Nation : Cuban-American Takes House Seat
Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, elected to succeed the late Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.), was sworn in today to become the first Cuban-American elected to Congress.
Ros-Lehtinen, 37, won a special election Aug. 29, defeating Democrat Gerald Richman. The state senator’s victory gave the GOP the Miami-area House seat that had been held by Pepper for 26 years.
“As a Cuban-American whose family has fled the horrors of communism I think that this day serves to solidify the belief and the truth that the United States truly is the land of opportunity where all of our dreams can be made possible if we try hard enough,” she said in a brief address to the House after Speaker Thomas S. Foley administered the oath of office.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
