverse stock portfolio (500+ positions including Palantir, Berkshire Hathaway, Disney, Micron Technology, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, pharma stocks) | stock · 2023 |
Top donors: Thomas Kurian (Google Cloud CEO) · Dipanjan Deb (Francisco Partners) · Sunny Bhatia (Prime Healthcare CEO)
Top industries: Internet / Technology · Venture Capital / Private Equity · Computer Software · Securities & Investment · Electronics Manufacturing & Equipment · Miscellaneous Finance · Business Services
Scandals & crimes ledger
resolved — FEC Conciliation Agreement – Ro for Congress (MUR 7062): Use of FEC Database Information via RevUp Software
The FEC opened MUR 7062 after a complaint alleged that Ro Khanna's 2014 and 2016 campaign committee (Ro for Congress) violated 52 U.S.C. § 30111(a)(4) by using fundraising software from RevUp Software that incorporated donor-history data drawn from the FEC's public database to solicit contributions — a prohibited use under the Federal Election Campaign Act. The Commission voted 6-0 on October 22, 2021 to accept a pre-probable-cause conciliation agreement in which Ro for Congress paid a $16,000 civil penalty. RevUp Software and its operator Linda Sell were also respondents. The FEC made no personal finding of wrongdoing against Khanna and did not fine him individually; the penalty was assessed against the campaign committee.
resolved — Civil Lawsuit: Honda Campaign Alleges Unauthorized Access to Donor Database
Rep. Mike Honda's campaign filed a federal civil lawsuit in September 2016 against Ro Khanna and his campaign manager Brian Parvizshahi, alleging Parvizshahi illegally accessed a Dropbox folder containing proprietary Honda donor data (nearly 10,000 supporters) 44 times between January 2014 and May 2015, violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Economic Espionage Act. No criminal charges were filed against Khanna or Parvizshahi. Parvizshahi resigned the same day the lawsuit was filed. A federal judge brokered a compromise requiring Khanna to turn over some campaign records to Honda. The matter was ultimately settled through mediation with a sealed settlement, with no finding of wrongdoing against Khanna personally.