Yassamin Ansari brings global experience to Democratic freshmen

Rep.-elect Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) is making history twice: she is now the youngest female Democrat in Congress and the first Iranian American Democrat to serve on Capitol Hill — and the incoming congresswoman is already cementing herself as a rising leader as Democratic class president.

Ansari, 32, will succeed Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who opted not to seek reelection and won his contentious race against Republican Kari Lake to become Arizona’s junior senator. The Phoenix city councilwoman and former vice mayor of Phoenix defeated Jeff Zink in the 2024 election after a competitive primary where she beat her Democrat opponent by fewer than 40 votes, which ultimately triggered a recount.

The sole woman in the Arizona delegation, Ansari ran unopposed to serve as the freshman Democrat class president, with the incoming congresswoman acting as the “voice of the class” and liaison between House Democratic leaders and freshman members.

“I do think that it’s exciting that my colleagues were willing to support someone like me who will be the youngest woman in Congress,” Ansari said of her class presidency. “I think it’s a signal, a small signal, but it’s still a signal that the party is ready to invest and showcase some of the younger, more diverse members.”

Her swearing-in to the 119th Congress on Jan. 3, 2025, will not be Ansari’s first taste of politics. 

She first began her civic engagement organizing and volunteering for former President Barack Obama’s campaign as a high school student. A graduate of Stanford University and St. John’s College at Cambridge, she worked as an intern for one of the strongest leaders of her party — and now colleague — then-Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during her college years.

“It was definitely my first foray into what the official side of being an elected official looks like,” Ansari said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. 

“When she called to say congratulations, I had to mention [it] to her,” Ansari continued, referring to her internship. “It feels pretty surreal. I’m reading some books about her right now, and her story, and I’m very grateful, honestly, that I get to serve at the same time that she is in the House.”

Following graduation, Ansari turned to international politics, serving as a climate adviser in the secretary general’s office in the United Nations before returning to her local roots to run for Phoenix city council, where she became the youngest woman ever elected to that body in 2021. She believes those experiences will help inform her service. 

“I was elected at age 28 … to the Phoenix city council and served a big part of the congressional district that I’m now serving as well,” she said. “I worked on everything from climate and sustainability, in particular heat mitigation, which impacts us locally, did a lot of work on housing affordability and addressing homelessness, and also helped allocate the hundreds of millions of dollars that Phoenix received as part of the COVID Relief packages and through the American rescue plan.”

“I wasn’t intending to run for Congress, but, you know, felt compelled to, and felt that my experiences, both at the international level and then the very local level, made me a good fit,” she added.

Ansari will represent Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes most of southern, western, and downtown Phoenix, along with a southern portion of Glendale. She said she has worked with Gallego during her time on the city council and admired his focus on delivering for the district, which she hopes to continue.

“He’s always a big proponent of maintaining that strong focus on the district, which I very much agree with, and not getting too D.C. focused – but rather focusing on the community that elected you, which is something I definitely intend to do,” Ansari said of Gallego.

Time in Congress will be fueled by age and heritage

The incoming Congresswoman’s parents fled Iran in the late 1970s to avoid the conflict arising during the Iranian Revolution. She said she is constantly reminded that being American is a privilege — and the importance of representing “the diaspora community.”

“I always think about how my life could have been drastically different based on the country I was born in, and having, you know, had like the immense privilege of being born in the United States, means that I get to do this and actually get to be involved in politics and now be a congresswoman,” she said. “It could have been, you know, entirely different if my parents hadn’t been able to leave their home country back in the day.”

She also is excited to represent a new generation of leadership as the youngest woman in Congress when she takes office in January.

“I very much want to represent and focus on the issues that matter to my generation, whether that’s climate change, housing, education,” she said. “I think it’s meaningful for young people across the country to be able to see someone that looks like them, talks like them, understands their issues — in a position of power.”

Ansari said she has a young team and is often “the oldest person” in the room, which she intends to continue in her congressional office.

“That’s always really fun and inspiring,” she said. “I love seeing young people involved in public service, and I know it means a lot to them to have a younger boss as well that they can look up to. That always, you know, keeps us going.”

Ansari wants to stay ‘authentic’ and seek bipartisanship when she can 

Despite her foreign policy experience, Ansari is not jockeying for a position on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Instead, she thinks her experience on the Phoenix city council would give her an edge on committees such as Transportation and Infrastructure or Natural Resources, as well as Education and the Workforce.

Ansari is one of nine new members joining the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a traditionally vocal minority of the House Democratic conference that will likely play a large role in opposing the GOP trifecta under the Trump administration. 

She joins Rep.-elects Dave Min (D-CA), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Laura Friedman (D-CA), Luz Rivas (D-CA), Sarah McBride (D-DE), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), and Nellie Pou (D-NJ), as well as Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), as the newest members of the Progressive Caucus. 

Ansari also plans to join the Women’s Caucus, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and the Labor Caucus, to name a few others.

Though she’ll be in the minority, Ansari said working on the city council prepared her well to work across the aisle.

“When you run for a city seat, technically, it’s a non-partisan race, so you don’t have a D or R next to your name,” Ansari said. “So I’m pretty experienced in working with Republican colleagues on issues like public safety, like homelessness solutions, housing affordability, and the rest.”

During her campaign for president, one of her top points she emphasized was a plan to set up quarterly events with Republican freshman colleagues “so that we can get to know each other better.” Other ideas she has include events, dinner, and other gatherings where members can meet and learn from experts on various policy topics to stay informed and on track during their time in the House.

She acknowledged that while she will seek bipartisanship, she is “definitely going to be vocal” in challenging policies she does not agree with coming out of the Trump administration — particulaly on issues like taxes, immigration, and the environment and climate change.

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Her ultimate goal?

“I think just being true to myself and authentic and focusing on issues I really care about,” Ansari said. “I do think something that will be important is really like honing in on a handful of issues, ‚ recognizing that you can’t do all of the things, or become an expert on all of the things.”

“I’ve been trying, at least over the last couple of weeks, to really put to paper what my mission is and what I want to focus on and being known for, and not trying to do everything, but rather do a few things and do them well,” Ansari added.