Elaine Luria

Elaine Goodman Luria (born August 15, 1975) is an American politician, U.S. Navy veteran, and member ofthe Democratic Party who is the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 2nd congressional district. The district includes most of the heart of Hampton Roads, including all of Virginia Beach and Williamsburg and large portions of Norfolk and Hampton, as well as the Eastern Shore. Prior to being elected to Congress, Luria served as a United States Navy officer for 20 years, spending her entire career on combat ships, and reaching the rank of Commander.

Luria was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Her mother Michelle's family immigrated to Jasper, Alabama, in 1906. The family worked selling goods to coal miners in Walker County, Alabama. Her great-grandfather helped found a Reform Jewish congregation in Jasper, and the family in time joined Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, where Luria was raised. Her mother and grandmother were very active in the National Council of Jewish Women (of which her mother was President), Hadassah, the Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood, and the Birmingham Jewish Federation. Luria is active in Ohef Sholom in Norfolk. Both of her grandfathers served in the Navy.

She graduated from metropolitan Birmingham's Indian Springs School in 1993. Luria then graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1997, with a degree in physics and history, and a minor in French. In 2000, she attended the United States Naval Nuclear Power School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. While in the U.S. Navy and stationed aboard the flagship USS Blue Ridge, Luria earned a master's degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University in 2004.

Luria served as a United States Navy officer for 20 years, operating nuclear reactors as an engineer, reaching the rank of commander. She was the first female American sailor to spend her entire career on combat ships.

She served first aboard USS O'Brien, a forward deployed destroyer that was sent to the Middle East.Luria was in charge of Tomahawk strike missiles, and managed a division of 15 people. She then became Reactor Controls Division Officer on USS Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier, deploying again to the Middle East.Luria then as a lieutenant became Flag Aide to the commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet.She was then deployed on USS Mason, a destroyer, and USS Enterprise, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and then was an executive officer of the guided missile cruiser USS Anzio.She became maintenance coordinator of the United States Atlantic Fleet, overseeing USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, another nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. She then commanded Assault Craft Unit TWO, a combat-ready unit of 400 sailors, from 2014 until her retirement in 2017. (She held a Passover seder on an aircraft carrier shortly after 9/11).

Luria's service was the longest active-duty tenure of any current members of the House Democratic Caucus.

Elections

In the 2018 elections, Luria ran for the United States House of Representatives in Virginia's 2nd congressional district. In the June 10 Democratic primary, Luria received 62% of the vote, defeating Karen Mallard, who received 38%.

In the November 6, 2018, election, she defeated Republican incumbent Scott Taylor, winning 51.1% of the vote. Luria carried six of the district's nine county-level jurisdictions, including all but one of the district's five independent cities. She also carried Taylor's hometown of Virginia Beach.

Tenure

Luria was sworn in on January 3, 2019. She was one of 102 female U.S. House members elected in 2018, a record number. Among them were two other female veterans, fellow naval officer Mikie Sherrill and Air Force officer Chrissy Houlahan.

While the US government was in partial shutdown, she asked for her salary to be withheld until federal workers were paid. She also led a group of Congress members seeking a compromise to end the shutdown.

In October 2019, Luria joined House congressional leadership in a bipartisan congressional delegation to Afghanistan, Jordan, and Qatar. The delegation visited the countries' leadership, US diplomats, and active-duty US military personnel.

As of October 2019, Luria has had two bills become law after passing Congress and being signed by President Trump, including a bipartisan bill to improve the cost of living adjustments (COLAs) made to veterans.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, (Vice-Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Military Personnel
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity

Caucus memberships

• New Democrat Coalition

Luria is considered part of a group of "security Democrats" who called for an impeachment inquiry on Donald Trump in a public op-ed on September 23, 2019. In a town hall meeting, Luria stated she believed President Trump had "enlist[ed] the help of a foreign leader to influence and malign a potential political opponent to affect the outcome of our next election all under guise of trying to fight corruption."

Luria favors universal background checks on gun buyers.

Luria opposes efforts to repeal or dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

Luria believes in manmade climate change. She is concerned that climate change impacts are harming military readiness and increasing global instability. She also believes attempts by the Trump administration to discredit military experts on the impact of climate change are undermining US national security. Luria supports 100% renewable energy production, and has cosponsored the "Climate Action Now Act".

Luria's husband, Robert Blondin, is also a retired Navy commander and spent 27 years in the service. Luria has two stepchildren as well as a daughter born in 2009.