U.S. House of Representatives
Elections In June 2011, Castro announced his candidacy for the newly drawn 's seat in the
U.S. House of Representatives. He was initially set to challenge fellow Democrat and nine-term incumbent
Lloyd Doggett, whose home in
Austin had been drawn into the district, in the Democratic primary, but on November 28, after
Charlie Gonzalez of the neighboring
20th district announced his retirement after seven terms, Castro announced that he would run instead for the 20th district seat. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary, all but assuring him of winning the general election in this heavily Democratic, Hispanic-majority district. At the
2012 Democratic National Convention, he introduced his brother Julián as keynote speaker. In November, Castro defeated Republican nominee David Rosa 64%-34%. becoming only the fifth person to represent this district since its creation in 1935. In 2017,
San Antonio Express-News columnist Bruce Davidson questioned Castro's decision not to enter the
2018 U.S. Senate race against Republican incumbent
Ted Cruz, a
2016 presidential candidate. Davidson predicted that Castro could have defeated the announced candidate,
Beto O'Rourke, representative of
Texas's 16th congressional district based in
El Paso, for the Democratic nomination. "Castro is said to be ambitious, but will he ever have a better chance to move up than in the Trump-era against Ted Cruz?," Davidson wrote. He added that Texas's other senator, Republican
John Cornyn, would have taken advantage of a similar opportunity to run. In 2002, Cornyn, the state's then one-term
attorney general, filed to succeed retiring Republican Senator
Phil Gramm, while two other Republican hopefuls,
Henry Bonilla of
Texas's 23rd congressional district and
David Dewhurst, the
land commissioner and later the
lieutenant governor, vacillated and lost their chances to become a senator. Bonilla was defeated for House reelection after redistricting in 2006, and Dewhurst lost the 2012 Republican runoff Senate election to Cruz.
Tenure . in August 2015 Castro was sworn into office on January 3, 2013, becoming a member of the
113th United States Congress. He was chosen as the president of the freshman class of Democrats in the 113th Congress. In the
114th Congress, House Democratic whip
Steny Hoyer named Castro a
chief deputy whip. During the
2016 presidential election, Castro served as a surrogate for
Hillary Clinton's campaign. He was selected as chair of the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus for the
116th Congress. On January 12, 2019, Castro introduced and endorsed his twin brother, former HUD secretary
Julián Castro, at the launch rally of Julián's
2020 presidential campaign. In February 2019, Castro authored House Joint Resolution 46 to overturn Trump's declaration of a
National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States, under which Trump said he would divert funds from other sources to construct a
wall along the U.S. and Mexico border. The bill passed the House by a vote of 245–182 on February 15, and the Senate by a vote of 59–41 on March 15. Trump
vetoed the Joint Resolution on March 15. In August 2019, Castro tweeted the names and employers of 44 San Antonio residents who had given the maximum allowable contribution to Trump's reelection campaign. He said it was "sad to see so many San Antonians" whose "contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as 'invaders'." The information came from publicly available lists published by the
Federal Election Commission. Republicans denounced the tweet, saying that such a "target list" invites harassment and could even encourage violence. In July 2020, following House Foreign Affairs Committee chairperson
Eliot Engel's defeat for reelection, Castro declared his candidacy for chair. The other candidates were the eventually victorious
Gregory Meeks and
Brad Sherman, who had defeated former chairperson
Howard Berman in a 2012 primary. On January 12, 2021, Castro was named an
impeachment manager (prosecutor) for
Trump's second impeachment trial. Castro was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House. Castro voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time, according to
FiveThirtyEight analysis completed in January 2023. During the
second Trump administration, Castro has been instrumental in releasing improperly-detained migrant children and their families from the
Dilley concentration camp. Castro publicizes the plights of sympathetic detainees and visits them in the camp. His activities shame immigration authorities into releasing the detainees and publicize the inhumane conditions in the camp. Castro's first visit was in January 2026, helping secure the release of
Liam Conejo Ramos whom he accompanied back home. Many more relatives of detainees contact Castro for help than he can assist. He noted that many of these people had contacted their own Congressional representatives and received no reply. He was critical of President Trump's threats against
Iranian civilization in April 2026.
Committee assignments •
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence • Central Intelligence Agency Subcommittee • National Security Agency & Cyber Subcommittee •
Committee on Foreign Affairs •
United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere (Ranking Member) •
United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific Caucus memberships •
Congressional Equality Caucus •
Congressional Progressive Caucus •
Congressional Taiwan Caucus •
New Democrat Coalition •
Congressional Hispanic Caucus •
U.S.-Japan Caucus (Founder) • Bipartisan Congressional Pre-K and Child Care Caucus (Founder) •
ASEAN Caucus (Founder) == Personal life ==