Elaine Luria
Former United States Representative (VA-02); former United States Naval Commander - Spring '23 Fellow
Elaine Luria served as the Representative for Virginia's Second Congressional District from 2019-2023. While in Congress, she served as the Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee and as a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. She also served as a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol.
In Congress, Luria championed a strong military; her work consistently resulted in increased defense budgets, emphasizing shipbuilding and improving key capabilities in the Pacific. Luria was instrumental in the passage of the PACT Act, greatly increasing access to care for veterans with health conditions related to toxic exposure, such as burn pits. She was also a consistent voice on advanced nuclear technology, passing bipartisan legislation to field advanced reactor demonstration projects. As a member of Congress, Rep. Luria was consistently lauded as one of the most bipartisan legislators and as the “most effective” freshman member of the House.
Before her election, Luria served two decades in the United States Navy, retiring at the rank of Commander, serving at sea on six ships as a nuclear-trained Surface Warfare Officer, with six deployments to the Middle East and Western Pacific, culminating her Navy career by commanding a combat-ready unit of 400 sailors. Luria graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Physics and History and received a Master's in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University.
Elaine's discussion group is titled Bipartisanship in a Post-January 6 World.
The Fly: a GU Politics Podcast - “Members of Congress have a large microphone”