Jump to content

Elaine Luria: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→United States House of Representatives: moved and expanded section
Tag: possible BLP issue or vandalism
→Political positions: cut repeated section
Tag: section blanking
Line 94: Line 94:


* '''[[New Democrat Coalition]]'''
* '''[[New Democrat Coalition]]'''

==Political positions==
Luria is considered part of a group of "security Democrats" who called for an [[Efforts to impeach Donald Trump|impeachment inquiry on Donald Trump]] in a public op-ed on September 23, 2019.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/how-the-security-democrats-flipped-on-impeachment |title=How the Security Democrats Came Around to Impeachment |first=Benjamin |last=Wallace-Wells |date=2019-09-28 |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref> In a town hall meeting, Luria stated she believed President Trump had "enlist[ed] the help of a foreign leader to influence and malign a potential political opponent to affect the outcome of our next election all under guise of trying to fight corruption."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/the-story-of-a-virginia-swing-district-town-hall-from-cheers-to-jeers/2019/10/04/3d5441e6-e485-11e9-a331-2df12d56a80b_story.html |title=The story of a Virginia swing district town hall: From cheers to jeers |first=Jenna |last=Portnoy |date=October 4, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>


==Electoral history==
==Electoral history==

Revision as of 16:39, 13 April 2020

Elaine Luria
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byScott Taylor
Personal details
Born
Elaine Goodman Luria

(1975-08-15) August 15, 1975 (age 49)
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRobert Blondin
Children3
EducationUnited States Naval Academy (BS, BA)
Old Dominion University (MS)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1997–2017
Rank Commander

Elaine Goodman Luria (born August 15, 1975) is an American politician, United States Navy veteran, and member of the Democratic Party who is the United States House of Representatives for Virginia's 2nd congressional district. The district is centered in Hampton Roads. It includes Poquoson, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg cities, portions of Norfolk and Hampton cities plus sections of James City County and York counties, as well as Accomack and Northampton counties on the Eastern Shore. Prior to being elected to Congress, Luria served as a United States Navy officer for 20 years, spending the majority of her career deployed on navy ships and reaching the rank of Commander.

Early life and education

Luria was born in Birmingham, Alabama.[1][2] Her mother Michelle's family immigrated to Jasper, Alabama, in 1906.[3][4] The family worked selling goods to coal miners in Walker County, Alabama.[3] Her great-grandfather helped found a Reform Jewish congregation in Jasper, and the family in time joined Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, where Luria was raised.[3] Her mother and grandmother were very active in the National Council of Jewish Women (of which her mother was President), Hadassah, the Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood, and the Birmingham Jewish Federation.[3] Luria is active in Ohef Sholom in Norfolk.[4] Both of her grandfathers served in the Navy.[4]

She graduated from metropolitan Birmingham's Indian Springs School in 1993.[2][5] Luria then graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1997, with a Bachelor of Science (BS) in physics and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in history with a minor in French.[4] In 2000, she attended the United States Naval Nuclear Power School in Goose Creek, South Carolina.[6] While in the U.S. Navy and stationed aboard the flagship USS Blue Ridge, Luria earned a Master of Science (MS) degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University in 2004.[7]

Military service

Luria served as a United States Navy officer for 20 years, operating nuclear reactors as an engineer,[8] reaching the rank of commander. She was the first female American sailor to spend her entire career on combat ships.[9]

She served first aboard USS O'Brien, a forward deployed destroyer that was sent to the Middle East.[4] Luria was in charge of Tomahawk strike missiles, and managed a division of 15 people.[4] She then became Reactor Controls Division Officer on USS Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier, deploying again to the Middle East.[4] Luria then as a lieutenant became Flag Aide to the commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet.[4] She was then deployed on USS Mason, a destroyer, and USS Enterprise, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and then was an executive officer of the guided missile cruiser USS Anzio.[4] She became maintenance coordinator of the United States Atlantic Fleet, overseeing USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, another nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.[4] She then commanded Assault Craft Unit TWO, a combat-ready unit of 400 sailors, from 2014 until her retirement in 2017.[10][11] She held a Passover seder on an aircraft carrier shortly after 9/11.[12]

Luria's service was the longest active-duty tenure of any current member of the House Democratic Caucus.[13]

United States House of Representatives

Elections

2018 elections

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia § District 2

In the 2018 elections, Luria ran for the United States House of Representatives in Virginia's 2nd congressional district.[14] In the Democratic primary on June 10, Luria received 62% of the vote, defeating Karen Mallard, who received 38%.[15]

In the November 6, 2018 election, she defeated Republican incumbent Scott Taylor, winning 51% of the vote to Taylor's 49%.[16] Luria carried six of the district's nine county-level jurisdictions, including all but one of the district's five independent cities. She also carried Taylor's hometown of Virginia Beach.[17]

2020 elections

Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia § District 2

Luria is running for re-election in the 2020 elections.

Tenure

Luria was sworn in on January 3, 2019.[18] She was one of 102 female members elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2018, a record number.[18] Among them were two other female veterans, fellow Navy officer Mikie Sherrill and Air Force officer Chrissy Houlahan.[18]

Domestic policy

Economic

While the federal government was in a partial shutdown, Luria asked for her salary to be withheld until federal workers were paid in January 2019.[18] She participated in a bipartisan group of Representatives seeking to broker a compromise to end the shutdown.[19][20]

Gun control

Luria favors instituting red flag laws and universal background checks on all gun purchases.[21]

Health care

Luria supports expanding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, or colloquially known as "Obamacare").[22]

Immigration

In October 2019, Luria co-sponsored the NO BAN Act,[23] introduced by progressive Democrat Judy Chu (CA–27th), which seeks to limit the president's authority to control external migration.[24] The president currently has unilateral authority to limit external travel—specifically, executive control pertains to Aliens—not American citizens or nationals—entering the United States; Chu's legislation would allow Congress to decide whether the Department of State (DOS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under the president's superintendence, meet the proposed NO BAN Act's established rationale for border closure.[24] It mandates that border closures—initiated through the president's direction under the DOS and DHS operational structure—must adhere to more liberalized standards: "Only issue a restriction when required to address a compelling government interest, and narrowly tailor the suspension to use the least restrictive means to achieve such an interest."[24] The NO BAN Act stipulates that Congress must concur with the administration's rationale, or the established restriction becomes void.[24] The administration must report to Congress about the imposed restriction within 48 hours of its imposition under the proposed law.[24] It also provides judicial recourse for "individuals or entities"—primarily, aimed at Aliens as well as aligned advocacy groups present in the United States—to sue for damages imposed by the administration's travel restrictions.[24] According to an editorial in the Washington Examiner, Democrats continued their push for more liberalized immigration statutes while the administration was imposing travel restrictions—during the coronavirus pandemic—on China and Europe to stem the virus' spread into the United States.[25] In March 2020, progressive Democrat Jared Huffman (CA–2nd), a co-sponsor and leading proponent of the NO BAN Act, was focused on passing it to circumvent Donald Trump's Executive Order 13780, which limits external migration from 13 countries.[26]

Military and veteran affairs

In February 2019, Luria introduced the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2019, which increased the cost of living adjustments (COLAs) made to veterans.[27] It garnered bipartisan support and passed in September 2019.[13]

Donald Trump

In September 2019, Luria labeled herself a "security Democrat"—an idiom for freshman Democrats with national security experience[28]—who called for an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump in an op-ed published by The Washington Post.[29] In an October 2019 town hall meeting held in Virginia Beach, Luria stated that Donald Trump had: "Enlist[ed] the help of a foreign leader to influence and malign a potential political opponent to affect the outcome of our next election all under [the] guise of trying to fight corruption."[30] Later in October 2019, Luria formally voted for an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump,[31] and she joined all but three Democrats to vote for impeachment in December 2019 on both counts: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress;[32] all Republicans voted no to both charges in the House of Representatives.[32] Luria had previously voted to table the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump in July 2019.[33]

Environmental policy

Luria accepts the scientific consensus on climate change.[34] She is concerned about the physical impacts of climate change on global instability and military readiness.[34] Luria also believes Donald Trump's administration is attempting to discredit military and scientific experts on the physical impacts of climate change, which she views as an aspersion to the national security and scientific apparatuses.[34]

In April 2019, Luria co-sponsored the Climate Action Now Act (CANA),[35] introduced by progressive Democrat Kathy Castor (FL–14th) in March 2019, which seeks to solidify the Paris Agreement's emissions cap into federal law.[36]

Foreign policy

In October 2019, Luria partook in a bipartisan congressional delegation to Afghanistan, Jordan, and Qatar. The delegation visited American active-duty military personnel and diplomats posted there as well as the aforementioned countries' leadership.[37]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Electoral history

Democratic primary results[43]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elaine Luria 17,552 62.33
Democratic Karen Mallard 10,610 37.67
Total votes 28,162 100.0
Virginia's 2nd congressional district, 2018[44]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Elaine Luria 139,571 51.1
Republican Scott Taylor (incumbent) 133,458 48.8
n/a Write-ins 371 0.1
Total votes 273,400 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

Personal life

Luria's husband, Robert Blondin, is also a retired Navy commander and spent 27 years in the service.[10] Luria has two stepchildren as well as a daughter born in 2009.[45]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Elaine Luria". Archives of Women's Political Communication. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Another way to serve: After 20 years in Navy, Elaine Luria running for Congress". Southern Jewish Life. March 7, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Fractenberg, Ben (October 3, 2018). "Navy Vet Represents Wave Of Female Jewish Candidates". The Forward. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Another way to serve: After 20 years in Navy, Elaine Luria running for Congress". Elaine for Congress. March 7, 2018. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  5. ^ Schneider, Gregory S. (November 5, 2018). "Democrats Wexton, Luria and Spanberger unseat Republicans Comstock, Taylor and Brat, while Kaine cruises in Virginia". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  6. ^ "Elaine Luria; (1975 - )". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  7. ^ Minium, Harry (November 7, 2018). "ODU Graduate Elaine Luria Wins Tight Election for Seat in U.S. Congress". Old Dominion University. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  8. ^ Brueck, Hilary; Kotecki, Peter (January 3, 2019). "The US just elected 9 new scientists to Congress, including an ocean expert, a nurse, and a biochemist. Here's the full list". Business Insider. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  9. ^ Winer, Stuart (November 3, 2018). "Meet the Jewish military veterans running for Congress". The Times of Israel. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "For Elaine Luria, it's ships to mermaids". Jewish News. April 28, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "Meet Elaine". Elaine for Congress. June 1, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  12. ^ Frackenberg, Ben (October 3, 2018). "Navy Vet Represents Fresh Wave Of Jewish Women Running For Congress". The Forward. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Boykin, Nick (October 1, 2019). "Rep. Luria's bipartisan bill becomes law after being signed by President Trump". WTKR. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  14. ^ Bartel, Bill (January 8, 2018). "Mermaid Factory owner, retired Navy officer to take on Rep. Scott Taylor in election". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  15. ^ "In US House Race, Former Navy Commander Targets Former SEAL". WBOC-TV. May 24, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  16. ^ Brufke, Juliegrace (November 6, 2018). "Dem Elaine Luria defeats GOP's Scott Taylor in Virginia". The Hill. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  17. ^ "Virginia House results from 2018". CNN. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  18. ^ a b c d Albiges, Marie (January 3, 2019). "Virginia's Elaine Luria sworn in as Democrats take over House". Daily Press. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  19. ^ Portnoy, Jenna (January 23, 2019). "Rep. Luria, Virginia Democrat, urges Pelosi to offer Trump a vote on border security funding". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  20. ^ Everett, Burgess; Bade, Rachael (January 22, 2019). "Congress agitates to end relentless shutdown". Politico. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  21. ^ Ress, Dave (October 1, 2019). "Elaine Luria visits Yorktown, saying nary a word about impeachment — but showing off her push-up skills". Daily Press. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  22. ^ "Congresswoman Elaine Luria Opposes Efforts to Remove Protections from Virginians with Pre-Existing Conditions". Congresswoman Elaine Luria. July 9, 2019.
  23. ^ "Cosponsors: H.R.2214 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)". United States Congress. October 17, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  24. ^ a b c d e f "Summary: H.R.2214 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)". United States Congress. April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  25. ^ "EDITORIAL: The coronavirus goes on, as does partisan squabbling". Washington Examiner. April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  26. ^ Zauzmer, Julie (April 9, 2020). "During coronavirus crisis, Congress's first caucus for nonreligious belief seeks a larger role in promoting science". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 13, 2020. Huffman said one of his main goals for the caucus was getting behind the No Ban Act, a bill that would put an end to President Trump's travel ban (the one that started at the beginning of his presidency, not the new coronavirus-inspired bans).
  27. ^ "Summary: H.R.1200 - Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2019". United States Congress. February 13, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  28. ^ Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (September 28, 2019). "How the Security Democrats Came Around to Impeachment". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  29. ^ Crow, Jason; Cisneros, Gil; Houlahan, Chrissy; Luria, Elaine; Mikie, Sherrill; Slotkin, Elissa; Spanberger, Abigail (September 23, 2019). "Seven freshman Democrats: These allegations are a threat to all we have sworn to protect". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  30. ^ Portnoy, Jenna (October 4, 2019). "The story of a Virginia swing district town hall: From cheers to jeers". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  31. ^ "Summary: H.Res.660 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)". United States Congress. October 29, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  32. ^ a b "Summary: H.Res.755 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)". United States Congress. December 10, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  33. ^ "Summary: H.Res.498 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)". United States Congress. July 17, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  34. ^ a b c McCue, Dan (May 3, 2019). "Citing Threats to National Security, Representative Elaine Luria, Va.-2, Takes Climate Change Head On". The WELL. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  35. ^ "Cosponsors: H.R.2214 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)". United States Congress. April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  36. ^ "Summary: H.R.2214 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)". United States Congress. March 27, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  37. ^ "Elaine Luria participates in bipartisan delegation to Afghanistan, Jordan, Qatar". Augusta Free Press. October 22, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  38. ^ "Congresswoman Elaine Luria Secures Seat on House Armed Services Committee". Congresswoman Elaine Luria. January 15, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  39. ^ a b "Congresswoman Elaine Luria Appointed to Two Subcommittees on House Armed Services Committee". Congresswoman Elaine Luria. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  40. ^ "Congresswoman Elaine Luria to Serve as Vice Chair of Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee". Congresswoman Elaine Luria. February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  41. ^ "Congresswoman Elaine Luria Joins House Committee on Veterans' Affairs". Congresswoman Elaine Luria. January 17, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  42. ^ "Congresswoman Elaine Luria to Lead Veterans' Subcommittee". Congresswoman Elaine Luria. January 31, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  43. ^ "2018 June Democratic Primary". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  44. ^ "Official Results: 2018 November General Election". Virginia Department of Elections. November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  45. ^ Bartel, Bill (November 3, 2018). "Elaine Luria and Scott Taylor are locked in a close race. Here's where they stand on key issues". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 2nd congressional district
2019–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States Representatives by seniority
382nd 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Elaine_Luria&oldid=950746681"