# Zoe Lofgren
**Zoe Lofgren** is an American politician who has served as a Democratic member of the [United States House of Representatives](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-house-of-representatives) since 1995, representing California's 18th Congressional District, which covers communities in Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties. Born in [San Mateo, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-mateo-california), on December 21, 1947, she is currently the Ranking Member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) • [2](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17087?current_search_qs=%3FPreviousSearch%3DSearch%252cLastName%252c%252c%252c%252c%252cFalse%252cFalse%252cFalse%252c%252cLastName%26CurrentPage%3D533%26SortOrder%3DLastName%26ResultType%3DList%26Command%3DList)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | San Mateo, San Mateo County, California, 1947[2](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17087?current_search_qs=%3FPreviousSearch%3DSearch%252cLastName%252c%252c%252c%252c%252cFalse%252cFalse%252cFalse%252c%252cLastName%26CurrentPage%3D533%26SortOrder%3DLastName%26ResultType%3DList%26Command%3DList) |
| House service | Elected in 1994; has served from January 3, 1995 to the present, through sixteen Congresses[2](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17087?current_search_qs=%3FPreviousSearch%3DSearch%252cLastName%252c%252c%252c%252c%252cFalse%252cFalse%252cFalse%252c%252cLastName%26CurrentPage%3D533%26SortOrder%3DLastName%26ResultType%3DList%26Command%3DList) |
| Education | B.A., political science, Stanford University, 1970; J.D., cum laude, Santa Clara University School of Law, 1975[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) |
| Impeachment role | House Manager in the 2020 impeachment trial of Donald Trump; the first woman in U.S. history to present a presidential case to the Senate[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) |
| Committee leadership | Former chair of the Committee on House Administration (116th and 117th Congresses) and of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct; current Ranking Member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) • [2](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17087?current_search_qs=%3FPreviousSearch%3DSearch%252cLastName%252c%252c%252c%252c%252cFalse%252cFalse%252cFalse%252c%252cLastName%26CurrentPage%3D533%26SortOrder%3DLastName%26ResultType%3DList%26Command%3DList) |
| Signature issue | Immigration law and policy; led Democrats on the House Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee for eight consecutive Congresses[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) |
| Delegation role | Elected Chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation, the largest state delegation in the House[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) |
## Early life and education
Lofgren grew up in [Santa Clara County](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-clara-county) as the daughter of a truck driver and a cafeteria cook who later worked as a secretary, and was the first in her family to attend college.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) She attended public schools and graduated from [Gunn High School](https://www.edgepedia.org/gunn-high-school) in Palo Alto in 1966.[2](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17087?current_search_qs=%3FPreviousSearch%3DSearch%252cLastName%252c%252c%252c%252c%252cFalse%252cFalse%252cFalse%252c%252cLastName%26CurrentPage%3D533%26SortOrder%3DLastName%26ResultType%3DList%26Command%3DList) She entered Stanford University on a California State Scholarship and worked the night shift at the Eastman Kodak plant in Palo Alto to pay for non-tuition expenses, graduating with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1970.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) She then earned her law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law on a scholarship, graduating cum laude in 1975.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about)
## Early career
While still a student, Lofgren joined the staff of her future predecessor, Congressman Don Edwards, working in his San Jose and Washington offices from 1970 to 1978.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) She practiced immigration law as a partner in the firm of Webber & Lofgren from 1978 to 1980 and taught immigration law at Santa Clara University School of Law from 1977 to 1980.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) She was a founder and first executive director of the nonprofit Community Housing Developers, was elected to the San Jose Evergreen Community College Board in 1979, and in 1980 won a seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors as part of its first female majority, serving there from 1981 to 1994.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about)
## Election to Congress
When Don Edwards retired in 1994 after 32 years in Congress, Lofgren won the seat, becoming the only freshman Democrat from west of the [Rocky Mountains](https://www.edgepedia.org/rocky-mountains) in that class and the first woman to represent areas of the South Bay and [Central Coast](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-coast) in Congress.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) She has been reelected since, most recently in 2024 in the 18th District.[2](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17087?current_search_qs=%3FPreviousSearch%3DSearch%252cLastName%252c%252c%252c%252c%252cFalse%252cFalse%252cFalse%252c%252cLastName%26CurrentPage%3D533%26SortOrder%3DLastName%26ResultType%3DList%26Command%3DList) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/bbb81446147a410287371a0dfec5f38a)
## Committee work and leadership roles
**House Administration.** In 2019, Speaker Nancy Pelosi selected Lofgren to chair the House Administration Committee, a panel whose jurisdiction covers operating the House itself and overseeing federal elections; the [San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-chronicle) described the post as the "mayor of Capitol Hill."[4](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/San-Jose-s-veteran-Democratic-Rep-Zoe-Lofgren-13695681.php) In that role she managed floor proceedings for H.R. 1, the Democrats' first major bill of the new majority on voting access and ethics, guiding it to House passage; only six Democrats defected on the Republicans' motion to recommit.[4](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/San-Jose-s-veteran-Democratic-Rep-Zoe-Lofgren-13695681.php) Her committee also provided guidance for House offices to begin offering paid internships using money appropriated the year before.[4](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/San-Jose-s-veteran-Democratic-Rep-Zoe-Lofgren-13695681.php) She chaired the committee through the 116th and 117th Congresses, and also chaired the Joint Committee on Printing and the Joint Committee on the Library during that period.[2](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17087?current_search_qs=%3FPreviousSearch%3DSearch%252cLastName%252c%252c%252c%252c%252cFalse%252cFalse%252cFalse%252c%252cLastName%26CurrentPage%3D533%26SortOrder%3DLastName%26ResultType%3DList%26Command%3DList)
**Judiciary and immigration.** Lofgren has served on the House Judiciary Committee throughout her career and chaired its [Immigration](https://www.edgepedia.org/immigration) and Citizenship Subcommittee, drawing on her background as an immigration attorney and law professor.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) • [4](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/San-Jose-s-veteran-Democratic-Rep-Zoe-Lofgren-13695681.php) In early 2018 she ran for the committee's top Democratic spot after [John Conyers](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-conyers) stepped aside, losing an in-caucus vote to [Jerry Nadler](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-nadler).[5](https://www.axios.com/2018/01/05/tech-ally-defeated-in-race-for-key-house-position-1515110729) In the 119th Congress she sits on the Judiciary subcommittees covering courts, intellectual property, artificial intelligence, and the internet; immigration integrity, security, and enforcement; and the administrative state, regulatory reform, and antitrust, alongside her role on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.[6](https://clerk.house.gov/members/L000397)
**California delegation.** She chairs the California Democratic Congressional Delegation, which the [Chronicle](https://www.edgepedia.org/chronicle) described as 46 members, larger than any other state's entire House delegation.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) • [4](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/San-Jose-s-veteran-Democratic-Rep-Zoe-Lofgren-13695681.php)
## Impeachment and the January 6 committee
Lofgren is the only Member of Congress to have been involved in the four modern impeachment proceedings, and she served as a House Manager in the 2020 Senate trial of President Donald Trump, the first woman in U.S. history to present a presidential case to the Senate.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) She also served on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the [United States Capitol](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-capitol).[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) In September 2022 she and the committee's vice chair, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, introduced legislation to overhaul the [Electoral Count Act](https://www.edgepedia.org/electoral-count-act), the 135-year-old law that Trump and his supporters had sought to exploit in efforts to overturn the 2020 election; the bill would make it illegal for states to retroactively change election procedures after Election Day and make clear that electors must be selected under rules determined before the election.[7](https://time.com/6215192/electoral-count-act-congress-moves-to-update/)
## Policy focus
**Immigration.** Lofgren is known for advocacy on immigrant communities and expertise in immigration law, having led Democrats on the House Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee for eight consecutive Congresses.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about) In 2019 she told the Chronicle that she preferred incremental legislation over comprehensive reform that could not pass, naming two priorities: a path to citizenship for agricultural workers and removal of per-country caps on green cards, which create years-long backlogs that fall disproportionately on high-skilled immigrants from India and China.[4](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/San-Jose-s-veteran-Democratic-Rep-Zoe-Lofgren-13695681.php)
**Technology and privacy.** Representing Silicon Valley, she has worked on tech policy; in 2017 she called for Congress to examine how large companies' data holdings relate to competition, and in 2021 she and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo reintroduced the Online Privacy Act.[8](https://www.axios.com/2017/12/15/lofgren-wants-probe-of-how-big-techs-data-affects-competition-1513307317) • [9](https://time.com/6175194/digital-data-abortion-congress/)
## Caucus membership
In 2024, Axios reported that Lofgren and [Ruben Gallego](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruben-gallego) had allowed their memberships in the [Congressional Progressive Caucus](https://www.edgepedia.org/congressional-progressive-caucus) to lapse. Lofgren cited an increase in expenses, with caucus dues paid from members' representational allowances, and said she chose to allocate the money to a new district office after redistricting; her stated reason differed from that of members who left over the caucus's positions on Israel.[10](https://www.axios.com/2024/03/06/progressive-democratic-caucus-members-leave)
## Personal life
Lofgren is married to John Marshall Collins, has two adult children, and is grandmother of three.[1](https://lofgren.house.gov/about)
## References
1. [About Zoe, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren official website](https://lofgren.house.gov/about)
2. [LOFGREN, Zoe, U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives](https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17087?current_search_qs=%3FPreviousSearch%3DSearch%252cLastName%252c%252c%252c%252c%252cFalse%252cFalse%252cFalse%252c%252cLastName%26CurrentPage%3D533%26SortOrder%3DLastName%26ResultType%3DList%26Command%3DList)
3. [AP Race Call: Democrat Zoe Lofgren wins reelection to U.S. House in California's 18th Congressional District, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/bbb81446147a410287371a0dfec5f38a)
4. [San Jose's veteran Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren fills key House role as 'mayor of Capitol Hill', San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/San-Jose-s-veteran-Democratic-Rep-Zoe-Lofgren-13695681.php)
5. [Tech ally defeated in race for key House position, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2018/01/05/tech-ally-defeated-in-race-for-key-house-position-1515110729)
6. [Zoe Lofgren member profile, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives](https://clerk.house.gov/members/L000397)
7. [House Moves Toward Updating Electoral Count Act, Hoping to Avoid Repeat of Jan. 6, TIME](https://time.com/6215192/electoral-count-act-congress-moves-to-update/)
8. [Lofgren wants probe of how Big Tech's data affects competition, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2017/12/15/lofgren-wants-probe-of-how-big-techs-data-affects-competition-1513307317)
9. [How a Digital Abortion Footprint Could Lead to Criminal Charges, TIME](https://time.com/6175194/digital-data-abortion-congress/)
10. [Scoop: More members have left the Progressive Caucus, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2024/03/06/progressive-democratic-caucus-members-leave)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Government and public administration › Politicians and government officeholders (biographies) › US House members › Western and Pacific representatives › Surnames L to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 27, 2026; Sep 29, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 27, 2026; Sep 29, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license