Zoe Lofgren

In 1994, Lofgren entered a six-way Democratic primary in what was then the 16th district, after Edwards retired after 32 years in Congress. The district, then as now, is a Democratic stronghold, and it was understood that whoever won the Democratic primary would be only the second person to represent this district since its creation in 1963 (it was numbered as the 9th district from 1963 to 1975, as the 10th from 1975 to 1993, the 16th from 1993 to 2013, and has been the 19th since 2013). A decided underdog, she managed to defeat the favorite, former San Jose mayor Tom McEnery, by just over 1,100 votes. She breezed to victory in November, and been reelected ten times with no substantive opposition.

During the 2004, 2006 and 2008 elections, Lofgren's campaign paid approximately $350,000 to two businesses her husband operates: Collins and Day and John Marshall Collins P.C. over a six year period to support campaign efforts.[11]

Lofgren during the
109th Congress

Lofgren is the chair of the 46-member California Democratic Congressional Delegation. She serves on the Judiciary Committee and is the chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law. In 2007, she co-sponsored[12] the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, which the ACLU characterized as "legislating against thought."[13] In April 2011, she became the first member of Congress to call for federal investigation into the Secure Communities deportation program.[14]

Beginning in 2009, Lofgren served as Chair of the House Ethics Committee. In doing so, she presided over a rare sanction of censure, against long-time member Charles B. Rangel.[15]

In the Stop Online Piracy Act House Judiciary Committee hearings, she defended the current state of the internet in opposition of the bill. She has also opposed the data retention requirements in the H.R. 1981 (the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011).[16]

In February 2013, Lofgren became one of the sponsors of the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act to expedite open access to taxpayer-funded research.[17]

In May 2016, Lofgren was publicly reprimanded during a House Judiciary Committee hearing after calling witness Gail Heriot of the United States Commission on Civil Rights an "ignorant bigot" because Ms. Heriot's written testimony before the hearing had suggested that calling oneself a female does not cause one to be a female.[18] Following the oral warning from acting committee chairman Steve King (R, Iowa), Lofgren responded, "I cannot allow that kind of bigotry to go into the record unchallenged".[19]

In January 2020, Lofgren was selected as one of seven impeachment managers who presented the impeachment case against President Donald Trump during his trial before the United States Senate.[20]

Lofgren speaking to the California Democratic Party State Convention in June 2019.

• Committee on House Administration (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Oversight (Ranking Member, 112th Congress)
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement (Chair)
• Committee on Science, Space and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
• Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Associate member)[21]
• Congressional Progressive Caucus[22]
• Congressional Arts Caucus[23]
• Afterschool Caucuses[24]
• Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus[25]
• Congressional Freethought Caucus[26]
• Medicare for All Caucus