Michelle Steel

Michelle Eunjoo Steel (née Park; born June 21, 1955) is a South Korean-born American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for California's 48th congressional district.[2] She concurrently serves as a member of House Minority Whip Steve Scalise's Whip Team for the 117th Congress.[3]

This article is about the U.S. Congresswoman. For the ESPN reporter, see Michele Steele. For the Australian athlete, see Michelle Steele.
Michelle Steel
박은주
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 48th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2021
Preceded byHarley Rouda
Co-Chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
In office
January 17, 2019 – January 3, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Chair of the
Orange County Board of Supervisors
In office
January 1, 2020 – January 3, 2021
Preceded byLisa Bartlett
Succeeded byAndrew Do
Member of the
Orange County Board of Supervisors
from the 2nd district
In office
January 5, 2015 – January 3, 2021
Preceded byJohn Moorlach
Member of the
California State Board of Equalization
from the 3rd district
In office
January 5, 2007 – January 5, 2015
Preceded byClaude Parrish
Succeeded byDiane Harkey
Personal details
Born
Michelle Eunjoo Park

(1955-06-21) June 21, 1955
Seoul, South Korea
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1981)​
Children2
ResidenceSeal Beach, California
EducationPepperdine University (BA)
University of Southern California (MBA)
WebsiteHouse website
Korean name
Hangul
박은주[1]
Hanja
朴銀珠
Revised RomanizationBak Eunju
McCune–ReischauerPak Ŭn-ju

She was a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors from 2015 to 2021 and is a former member of the California State Board of Equalization (2007–2015).[4][5][6] Steel, along with fellow Californian Young Kim and Marilyn Strickland of Washington, are the first Korean-American women to serve in Congress.

Early life and education

Steel was born in Seoul, South Korea.[6] Her father was born in Shanghai to Korean expatriate parents. Steel was educated in South Korea, Japan, and the United States. She holds a degree in business from Pepperdine University and an MBA from the University of Southern California. She is fluent in Korean and Japanese.[5]

California politics

Steel has been active in Republican Party politics and served on various commissions in the George W. Bush administration.[7]

California State Board of Equalization

Steel was elected to the California State Board of Equalization in 2006 when Republican incumbent Claude Parrish ran unsuccessfully for state Treasurer.[8] Throughout her tenure, she served as the country's highest ranking Korean American officeholder and California's highest ranking Republican woman.[4] She represented more than eight million people in the 3rd district, which then included the entirety of Imperial, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties, and portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. In 2011, she was elected vice chair of the Board of Equalization.[9]

Orange County Board of Supervisors
Steel's official portrait while serving as Orange County Supervisor in 2014.

In 2014, Steel ran successfully to become a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors representing the 2nd district, defeating state Assemblyman Allan Mansoor.[10]

In March 2018, Steel was the only elected official to greet President Donald Trump when he landed at LAX on his first official visit to California as president.[11] In 2019, she was appointed by Trump to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.[12]

She served as the Chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 2017 and again in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she opposed mandatory face masks in Orange County.[13][14] She voted against requiring face coverings for retail employees,[15] and opposed requirements of masks in public schools. She questioned the medical efficacy of masks in preventing the virus spread.[16]

On September 15, 2020, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved plans that could lead to increased private jet traffic at John Wayne Airport. Steel was criticized for taking campaign contributions from ACI Jet, a corporation vying for a contract to maintain private jets at this airport, and was ultimately awarded the contract.[17][18]

United States House of Representatives

Elections
Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 48

In 2020, Steel ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 48th congressional district.[19] Steel received 34.9% of the vote to advance from the primary and defeated incumbent Democrat Harley Rouda in the November 3, 2020, election.[20] She is the ninth Republican elected in 2020 to flip a Democrat House seat,[21] and only the second Republican in California to unseat an incumbent House Democrat in over 20 years, following Mike Garcia.[22] Steel raised $200,000 more than Rouda.[23]

Steel with her husband, former California Republican Party Chair Shawn Steel, in 2018.

During her campaign, Steel spoke out against COVID-19 mask mandates.[14] Her platform included opposition to abortion, same sex marriage, the Affordable Care Act, and the creation of a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.[14][24] A conservative, she aligned herself with President Donald Trump.[25]

Tenure

Steel, along with incoming GOP House freshmen Maria Elvira Salazar, Victoria Spartz, Burgess Owens, Carlos Giménez, Nicole Malliotakis, Stephanie Bice, and Byron Donalds, is a member of the Freedom Force, an informal group styled as a Republican counterpart to The Squad group of Democrats.[26][27]

Due to her COVID-19 quarantine, Steel missed voting on the certification of Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.[28] Steel voted against the second impeachment of Donald Trump on January 13, 2021.[29]

Committee assignments

United States House Committee on Education and Labor
United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Personal life

In 1981, Steel married Shawn Steel, who would later become California Republican Party chairman (2001–2003) and Republican National Committeeman from California (2008–present). They have two daughters, and live in Surfside, California.[30] Steel is a Christian.[31]

Steel has generated controversy for speaking at a Tea Party event in Newport Beach about withdrawing her younger daughter from the University of California, Santa Cruz and sending her to Loyola Marymount University for a one-year "brainwash" after her daughter voiced support for same-sex marriage and Barack Obama.[32][33]

Steel tested positive for COVID-19 in January 2021.[34]

See also

References
  1. "'영옥씨' 영 김 후보도 당선…한국계 4명 미 의회 입성 (... Four Korean-Americans Enter U.S. Congress)". Korea Times (in Korean). November 13, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  2. Rep. Harley Rouda Concedes to Republican Challenger in 48th District Congressional District Race, KNBC-TV Channel 4, Los Angeles, California, November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020. "We did not win this election, Rouda said. "And while it isn't the outcome we had hoped for, it's never been more important for our leaders to hear the voice of the people, and to accept their judgment. I do."
  3. "Today I joined @SteveScalise on our first Whip Team call of the 117th Congress! I am so honored to join this team and am ready to get to work supporting policies that help #CA48 families & businesses thrive". @RepSteel on Twitter. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  4. Steel, Michelle Park. "Board Member Michelle Steel". California State Board of Equalization. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
  5. "亞裔支持朴銀珠選稅委" [Asian Americans support Park's election to tax board]. August 23, 2006. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
  6. Michelle Steel, JoinCalifornia.com, retrieved September 29, 2011
  7. Hall, Madison; Panetta, Grace; Neilson, Susie (November 10, 2020). "Results: Republican Michelle Steel defeats first-term Rep. Harley Rouda in California's 48th Congressional District". Business Insider. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  8. 2006 California State Treasurer election
  9. Arie Dana (January 26, 2011). "Michelle Steel Named Vice Chair of the State Board of Equalization" (PDF). California Board of Equalization.
  10. "Two new faces join Board of Supervisors". November 5, 2014.
  11. Gerda, Nick (March 15, 2018). "OC Supervisor Michelle Steel Welcomed President Trump at LAX". Voice of OC. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  12. "Trump names Michelle Park Steel co-chair of president's advisory commission on AAPIs". February 3, 2019.
  13. "Californians must wear face masks in public under coronavirus order issued by Newsom". Los Angeles Times. June 18, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  14. Green, Miranda (October 21, 2020). "The Mask Backlash That Could Oust a Democratic Congressman". Intelligencer. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  15. "OC Supervisors Vote To Require Face Coverings For Many Retail Employees". MyNewsLA.com. April 22, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  16. Custodio, Spencer (May 26, 2020). "Orange County Public Health Officials Under Fire Over Mask Order". Voice of OC. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  17. Brandon Pho (September 15, 2020). "Private Jet Plan for John Wayne Airport Sparks Resident Concern and Corruption Allegations". Voice of OC. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  18. Siebenmark, Jerry. "With New SNA Lease in Hand, ACI Plans $85M Project". Aviation International News. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  19. "O.C. Supervisor Michelle Steel to challenge Rep. Harley Rouda in 2020 election". Associated Press. May 3, 2019.
  20. "Michelle Steel". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  21. "Republicans flip 9th seat as California Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda concedes". FoxNews. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  22. "HISTORIC! Republican Michelle Steel unseats California Democrat, 2nd time in 20 years". theleoterrell.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  23. Denkmann, Libby. Four Lessons From The Southern California House Seats Republicans Reclaimed In 2020, KPCC, 89.3 FM, Southern California Public Radio, Pasadena, California, December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  24. "Race Heating Up For California's 48th District Seat As Rouda, Steel Face Off". September 14, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  25. "California Republican leaders go all in on Trump's election subterfuge, but some are more vocal than others". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  26. Lapin, Tamir (November 29, 2020). "New group 'Freedom Force' vows to be GOP answer to AOC's 'Squad'". The New York Post. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  27. Noor, Poppy (November 30, 2020). "The 'Freedom Force': Republican group takes on the Squad and 'evil' socialism". The Guardian.
  28. Nixon, Nicole (January 7, 2021). "Here's How California Representatives Voted On Certifying Biden's Election, And Who Is Calling For Trump's Removal". Capital Public Radio. Sacremento, CA. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  29. Cai, Weiyi; Daniel, Annie; Gamio, Lazaro; Parlapiano, Alicia (January 13, 2021). "Impeachment Results: How Democrats and Republicans Voted". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  30. Steel, Michelle Park. "Vice Chair Michelle Steel". California State Board of Equalization. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  31. Steel, Michelle Park. "Michelle Steel - House Candidate - California 48th District". Susan B. Anthony List. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  32. "California GOP congressional candidate claimed she withdrew her daughter from college for supporting gay marriage". Metro Weekly. July 8, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  33. "Republican congressional candidate bragged about pulling daughter out of university for 'brainwashing' after she supported equal marriage". PinkNews. July 7, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  34. Ke, Bryan (January 8, 2021). "California Congresswoman Who Once Questioned Mask-Wearing Catches COVID-19". news.yahoo.com. NextShark. Retrieved January 9, 2021.

Media related to Michelle Steel at Wikimedia Commons

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Harley Rouda		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 48th congressional district
2021–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Victoria Spartz		 United States Representatives by seniority
428th		 Succeeded by
Marilyn Strickland
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