Rep. Luz Rivas a a bit of a science geek. That makes her a natural fit for the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology that she sits on. Rivas also has some political skills. That led her to get elected to the California State Assembly in 2018 and Congress in 2024.
It further helped her get elected freshman class representative in the Democratic caucus early on over Rep. Emily Randall and Rep. Sarah Elfreth. This could give her a leg-up into a leadership position in the future.
The newest House Democrats held elections this afternoon for their class president and their liaison to leadership.
Rep.-elect Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) was elected as freshman class president 23-10 over Rep.-elect April McClain-Delaney (D-Md.).
“As the Democratic party grapples with what’s next and how to reach people where they are, I intend to use my role as the youngest woman in the 119th Congress to lead efforts to improve across non-traditional communication channels,” Ansari said in a statement.
Rep.-elect Luz Rivas (D-Calif.) was elected in a three-way race by a 14-13-5 vote for the freshman leadership representative, beating out Reps.-elect Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) and Emily Randall (D-Wash.).
Although the positions are largely ceremonial, they can be jumping-off points for other leadership jobs in the caucus.
What has Rep. Luz Rivas faced in her short tenure in the House of Representatives? Is she the progressive that she campaigned as? All those questions will hopefully be answered below the fold.
Personal History
Rep. Luz Rivas pursued a STEM career before becoming politically active.
Rep. Luz Rivas was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. She is 51 years old having been born on February 6, 1974. She went to college at MIT and received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. She further went on to graduate from Harvard with a master’s degree in education. Rivas was one of the extremely few Latinas in STEM careers at the time. She went to work at Motorola for a while but she kept coming back to the fact that many girls weren’t choosing STEM careers.
Rivas decided to do something about that. She founded DIY Girls, a non-profit that seeks to serve girls in STEM fields and encourage them to persevere in the male-dominated sector.
Luz Rivas graduated from MIT as one of the very few women of Hispanic descent, but now she’s taking the reins to provide other Latinas with experiences in technology.
Rivas, who is the founder and executive director of DIY Girls, is breaking real boundaries in the arena of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), fields that have historically been dominated by men. While women represent nearly half of the entire workforce, they only represent about a quarter of workers in STEM fields.
In an interview with HuffPost Live, she shared her experience as a female minority student in a predominantly male institution. “When I entered MIT a third of the student were women, so there were very few women, and in my major it was less than 20 percent,” she told host Nancy Redd. “So once I got to classes in my major, there was very few of us. In a section there would maybe be two or three of us in a room of thirty.”
She explained that with the support of her fellow underrepresented students, she was able to successfully complete her program. Now she’s paying it forward with her own organization.
“Our plans for the next five years is to serve 3,000 girls in the Los Angeles area and to do that we need to build a strong and sustainable organization,” she said. “One area I’ve been exploring is how to develop this into a social enterprise, so that as a non-profit, we’re not just relying on individual donations, but we’re earning our own revenue [with] workshops or engineering classes at schools.”
By the time she first ran for office, DIY Girls went from an idea to a nearly half-million dollar non-profit.
With an electrical engineering degree from MIT, Rivas worked for Motorola before earning a master’s in education from Harvard and founding the Pacoima-based non-profit DIY [Do It Yourself] Girls that encourages fourth- to 12th-grade girls’ interest in science and technology. Founded with $200, DIY Girls now has a half-million-dollar budget and has served more than 2,000 girls, Rivas said.
Rep. Luz Rivas first ran for office in 2018 to replace someone who had credible allegations of sexual misconduct. It was a crowded primary but she came out on top with nearly 44% of the vote which was tantamount to election in the deep blue district. She had some friends in high places including then Secretary of State and now Senator Alex Padilla. Rivas would serve in the California State Assembly from 2018-2024 before running for Congress.
Issue Positions and Work in Congress
Rep. Luz Rivas is off to a decent start in Congress by being elected freshman class representative.
Rep. Luz Rivas campaigned as a progressive candidate in the Top 2 primary for this district in 2024 and that is how she is largely voting as in Congress. Her DW Nominate score is -0.49 which places her to the left of 90% of the entire House of Representatives and 81% of her Democratic colleagues. Progressive Punch has given her a 99% “A+” rating for her limited voting record. About the only blemish so far is her vote to honor the fascist Charlie Kirk.
Rivas is the primary sponsor of 4 pieces of proposed legislation. She has additionally co-sponsored 96 more pieces of legislation. Most of this legislation has to do with the promotion of STEM and especially girls and Latinos in STEM. However, she has also written another consequential piece of legislation that should 100% be passed if we ever regain complete power.
The INFORM Act is a change to immigration policy brought up by the tactics of ICE playing “hide the detainee”. The act requires the following:
In the case of any individual detained by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to the immigration laws (as such term is defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) at a facility, notice must be provided to the immediate family of that individual not later than 24 hours after that individual is transferred to a different facility. The notification shall include—
(1) the reason for transfer; and
(2) the name, address, phone number, and a point of contact for the new facility.
Rep. Luz Rivas had to start constituent services very early on in her freshman tenure. The California wildfires started only days after she was sworn in. It was literally a baptism by fire for the freshman class representative!
Rep. Luz Rivas had barely begun her day in Washington when her cellphone rang at 7 a.m. The Hurst fire had erupted around 10:30 the night before and — fueled by high winds and dangerously dry conditions — ballooned to more than 500 acres in her northern Los Angeles County district by morning.
On the line was Rep. George Whitesides, her new neighboring congressional colleague, who was already rushing to Ronald Reagan National Airport that Jan. 8 morning for the first flight back to Los Angeles.
“Are you planning to go? Are you staying?” she recalled him asking. “Let's coordinate.”
The two agreed that Whitesides would immediately start on-the-ground outreach to folks affected by the Hurst fire, which broke out in Sylmar and bordered their districts. Rivas would make calls to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the White House.
She took a later flight to Los Angeles to join him and Rep. Laura Friedman, another newcomer to Congress, whose district borders Rivas' and was surrounded by infernos. They had been sworn in as members of Congress just five days earlier.
“All three of us, that was our first instinct: We have to be home. We have to go assess the damage, we have to see what the community needs. And then come back with, what can we do together?” Rivas said in an interview in her Washington office.
“While it's not what I envisioned for week one or month one, I felt prepared and ready," Rivas added. "That's why we get elected, right? To serve our constituents and to be there for what they need from the federal government. And I felt the L.A. delegation has done that.”
The Democratic trio knew each other before coming to Washington. Rivas and Whitesides campaigned together last year. Friedman and Rivas served in the California Legislature together. Now the three freshman Congress members have a partnership literally forged by fire.
She passed the stern test with flying colors and has gone on to be a good member of the Democratic caucus.
CHC in the Media
Saturday, November 1
It is Día de los Muertos, and many in the CHC celebrated in style. The best post came from Sens. Gallego and Padilla.
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For Día de Los Muertos, @padilla.senate.gov and I each left a photo of a loved one at the other office’s ofrenda.
Proud to bring a beautiful tradition to the U.S. Senate to remember and honor those who have gone before us.
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— Senator Ruben Gallego (@gallego.senate.gov) November 1, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Sen. Cortez Masto also shared her story and her ofrenda.
Rep. Mike Levin joined NBC 7 San Diego to talk about the shutdown, health care, and SNAP.
Sunday, November 2
Rep. Robert Garcia was on the Don Lemon show to discuss ICE and the detaining of US citizens.
Monday, November 3
Rep. Pete Aguilar and Rep. Raul Ruiz joined their Inland Empire colleagues to highlight how the refusal to fund SNAP is affecting their communities.
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🚨 I’m going LIVE with @repmarktakano.bsky.social, @aguilar.house.gov, and @normajtorres.bsky.social to spotlight how the Trump Administration’s refusal to distribute November SNAP benefits will impact 42 million Americans, including right here in our communities.
WATCH: youtube.com/live/zswkTmV...
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— Congressman Raul Ruiz, MD (@repraulruizmd.bsky.social) November 3, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Rep. Adelita Grijalva went on the MeidasTouch podcast crew to talk about why she hasn’t been sworn in yet despite being elected in September.
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Grijalva: I do think that Speaker Johnson misplayed his hand.
There are people all over this nation who were out there with signs that said, “Swear her in.” They wouldn’t have even known about me otherwise.
Thank you for highlighting how corrupt the system you’re protecting really is.
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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) November 3, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Rep. Maxwell Frost penned an op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel about the pain regular Americans are feeling because of the government shutdown and increased ACA prices.
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A teacher working two jobs who can’t afford doctor visits. A veteran worried one bill could make him homeless. A mom fighting stage four breast cancer.
These are just some of the Central Floridians impacted by the Republican health care crisis.
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— Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@frost.house.gov) November 3, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Tuesday, November 4
Rep. Gabe Vasquez penned an op-ed in the Albuquerque Journal about immigration policy.
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As a representative of a district on the southern border with a majority Hispanic population, I am using my expertise to lead Congress toward the commonsense, pro-safety immigration solutions our country desperately needs.
Read my Op-ed in the Albuquerque Journal: www.abqjournal.com/opinion/arti...
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— Rep. Gabe Vasquez (@repgabevasquez.bsky.social) November 4, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Wednesday, November 5
Sen. Ruben Gallego made the rounds on the cable TV shows and podcasts to discuss the blue wave in Latino voting patterns.
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Sen. Ruben Gallego on Latino voters: "They are worried about the cost of living...They're also worried about what's happening with immigration enforcement right now...They were told that the administration was going to go after criminals, not fathers and mothers."
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— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) November 5, 2025 at 4:23 PM
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There has to be a solution from Republicans, or at least assurances I can believe in. Because right now, 24 million Americans are at risk of seeing their healthcare costs double overnight. That’s not something I’m willing to gamble with.
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— Senator Ruben Gallego (@gallego.senate.gov) November 5, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Thursday, November 6
Tu Caucus is back, and Adelita Grijalva is the star of the show!
Grijalva also wrote an op-ed for USA Today about the refusal of her being seated.
Six weeks ago, I was elected to Congress. I'm still waiting to be sworn in.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s recess of the U.S. House of Representatives during a time of grave national crises is shockingly irresponsible. House Republicans have been on vacation for six weeks while our economy crumbles, federal workers go without paychecks, health care premiums skyrocket and funding for food stamps dwindles. This is negligent and cruel.
Millions of Americans will suffer if these issues are not immediately addressed, and thanks to Speaker Johnson, the House remains in recess. While Republicans refuse to do their job:
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández held a health care town hall meeting today.
Friday, November 7
Rep. Delia Ramirez will be on MSNBC early Saturday morning.
Rep. Luz Rivas could make a huge difference in the lives of girls everywhere. She should be held up as a role model to prove that girls can succeed in the STEM fields even with the odds stacked against them. There is more to her than that as her legislation regarding immigration proves. I think Rivas can make a huge difference in Congress.
The CHC Roundup is a diary series meant to highlight the contributions of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to the Democratic Party. These 43 members of Congress range from members of the Squad to the most conservative members of the party. The series will run every Saturday morning, at 8:00AM.
