Gil Cisneros

Cisneros was born in Torrance, of Californio heritage. His great-grandmother was born in Los Angeles when it was still part of Mexico. He is Hispanic. He was discharged from the Navy in 2004, as a lieutenant commander, and his decorations included the Navy Commendation Medal and Navy Achievement Medal. == Career ==

Cisneros worked as a shipping and manufacturing manager for Frito-Lay until he was laid off in 2010. He and his wife became philanthropists, establishing endowments for scholarships to be given to Latino students at GWU and the University of Southern California. They also founded Generation First Degree Pico Rivera, with the goal of ensuring every Latino household in Pico Rivera has at least one college graduate, and the Gilbert and Jacki Cisneros Foundation with an initial investment of $20 million to provide mentorship in education. Gil Cisneros' work in philanthropy led him to an appointment by President Barack Obama to be on the Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2014. Continuing education After setting up the foundation, Cisneros earned a Master of Arts from Brown University in Urban Education Policy, and an MBA from Regis University. == U.S. House of Representatives ==

Elections 2018 , 2019 Cisneros was a Republican until 2008, but left the party because he felt it had become "too ideological" and switched to the Democratic Party. In 2017, he declared his candidacy against Ed Royce in the 2018 election for the United States House of Representatives to represent . He specifically cited Royce's vote to repeal the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, as a reason he chose to run. Later, the election attracted national attention as the "weirdest race in the country" after the California Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee brokered a truce on negative campaigning between Cisneros and Andy Thorburn, who had spent a combined eight million dollars on their campaigns. Fears of a lockout by either party were not realized when Cisneros advanced to the November runoff election, finishing second in the June primary election to Republican former state Assemblywoman Young Kim, with 19.35% of the vote. This election was rated a "Toss-up" by the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball. The Associated Press called the election for Cisneros on November 17. 2020 Cisneros lost to Young Kim by a margin of 1.2% in the 2020 House of Representatives election for , in a rematch of the 2018 election. 2024 On September 18, 2023, Cisneros announced his intention to make a return to Congress by announcing his candidacy for the vacant 31st congressional district seat that became available with the retirement of Grace Napolitano. He defeated Republican Daniel Martinez in the 2024 election. Tenure Committee assignments ;Current: • Committee on Armed Services (116th and 119th Congresses) • Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations (119th Congress) • Subcommittee on Military Personnel (116th and 119th Congresses) • Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces (116th Congress) • Committee on Small Business • Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure (Ranking Member) • Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations ;Former • Committee on Veterans' Affairs (116th Congress) • Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs • Subcommittee on Health • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Caucus memberships • Congressional Equality Caucus • Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus • Congressional Hispanic Caucus • New Democrat Coalition • Congressional Progressive Caucus • Congressional Taiwan Caucus == Biden–Harris administration ==

in 2023 On April 12, 2021, the White House announced that Cisneros would be nominated to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in the Biden administration; his nomination was received on April 27. On July 27, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) voted to advance Cisneros's nomination to the full chamber for a future vote. Cisneros was confirmed unanimously by the Senate on August 11, 2021, by voice vote, and he was sworn in on August 24, 2021. He served in that position until September 8, 2023. ==Electoral history==

Cisneros and his wife Jacki have twin sons. and lived in Newport Beach until they moved to Yorba Linda in late 2017, the year he began running for election. ==See also==