Ro Khanna

Ro Khanna – Life, Career, and Notable Quotes

Ro Khanna (born September 13, 1976) is a U.S. congressman, lawyer, and progressive voice from Silicon Valley. This comprehensive profile covers his background, political career, policy priorities, influence, and memorable quotations.

Introduction

Ro Khanna (full name Rohit Khanna) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic, serving as the U.S. Representative for California’s 17th Congressional District (Silicon Valley) since 2017. Known for his emphasis on tech, innovation, worker-centered economic policies, climate action, and foreign policy restraint, Khanna is often cited as one of the more forward-looking and progressive members of Congress.

Early Life and Education

Ro Khanna was born on September 13, 1976, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a Punjabi Hindu family whose parents had emigrated from the Indian state of Punjab in the 1970s. His father was a chemical engineer educated in India and the U.S., and his mother worked as a schoolteacher.

His maternal grandfather, Amarnath Vidyalankar, was an Indian political activist, journalist, and participant in India’s independence movement.

Khanna attended Council Rock High School in Newtown, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1994. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Chicago in 1998 (where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa). He then obtained a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Yale Law School in 2001.

After law school, Khanna clerked for Judge Morris S. Arnold on the U.S. Court of Appeals. He then entered private practice, specializing in intellectual property law and trade issues in Silicon Valley.

Political & Professional Career

Early Service & Public Roles

Between 2009 and 2011, Khanna served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Barack Obama, where he led trade missions and worked to expand U.S. exports.

He also had roles on the White House Business Council.

After leaving public office, he returned to Silicon Valley, working in law firms and engaging in policy advocacy, especially in technology, trade, and innovation sectors.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 2016, Khanna won election to the U.S. House, defeating eight-term incumbent Mike Honda in California’s 17th district. He has held the seat since January 3, 2017.

In Congress, Khanna has worked on a number of signature issues:

• Internet Bill of Rights: In 2018, at the request of House leadership, he drafted principles for an Internet Bill of Rights addressing data privacy, net neutrality, and consumer control of personal information.

• Antitrust & tech regulation: He co-founded the House Antitrust Caucus and has pushed for stricter oversight of large tech firms, including measures to prevent platform favoritism and protect sellers.

• Manufacturing & economic revitalization: Khanna emphasizes bringing advanced manufacturing back to parts of America outside the coasts, aligning tech innovation with broader economic opportunity.

• Climate & energy: He has led climate oversight efforts, including convening “Big Oil” hearings in Congress to challenge fossil fuel companies’ disinformation.

• Foreign policy / restraint: Khanna supports more congressional oversight in military engagements. He has worked on limiting U.S. involvement in conflicts like Yemen, reflecting a more restrained foreign policy.

• Campaign finance & ethics reform: He co-founded the No PAC Caucus, refusing to take PAC or corporate contributions, and has proposed reforms such as “Democracy Dollars” to empower individual donors.

Political Philosophy & Influence

Khanna’s political orientation is often called progressive pragmatism: he combines faith in innovation and markets (particularly in tech) with a robust social safety net, equity, and ethical governance.

He sees Silicon Valley’s creative and technical capacity as a resource for national renewal — but argues that those gains should extend to all Americans rather than being concentrated in tech hubs.

In foreign affairs, he challenges interventionist policies and advocates that the U.S. should lead with diplomacy, human rights, and economic cooperation — not military dominance.

He also focuses on pluralism and inclusion, especially as an Indian-American voice pushing for bridges between communities, rejecting ethno-nationalism, and affirming American identity as a multicultural democracy.

Legacy & Recent Developments

While still mid-career, Khanna’s role in shaping debates around tech, manufacturing, and progressive policy is already significant.

In 2025 he introduced the “Drain the Swamp Act,” a bill to institutionalize stricter ethics rules for White House officials — banning lobbyist gifts, setting cooling-off periods, and reducing influence of special interests.

He has also criticized recent tariff policy by the Trump administration, arguing it reflects a 19th-century mindset and risks increasing costs for consumers while exporting manufacturing to other nations.

His advocacy suggests he may be positioning himself as a reformist voice for the next generation of Democratic leadership.

Famous Quotes

Here are several quotes by Ro Khanna that reflect his values and vision:

• “We need to have a clear moral vision for both our foreign policy, and economic policy and policy on racial justice.”

• “The challenge for America is: can we become a multicultural, multiracial democracy? It would be historic. It would be America’s greatest contribution to human civilization.”

• “The framers understood that the momentous decision to go to war requires the informed consent of the American people, expressed through their elected representatives.”

• “There’s no doubt we need stronger antitrust enforcement … we should make sure they’re not using sellers’ data.”

• “I think automation will eliminate certain types of jobs … But nobody knows whether it’s going to change the job basket of the 21st century, or be net positive, or net negative.”

Lessons from Ro Khanna’s Life & Work

1. Innovation linked to equity
   Khanna demonstrates that making technology and innovation broadly beneficial requires policy, not just entrepreneurial energy.

2. Ethics matters in politics
   His refusal to take PAC money and efforts to strengthen ethics rules indicate a belief that institutional integrity is essential for public trust.

3. Bridging the coasts and the rest
   His push to bring tech and manufacturing opportunity beyond coastal enclaves speaks to addressing regional inequality.

4. Restraint in foreign policy
   He models that principled, limited engagement abroad can coexist with global leadership grounded in values.

5. Representation matters
   As a son of immigrants with deep ties to Indian heritage, Khanna’s career underscores how diverse backgrounds enrich public leadership and perspectives.

Conclusion

Ro Khanna occupies a distinctive place in contemporary American politics: part progressive idealist, part tech-savvy pragmatist, and part institutional reformer. Through his policies on technology, manufacturing, climate, foreign affairs, and ethics, he aims to reshape not only the direction of the Democratic Party but also the broader contract between innovation and inclusion in the United States.

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