January 13, 2015

48 Exchange Alumni Sworn In to 114th U.S. Congress

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U.S. Capitol building west front U.S. Capitol building west front Photo Credit, Wikimedia
Six alumni of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) program were sworn in as new members of the 114th Congress on January 3rd. The newly elected members include Senators Cory Gardner (Republican - Colorado) and Gary Peters (Democrat - Michigan) who were previously in the House but will now join the Senate. Four ACYPL alumni were also elected to the House of Representatives, including: 
  • Kyle “Mark” Takai (Democrat – Hawaii)
  • Alex Mooney (Republican – West Virginia)
  • Evan Jenkins (Republican – West Virginia)
  • Amata Coleman Radewagen (Republican – American Samoa) – non-voting member
The number of U.S. Department of State exchange alumni in the 114th Congress now totals 48. Majority leader Senator Mitch McConnell (Republican - KY) and minority whip Senator Dick Durbin (Democrat - IL) are among the seven sitting senators who participated in the ACYPL program. Forty-three of the total exchange alumni in Congress took part in the ACYPL program while three participated in the Fulbright Program.