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This article is a list of all Arab Americans and Middle Eastern Americans who have ever served in the United States Congress. This list includes persons of North African or Horn of Africa native ancestry who identify as Arabs, as well as Middle Eastern Americans who are not Arabs.

The first Arab American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives was George A. Kasem in 1959, and the first Arab-American U.S. senator was James Abourezk in 1973. In the 115th Congress, there were six U.S. representatives and no U.S. senators of Arab-American descent serving in Congress. On November 6, 2018, four additional Arab Americans, all of whom are female, were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives: Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Ilhan Omar, Donna Shalala, and Rashida Tlaib. Tlaib and Omar were also the first Muslim women in Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives currently has five Arab-American members.

The first Assyrian American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives was Adam Benjamin in 1977, and the first Persian-American U.S. representative was Stephanie Bice in 2021. The first Egyptian-American and Coptic-American U.S. senator was George Helmy in 2024. There currently are one Assyrian-American and one Persian-American U.S. representative serving in Congress.

Senate

Picture	Senator (lifespan)	Arab or Middle Eastern ethnicity	Religion	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes
	James Abourezk (1931–2023)	Lebanese	Maronite Catholic	Democratic	South Dakota	January 3, 1973	January 3, 1979	Retired
	George J. Mitchell (born 1933)	Lebanese	Maronite Catholic	Democratic	Maine	May 17, 1980	January 3, 1995	Retired
	James Abdnor (1923–2012)	Lebanese	Christian	Republican	South Dakota	January 3, 1981	January 3, 1987	Lost reelection
	Spencer Abraham (born 1952)	Lebanese	Eastern Orthodox	Republican	Michigan	January 3, 1995	January 3, 2001	Lost reelection
	John E. Sununu (born 1964)	Palestinian, Lebanese	Eastern Orthodox	Republican	New Hampshire	January 3, 2003	January 3, 2009	Lost reelection
	George Helmy (born 1979)	Egyptian (Coptic)	Oriental Orthodox	Democratic	New Jersey	September 9, 2024	December 8, 2024	Appointed following the resignation of Bob Menendez Resigned to allow for the appointment of Andy Kim

House of Representatives

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Picture	Representative (lifespan)	Arab or Middle Eastern ethnicity	Religion	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes
	George A. Kasem (1919–2002)	Lebanese	Christian	Democratic	California	January 3, 1959	January 3, 1961	Lost reelection
	Abraham Kazen (1919–1987)	Lebanese	Maronite Catholic	Democratic	Texas	January 3, 1967	January 3, 1985	Lost renomination
	James Abourezk (1931–2023)	Lebanese	Maronite Catholic	Democratic	South Dakota	January 3, 1971	January 3, 1973	Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from South Dakota
	James Abdnor (1923–2012)	Lebanese	Christian	Republican	South Dakota	January 3, 1973	January 3, 1981	Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from South Dakota
	Toby Moffett (born 1944)	Lebanese	Maronite Catholic	Democratic	Connecticut	January 3, 1975	January 3, 1983	Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Connecticut
	Adam Benjamin (1935–1982)	Assyrian	Eastern Orthodox	Democratic	Indiana	January 3, 1977	September 7, 1982	Died in office
	Mary Rose Oakar (born 1940)	Lebanese, Syrian	Eastern Catholic	Democratic	Ohio	January 3, 1977	January 3, 1993	Lost reelection
	Nick Rahall (born 1949)	Lebanese	Melkite Catholic	Democratic	West Virginia	January 3, 1977	January 3, 2015	Lost reelection
	Pat Danner (born 1934)	Lebanese	Baptist	Democratic	Missouri	January 3, 1993	January 3, 2001	Retired
	Anna Eshoo (born 1942)	Assyrian	Chaldean Catholic	Democratic	California	January 3, 1993	January 3, 2025	Retired
	John Baldacci (born 1955)	Lebanese	Roman Catholic	Democratic	Maine	January 3, 1995	January 3, 2003	Retired to run successfully for Governor of Maine
	Ray LaHood (born 1945)	Lebanese	Roman Catholic	Republican	Illinois	January 3, 1995	January 3, 2009	Retired to become U.S. Secretary of Transportation
	Chris John (born 1960)	Lebanese	Roman Catholic	Democratic	Louisiana	January 3, 1997	January 3, 2005	Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Louisiana
	John E. Sununu (born 1964)	Palestinian, Lebanese	Eastern Orthodox	Republican	New Hampshire	January 3, 1997	January 3, 2003	Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from New Hampshire
	Darrell Issa (born 1953)	Lebanese	Eastern Orthodox	Republican	California	January 3, 2001	January 3, 2019	Retired
						January 3, 2021	Incumbent
	Charles Boustany (born 1956)	Lebanese	Maronite Catholic	Republican	Louisiana	January 3, 2005	January 3, 2017	Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Louisiana
	Justin Amash (born 1980)	Palestinian, Syrian	Eastern Orthodox	Republican (2011–2019)	Michigan	January 3, 2011	January 3, 2021	Retired
				Independent (2019–2020)
				Libertarian (2020–2021)
	Richard L. Hanna (1951–2020)	Lebanese	Presbyterian	Republican	New York	January 3, 2011	January 3, 2017	Retired
	Ralph Abraham (born 1954)	Lebanese	Baptist	Republican	Louisiana	January 3, 2015	January 3, 2021	Retired
	Gwen Graham (born 1963)	Lebanese	Episcopalian	Democratic	Florida	January 3, 2015	January 3, 2017	Retired
	Garret Graves (born 1972)	Lebanese	Roman Catholic	Republican	Louisiana	January 3, 2015	January 3, 2025	Retired
	Darin LaHood (born 1968)	Lebanese	Roman Catholic	Republican	Illinois	September 10, 2015	Incumbent
	Charlie Crist (born 1956)	Greek Cypriot, Lebanese	Episcopalian	Democratic	Florida	January 3, 2017	August 31, 2022	Resigned
	Rubén Kihuen (born 1980)	Lebanese	Roman Catholic	Democratic	Nevada	January 3, 2017	January 3, 2019	Retired
	Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (born 1971)	Lebanese	Roman Catholic	Democratic	Florida	January 3, 2019	January 3, 2021	Lost reelection
	Ilhan Omar (born 1981)	Somali	Sunni Muslim	Democratic	Minnesota	January 3, 2019	Incumbent
	Donna Shalala (born 1941)	Lebanese	Maronite Catholic	Democratic	Florida	January 3, 2019	January 3, 2021	Lost reelection
	Rashida Tlaib (born 1976)	Palestinian	Sunni Muslim	Democratic	Michigan	January 3, 2019	Incumbent
	Stephanie Bice (born 1973)	Persian	Roman Catholic (born to a Muslim father)	Republican	Oklahoma	January 3, 2021	Incumbent
	Yassamin Ansari (born 1992)	Persian	Agnostic	Democratic	Arizona	January 3, 2025	Incumbent
	Abraham Hamadeh (born 1991)	Syrian	Non-denominational (born to a Muslim father and Druze mother)	Republican	Arizona	January 3, 2025	Incumbent

References

Notes

1. Although Somalis are not considered ethnically Arab, Somalia is considered to be part of the Arab World, being a member nation of the Arab League, and Omar is listed in the Arab American Institute's list of officeholders.

References

1. "Meet Arab American Members in 115th Congress - Arab American Institute". www.aaiusa.org.
2. "Arab American Members of Congress - Arab American Leadership Council Political Action Committee". www.aaleadershipcouncil.org.
3. Boorstein, Michelle. "The nation's first two Muslim congresswomen are sworn in, surrounded by the women they inspired". Washington Post. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
4. "Assyrians in Middle America A Historical and Demographic Study of the Chicago Assyrian Community" (PDF). jaas.org. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
5. Firozi, Paulina. "House GOP chipped away at Democratic majority. They can thank female candidates" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
6. Jalonick, Mary Clare (September 9, 2024). "New Jersey Democrat George Helmy sworn in as replacement for Menendez in the Senate". Associated Press. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
7. Hall, Loretta (1999). "James Abourezk". Arab American biography. Vol. I: A-J. Detroit: U.X.L. pp. 18–25. ISBN 978-0-7876-2953-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
8. Hall, Loretta (1999). "George John Mitchell". Arab American biography. Vol. II: K-Z. Detroit: U.X.L. pp. 311–316. ISBN 978-0-7876-2953-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
9. Schudel, Matt (May 16, 2012). "James Abdnor, GOP congressman and senator from South Dakota, dies at 89". The Washington Post.
10. Hall, Loretta (1999). "Spencer Abraham". Arab American biography. Vol. I: A-J. Detroit: U.X.L. pp. 33–38. ISBN 978-0-7876-2953-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
11. "Bioguide Search". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
12. Cromwell, Sharon (2008). Arab Americans. Florida: Rourke Publishing. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-60472-751-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
13. "John E. Sununu". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
14. "New Jersey governor's former chief of staff to replace Menendez, but only until November election". AP News. 2024-08-16. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
15. "New Jersey Sen. George Helmy stepping down to make way for Andy Kim". POLITICO. 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
16. "Arab American Roster". Arab American Institute. Retrieved March 11, 2019.

• Arab diaspora
• American politicians of Middle Eastern descent
• Lists of American politicians
• Lists of American people by ethnicity
• Lists of members of the United States Congress