The National Republican Congressional Committee recently added all three South Texas congressional targets to their list of potential pickups in 2022. Biden defeated Trump by 4 percentage points in Vela’s district in 2020, and Clinton defeated Trump by 21.5 points in 2016. More serious problems for Democrats were seen at the top of the ticket. He defeated Gonzalez by 20 percentage points in 2018. Vela faced off against the same opponent Rey Gonzalez in 20. Henry Cuellar and Vicente González that faced historically tight margins in their re-election races in 2020. Vela was among the trio of South Texas lawmakers including Reps. “I will continue to focus on maintaining a Democratic House and Senate Majority in my capacity as a member of Congress and Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, while working diligently for the people I am so grateful to represent,” he said. In his statement to media, Vela did not say why he was not seeking a sixth term in Congress. He was re-elected in 2020 with a 13.5 percent margin over his Republican opponent. Filemon Vela (D-Brownsville) will not be seeking re-election, a spokesperson for the lawmaker confirmed to Axios on Monday.įilemon has represented the district since 2013. Vela was first elected in 2012 and represents much of the. Congressman Vela is married to Rose Vela, a former Justice on the Texas Court of Appeals, and they reside in Brownsville, Texas.Rep. Filemon Vela, a Brownsville Democrat, announced Monday he is retiring from Congress at the end of this term. He is currently focused on bringing jobs and economic development to South Texas through many efforts, including transforming the Port of Brownsville into a competitive deep water port. representative for Texas's 34th congressional district from 2013 until his resignation in 2022.

He was previously a member of the Committee on Homeland Security serving as the top Ranking Democratic Member on the Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee and is a strong advocate for immigrant rights, education programs including Head Start and Pell Grants for college students, and our community's federal health care centers. ( / flmn vl / FILL-monn VELL- born February 13, 1963) 1 is an American lobbyist, lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. interests in a changing security environment.As Co-Chair of the Congressional Border Caucus, Vela is leading efforts to reform the nation's immigration laws and expand investments in border communities and infrastructure, including ports and roads to expand trade. A strong advocate for veterans and the armed forces stationed at Coastal Bend military installations and around the globe, Congressman Vela sought the committee placement to better advocate for U.S. He is a member of the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces and the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces. Vela also serves on the House Committee on Armed Services which sets funding levels and policies for national security programs. He is also a member of the Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit. For the 116th Congress, Congressman Vela was elected Chairman of the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee which has jurisdiction over major commercial crops including cotton, sugar, corn, and wheat, along with crop insurance programs and commodity exchanges. He was appointed by the House of Representatives' Leadership to serve as a negotiator on the Conference Committee for the 20 Farm Bill, a comprehensive law which sets agriculture policy and nutrition programs, including food stamps for the next five years. His interest in public service grew from his work helping individuals seek justice in state and federal courts as an attorney for more than 20 years in South Texas.Congressman Vela sits on the Committee on Agriculture. After graduating from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., he attended the University of Texas School of Law. Congressman Vela's mother, Blanca Sanchez Vela, served as the first, and to this day the only, female mayor of Brownsville.Vela attended Saint Joseph Academy in Brownsville, Texas. President Jimmy Carter appointed Congressman Vela's father, Filemon Vela Sr., as one of the first Hispanic federal judges, where he presided over the Southern District of Texas. His ancestors purchased land from the McAllen family to establish the Laguna Seca Ranch where the first citrus orchard in Hidalgo County was planted. The 34th District includes Brownsville, its largest city, as well as the King Ranch, Kingsville Naval Air Station, and the historic Texas town of Goliad.Born in Harlingen, Texas, and raised in Brownsville, Congressman Vela's roots run deep in South Texas. Congressman Filemon Vela represents the 34th Congressional District of Texas, which is anchored in Cameron County in the southernmost tip of Texas and runs nearly 300 miles north to Gonzales County.

Texas rep. filemon vela