| Ted Lieu | |||||||||||||||
| Office1: | Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus | ||||||||||||||
| Leader1: | Hakeem Jeffries | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start1: | January 3, 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Predecessor1: | Pete Aguilar | ||||||||||||||
| Office2: | Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee | ||||||||||||||
| Leader2: | Nancy Pelosi | ||||||||||||||
| Alongside2: | Matt Cartwright, Debbie Dingell, and Joe Neguse | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start2: | January 3, 2019 | ||||||||||||||
| Term End2: | January 3, 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Predecessor2: | Cheri Bustos David Cicilline Hakeem Jeffries | ||||||||||||||
| Successor2: | Veronica Escobar Dean Phillips Lauren Underwood | ||||||||||||||
| State3: | California | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start3: | January 3, 2015 | ||||||||||||||
| Predecessor3: | Henry Waxman | ||||||||||||||
| Constituency3: | (2015–2023) (2023–present) | ||||||||||||||
| State Senate4: | California State | ||||||||||||||
| District4: | 28th | ||||||||||||||
| Predecessor4: | Jenny Oropeza | ||||||||||||||
| Successor4: | Jeff Stone (redistricted) | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start4: | February 18, 2011 | ||||||||||||||
| Term End4: | November 30, 2014 | ||||||||||||||
| State Assembly5: | California | ||||||||||||||
| District5: | 53rd | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start5: | September 21, 2005 | ||||||||||||||
| Term End5: | November 30, 2010 | ||||||||||||||
| Predecessor5: | Mike Gordon | ||||||||||||||
| Successor5: | Betsy Butler | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 29 March 1969 | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Taipei, Taiwan Province, Republic of China | ||||||||||||||
| Party: | Democratic | ||||||||||||||
| Children: | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Education: | Georgetown University (JD) | ||||||||||||||
| Allegiance: |  United States | ||||||||||||||
| Serviceyears: | 1995–1999 (active) 2000–2021 (reserve) | ||||||||||||||
| Rank: | Colonel | ||||||||||||||
| Unit: | Judge Advocate General's Corps | ||||||||||||||
| Module: |
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Ted Win-Ping Lieu (Chinese: 劉雲平; ; born March 29, 1969) is an American lawyer and politician who has represented California's 36th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023. He represented the 33rd congressional district from 2015 to 2023. The district includes South Bay and Westside regions of Los Angeles, as well as Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and Beach Cities.
Having emigrated from Taiwan at age 3, Lieu is one of 18 members of Congress who are naturalized U.S. citizens. He represented the 28th district in the California State Senate from 2011 to 2014, after being elected to fill the seat of deceased Senator Jenny Oropeza. From 2005 to 2010 he was a California state assemblyman, representing the 53rd district, after being elected to fill the seat of deceased assemblyman Mike Gordon.
Lieu served on active duty with the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1995 to 1999. From 2000 to 2021 he served in the Air Force Reserve Command, and he attained the rank of colonel in 2015. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi appointed Lieu assistant whip of the 115th Congress in 2017. He has been vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus since 2023.
Lieu was born in 1969 in Taipei, Taiwan. His family immigrated to the United States when he was three years old, settling in Cleveland, Ohio.[1]
After graduating from Saint Ignatius High School in 1987, Lieu studied computer science and political science at Stanford University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in 1991. He then attended Georgetown University Law Center, becoming editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal and graduating in 1994 with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude.
After law school, Lieu served as a law clerk to Judge Thomas Tang of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1994 to 1995.[2]
Lieu joined the United States Air Force in 1995 and served four years on active duty as a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps. As a military prosecutor and adviser to commanders, he has received various awards and medals for his service, both abroad and locally, including the Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal.[3] Lieu continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve from 2000 to 2021; in this capacity, he was promoted to his terminal rank of colonel in December 2015.[4] [5]
On March 5, 2002, Lieu was elected to the Torrance City Council alongside Mike Mauno and Pat McIntyre. On April 9, they were sworn in to replace outgoing members Marcia Cribb, Jack Messerlian, and Dan Walker, who had been elected mayor. Lieu served until his election to the state assembly, and was succeeded by Rod Guyton via appointment.[6] [7]
Lieu won a September 13, 2005, special election to fill the 53rd Assembly district following the death of incumbent Mike Gordon. Lieu defeated three Republicans, including physician Mary Jo Ford and fellow Torrance city councilman Paul Nowatka.[8]
Lieu was reelected in 2006 and again in 2008.[9]
Lieu was chair of the Assembly Rules Committee. He was a member of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, Assembly Judiciary Committee and Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee. Lieu was also chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus and chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace.[10] In 2014 he joined the newly founded Friends of Wales Caucus.
In 2008, in a surprising turn of events in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) English language controversy, Lieu and state senator Leland Yee of San Francisco were able to help rescind the LPGA Tour Commission's suspension-penalty policy for players who failed to learn enough English to speak to sponsors and at award ceremonies. Both officials publicly challenged the legality and galvanized community attention to the LPGA's policy in August 2008 when it was released, which resulted in revision of the policy by the end of 2008.[11] [12]
Lieu is a strong supporter of expansion of public transit in West Los Angeles, LAX, and the South Bay.[13]
Lieu coauthored a successful bill to bypass environmental quality regulations to build a football stadium in Los Angeles. The bill was intended to help the efforts of developer Edward P. Roski persuade the National Football League to return to the city, and was controversial among many environmentalists and legislators.[14] Further controversy ensued when it was announced that Roski had given over $500,000 to political campaigns, including $13,000 to Lieu's.[15]
As an assemblyman, Lieu authored laws in the areas of public safety, child sex offenders, domestic violence, the environment, education, health care, veterans' issues and transportation.
Some of his legislative actions include the following:
Lieu sought the Democratic nomination in the 2010 California attorney general election. He finished fourth in the June primary, which was won by future Vice President Kamala Harris.
Lieu won a February 15, 2011, special election to fill the 28th Senate district following the death of incumbent Jenny Oropeza. He defeated four Republicans, one Democrat, and two independents.[23]
On January 30, 2014, Lieu voted in favor of California Senate Constitutional Amendment 5.[24] The proposed bill asked California voters to repeal provisions of Proposition 209 and permit state universities to consider an applicant's race, ethnicity or national origin in making admissions decisions. After hearing strong opposition to the bill from the Asian-American community, Lieu, along with senators Leland Yee and Carol Liu, who had also voted for the bill, jointly issued a statement on February 27 calling for the bill to be withheld pending further consultations with the "affected communities".[25]
Lieu was the Democratic candidate for the 33rd congressional district, formerly represented by Henry Waxman, who retired in 2014 after 40 years in Congress.[26] The 2010 redistricting placed a portion of Torrance, including Lieu's home, in the 33rd.
Lieu placed second in the June primary, but defeated Republican Elan Carr in the general election. He and Waxman are the only persons to represent this district since its creation in 1974 (it was the 24th from 1975 to 1993, the 29th from 1993 to 2003, the 30th from 2003 to 2013, and has been the 33rd since 2013).
Lieu successfully passed three laws in the 114th Congress, securing $35 million in funding to the West Los Angeles VA for seismic retrofits; reauthorizing the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans; and restoring the Quarterly Financial Report. Lieu also introduced the Climate Solutions Act in the 114th Congress, which aimed to model national energy goals and climate emissions reduction targets after the state of California.[27]
In the 115th Congress, Lieu introduced H.R. 669 – Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017, which would prohibit the president from using the Armed Forces to conduct a first-use nuclear strike unless such strike is conducted pursuant to a congressional declaration of war expressly authorizing such strike.[28]
On March 8, 2017, Lieu introduced H.R. 1437 – No Money Bail Act of 2017. The bill proposes eliminating the money bail system for holding suspects in pretrial proceedings.[29]