Grace Meng (Chinese: 孟昭文; pinyin: Mèng Zhāowén; born October 1, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 6th congressional district since 2013. Her district is situated within the New York City borough of Queens; it includes Bayside, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Flushing, Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Jackson Heights, Kew Gardens, Maspeth, Middle Village, Woodside and Rego Park. A member of the Democratic Party, Meng represented the 22nd district in the New York State Assembly from 2009 until 2012. She is the first Asian American to be elected to the United States Congress from New York.
Contents
Early life and education
Grace Meng was born to a Taiwanese American family on October 1, 1975, in Queens, New York. She was raised in the Bayside and Flushing sections of that borough. She is of waishengren Taiwanese descent, and is the daughter of Jimmy Meng, the first Asian to serve in the New York State Assembly, and Shiao-Mei Meng. She attended Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School and Stuyvesant High School with the intent to become a teacher, according to a classmate. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. One of her early mentors was Susan Wu Rathbone, founder of the Queens Chinese Women's Association.
New York Assembly
Meng's father, Jimmy Meng, was elected in 2004 to New York's 22nd assembly district, becoming the first Asian American to be elected to the New York State Assembly. He served one term and declined to seek reelection in 2006.
Elections
Meng ran for Assembly in 2006 to succeed her father, but was taken off the ballot when Democrat Ellen Young challenged her residency status. Young succeeded Jimmy Meng, taking office in January 2007. Jimmy Meng was arrested during an FBI sting investigation in 2012. He later pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a bribery scheme.
Grace Meng's district residency issues were resolved, and she ran for Assembly again in 2008. On September 9, she defeated Young in the Democratic primary, 59%–41%. Meng's primary victory over Young "sent shock waves through the Democratic Party in Flushing". Meng went on to win the November election, defeating Young (who remained on the ballot as the nominee of the Independence Party and the Working Families Party), 87%-13%. In 2010, Meng was reelected unopposed.
Tenure
Meng was the author of the Reverse Mortgage Act of 2009 that prohibited proceeds received from reverse mortgages from being considered as income, so senior citizens can get their partial property tax exemption. Seven other of her pieces of legislation were signed into law.
In 2009, Meng was named one of City & State's "New York City Rising Stars: 40 Under 40".
During Meng's time as a member of the New York Assembly, Linda Sun worked as a member of her staff. In 2024, Sun was arrested and charged with several federal felony violations for acting as an unregistered agent of the People's Republic of China. Meng was not charged with any wrongdoing. In response to Sun's arrest, Meng commented, "Like every American patriot, I am deeply, deeply concerned about the national security threat that the Chinese Communist Party's government poses to the United States, and I believe we need to protect our nation from it."
U.S. House of Representatives
2012 election
In June 2012, Meng faced fellow Assembly member Rory Lancman and New York City Council member Elizabeth Crowley in a primary election for New York's 6th congressional district and won. She received the endorsement of the Queens County Democratic Party, and a New York Times reporter wrote that she was "poised to become the biggest political star from New York City's fastest-growing demographic group." Meng said her focus would be to create jobs, improve transportation, and grow tourism opportunities in her borough. Like her father, she garnered local community support from the Henan Association of Eastern America, a local Henan hometown association co-founded by Meng's grandmother.
Meng's father, Jimmy Meng, was arrested during an FBI sting investigation in 2012. He later pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a bribery scheme.
On November 6, 2012, Grace Meng defeated Republican New York City Councilmember Dan Halloran, making her the first Asian American elected to Congress from New York.
Re-election bids
In 2014, 2016, and 2018, Meng retained her seat without a Democratic primary challenger. In 2020, she faced two primary challengers, winning with 65% of the vote, and went on to defeat a Republican in the general election. She was unopposed in the primary in 2022 and 2024. In 2026, Chuck Park challenged her in the Democratic primary, which Meng won with 57% of the vote.
Tenure
Inaugurated on January 3, 2013, Meng helped form the Bipartisan Freshman Caucus, asserting that "the American people are just sick and tired of blaming each other without getting anything done."
Her district includes the Queens neighborhoods of Auburndale, Bayside, Briarwood, Elmhurst, Flushing, Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Maspeth, Middle Village, and Rego Park.
On February 10, 2014, Meng introduced the Protect Cemeteries Act into the House. The bill amends the findings of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 by including the desecration of cemeteries among the various violations of the right to religious freedom. Meng said that "this legislation would be a new and important tool in our fight against the desecration of cemeteries" because it would "combat religiously-motivated vandalism of cemeteries and also prevent developers from building over cemeteries, a new and emerging threat in places where there are no Jewish communities left to protect burial grounds."
In January 2017, Meng boycotted Donald Trump's inauguration. In February 2017 she became Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in Atlanta.
In July 2019, Meng reintroduced the Community College Student Success Act to improve graduation rates at under-resourced public community colleges to have the necessary funding to develop and implement support services for their low-income and minority students. It replicates nationwide the success of the CUNY Accelerated Study in Associate Programs which helps students earn associate degrees within 3 years by offering a range of financial, academic, and personal assistance. The program has been found to double the graduation rates of participants.
On February 23, 2021, Meng introduced House Resolution 151, "Condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19," responding to the growth of hate crimes against Asian-Americans, in the wake of Trump's repeated characterization of COVID-19 as "Kung Flu" and the "Chinese virus". It urged education and reporting about harassment. It drew initial support from 140 co-sponsors, and by March 3, 46 more, all Democrats.
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:
Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs
Caucus memberships
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (chair)
Black Maternal Health Caucus
Congressional Equality Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus
Future Forum
Medicare for All Caucus
Blue Collar Caucus
Rare Disease Caucus
Israel Allies Caucus
Personal life
Meng married Wayne Kye (계원종, 桂源鍾), a Korean American dentist and assistant professor at NYU, in June 2005. The couple resides in Queens with their two sons, Tyler Kye (계창명, 桂昌明) and Brandon Kye (계창호, 桂昌浩). They attend a Protestant church in Forest Hills, Queens.
In November 2013, Meng was robbed and assaulted by a purse-snatcher in the Eastern Market area of Washington, D.C. She suffered injuries to her head, left knee, hand, and face, and was treated at George Washington University hospital.