Joe Neguse

Joseph D. Neguse ( born May 13, 1984) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 2nd congressional district since 2019. The district is based in Boulder and includes many of Denver's northwestern suburbs, as well as Fort Collins. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a regent of the University of Colorado from 2008 to 2015. Neguse is the first Eritrean-American elected to the United States Congress and Colorado's first black member of Congress. Neguse has served as House assistant Democratic leader since 2024.

Early life and education
Neguse's parents immigrated to the United States from Eritrea. They met while living in Bakersfield, California, where they married and had Joe and his younger sister. The family moved to Colorado when he was six years old. After living in Aurora, Littleton, and Highlands Ranch, the family settled in Boulder. Neguse graduated from ThunderRidge High School. He then graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he served as student body president, with a bachelor's degree in political science and economics summa cum laude in 2005 and then from the University of Colorado Law School, with his Juris Doctor in 2009.

Earlier career
While he was a student, Neguse founded New Era Colorado, an organization to get young people involved in politics. He worked at the Colorado State Capitol as an assistant to Andrew Romanoff when Romanoff was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives. In 2008 Neguse was elected to the Regents of the University of Colorado, representing CO's 2nd congressional district, becoming the second African American in Colorado history to serve on the Board of Regents.

Neguse ran for Secretary of State of Colorado in 2014,  losing to Wayne W. Williams, 47.5% to 44.9%. In June 2015, Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Neguse the executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), making him one of the youngest state cabinet officials in the country.

At DORA, Neguse led an agency with roughly 600 employees and a $100 million budget charged with protecting consumers across the state by regulating the financial securities and insurance industries.

In 2017, Neguse resigned from DORA to run in the 2018 elections for the United States House of Representatives in Colorado's 2nd congressional district, seeking to succeed Jared Polis, who successfully ran for governor of Colorado. He also joined the law firm Snell & Wilmer, working in administrative law.

2018
On June 13, 2017, Neguse announced he would run for the Democratic nomination after incumbent U.S. Representative Jared Polis announced he would not run for reelection and would run for governor of Colorado. In the June 26, 2018, Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district—Neguse faced businessman and former Boulder County Democratic Party chairman Mark Williams. Neguse defeated Williams with 65.7% of the vote, winning all 10 counties in the district.

Neguse then defeated the Republican nominee, businessman Peter Yu, in the November 6 general election, receiving 60.2% of the vote, and winning all but two counties. Neguse became the first Black American to represent Colorado in the House.

2020
He was reelected in 2020 with 61.5% of the vote, defeating Republican Charles Winn.

2022
Neguse was reelected in 2022 with 70.7% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Marshall Dawson.

Tenure
Shortly after his election to the House, Neguse was elected by his House colleagues to serve in House leadership as the Co-Freshman Representative.

Neguse voted for the impeachment of Donald Trump in 2019. In 2020, he was named the most bipartisan member of the Colorado congressional delegation by the Lugar Center.

In November 2020, Neguse's House colleagues unanimously elected him to serve as a co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, the number eight position in House Democratic leadership. In December 2022, he was elected chair, the fifth-highest position in the Democratic Party leadership.

On January 12, 2021, Speaker Pelosi appointed Neguse as a House impeachment manager (prosecutor) for Trump's second impeachment trial, making him the youngest impeachment manager in U.S. history. During the trial, Neguse and his fellow House impeachment managers built their case by drawing connections between Trump's claims of election fraud in the 2020 election and the January 6 United States Capitol attack. In the end, the Senate voted to acquit Trump, but with seven Republican senators voting to convict, it was the most bipartisan impeachment trial in U.S. history.

On March 20, 2024 Neguse was elected House assistant Democratic leader, succeeding Jim Clyburn.

Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress:
 * Committee on Natural Resources
 * Subcommittee on Federal Lands (Ranking Member)
 * Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries
 * Committee on Rules
 * Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process
 * Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
 * Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust

Caucus memberships

 * Congressional Black Caucus
 * Congressional Progressive Caucus
 * House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force (vice chair)
 * Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus
 * Congressional Cannabis Caucus
 * Medicare for All Caucus
 * Congressional Coalition on Adoption

Political positions
Neguse voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.

Social issues
Neguse supported the Equality Act. He supports the Voting Rights Act and has introduced legislation to allow people aged 16 and 17 to preregister to vote. He co-sponsored the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. Neguse supports the national legalization of cannabis. Neguse supports universal background checks and believes there are limitations to the Second Amendment.

Climate change
Neguse has called climate change an "existential threat". He has introduced legislation to create an expansion of the Civilian Conservation Corps to focus on forest management and wildfire mitigation. Neguse opposed the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. He supports the Green New Deal. He supports efforts to increase fuel efficiency and federal incentives for renewable energy use. Neguse supports endangered wildlife protections, including sponsoring bills to support wildlife protections on the South Platte River. He also wants to expand the size of Arapaho National Forest.

Economic issues
Neguse opposed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He opposes increased military spending.

Healthcare
Neguse supports Medicare for All and universal health care. He also supports mandatory coverage of preexisting conditions and opposes repealing the Affordable Care Act. Neguse supports the national expansion of COVID-19 testing and voted in support of stimulus funding related to the pandemic. He opposed the Trump administration's decision to leave the World Health Organization during the pandemic.

Voting rights
Neguse supports national mail-in voting. He also supports the Voting Rights Act.

Immigration and criminal justice
The son of immigrants, Neguse supports immigration reform and serves as the vice chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. He supports a pathway for citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and the DREAM Act. He supports police reform.

Stock trading prohibition by Members of Congress
The congressman supports a prohibition on members of Congress trading in stocks.

Personal life
Neguse is married to Andrea Jimenez Rael. They met in Boulder County. Their daughter was born in August 2018 and their son in May 2023. They live in Lafayette, east of Boulder.