Pete Aguilar

Peter Rey Aguilar (born June 19, 1979) is an American politician who has been chair of the House Democratic Caucus since 2023.

Aguilar began his career in public service in 2001 when then-California Governor Gray Davis appointed him deputy director of the Inland Empire Regional Office of the governor, eventually becoming the Interim Director.

Aguilar served on the Redlands City Council from 2006 until his election to Congress.

Aguilar chairs the House Democratic Caucus and is the highest-ranking Latino in Congress.

Aguilar was born in Fontana, California, and grew up in a working-class family in San Bernardino, California.

He is of Mexican descent.

He graduated from the University of Redlands, where he studied government and business administration.

In 2006, Aguilar became the youngest member of the Redlands City Council in the city's history when five council members, Democrat and Republican, picked him out of 11 candidates to fill an open seat.

He was elected a year later.

He served as mayor of Redlands, California, from 2010 to 2014, and as the president of the Inland Empire Division of the League of California Cities.

His fellow council members appointed him mayor in 2010 and again in 2012.

As mayor, Aguilar was regarded for his professionalism, leadership during difficult financial times, balancing the city budget while building financial reserves, road improvements, government transparency, and fair treatment of municipal employees.

California's 31st congressional district became more favorable to the Democratic Party as a result of redistricting following the 2010 census.

The Cook Partisan Voting Index rates the district D+5.

In January 2012, Aguilar announced he would run for the seat held by incumbent Republican Gary Miller.

Although the top Democratic vote-getter, with 22.6% of the vote, he finished behind Miller and Robert Dutton, the California State Senate Republican Leader.

Because of California's open primary, both Republicans advanced to the November general election.

In March 2013, Aguilar announced he would run again.

Aguilar served as mayor and councilman until December 2014.

In the June 2014 primary, he finished second, qualifying for the November general election, where he defeated Republican Paul Chabot with 51.4% of the vote.

In addition, he has worked closely with law enforcement and local, state and federal officials and agencies to help communities recover costs incurred from the emergency response to the 2015 San Bernardino attack, which took place in Aguilar's district, and helped secure additional funding for survivors of the attack.

During the Obama Administration, Aguilar supported expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for undocumented children and creating the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program.

He introduced the Academic Success Centers and Education Networks for Dreamers (ASCEND) Act, which would establish grants for college and university programs and services to benefit undocumented students.

Aguilar voted in favor of legislation that would effectively halt the resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq to the U.S., citing national security concerns, but subsequently criticized President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order as "xenophobic" and said it sent a message of "hate and bigotry to the rest of the world."

Aguilar criticized Trump and his staff for citing the 2015 San Bernardino attack in defending the executive order.

Aguilar defeated Chabot again in the 2016 election with 56.1% of the vote.

In the 2018 primary, Aguilar faced Kaiser Ahmed and Sean Flynn, a Republican economist and aikido artist.

Aguilar received 45.96% of the vote to Flynn's 45.45% and Ahmed's 8.59%.

In the general election, Aguilar won 58.7% of the vote to Flynn's 41.3%.

He has been the U.S. representative for California's 33rd congressional district (renumbered from the 31st after the 2020 redistricting cycle) since 2015.

Aguilar won his 2020 election cycle with 61% of the vote, defeating Republic Agnes Gibboney.

Aguilar was elected Vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

Redistricting from the 2020 US census, placed Aguilar in the new 33rd CA house district.

He defeated Republican John Mark Porter and won re-election during the 2022 election cycle.

He was also elected as House Democratic Caucus Chairman, becoming the highest ranking Latino-American in congress, in congressional history.

Aguilar's time in Congress has focused on immigration, job creation, trade practices, gun control, national security, LGBT issues, veteran affairs, drug prevention, student loan debt, and environmental protection.

Aguilar has supported legislation to attract individuals in the cybersecurity field to join the military; prevent discrimination against LGBT people by government contractors; provide funding for homeless veterans; and provide funding for research into opioid addiction.

He has introduced the Grace Period Alleviation (GPA) Act, which would give college graduates an optional grace period before beginning to repay certain types of loans.

With Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Paul Cook, Aguilar introduced legislation to protect the habitat along the Santa Ana River.

He has vowed to fight the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and to protect women's reproductive rights.