Keith M. Ellison (D-Minn.)

U.S. Representative (since January 2007)

(House web site)

Why He Matters

Though Ellison says his identity doesn't affect his politics, the liberal Democrat is well aware of his place in history as the first elected Muslim official in Congress and and the first African-American in Minnesota's delegation.

Ellison was a key figure in the Bush administration's diplomatic outreach to the Muslim world. In President Obama's June 2009 speech in Cairo to the Muslim world, a reference to Ellison taking his oath of office using a Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson was met with applause.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Minnesota state representative, (2003-2006); Community organizer; Practicing attorney, Lindquist & Vennum
Birthday: Aug. 4, 1963
Hometown: Detroit, Mich.
Alma Mater: Wayne State University, B.A., 1987; University of Minneapolis Law School, 1990
Spouse: Kim
Religion: Muslim
Committees: Financial Services
DC Office: 1027 Longworth House Office Building, 202-225-4755State/District Office: 2100 Plymouth Ave N, Minneapolis, 612-522-1212

Path to Power

Ellison was born in 1963 in Detroit, the Catholic son of a psychiatrist and a social worker. He converted to Islam while a student at Wayne State University, claiming there was nothing specific that spurred his change of faith.

He graduated in 1987 and moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota Law School. Ellison left a long paper trail by writing op-eds speaking out against racism in the campus newspaper and the Minnespoalis Star Tribune. In 1989, he penned a piece in the campus newspaper defending Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan against allegations of racism.

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Community Activist

After graduating, Ellison spent three years at a Minneapolis law firm before becoming a community activist. He said while the 1992 Rodney King verdicts tested his faith in a functioning American democracy, it was restored by the 1995 Million Man March where he served as an organizer for a Minnesota contingent. He has run a criminal-defense firm while also hosting a public-affairs radio show.

In 1998, Ellison ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) primary for a state House seat. In 2002, he was elected to the Minnesota House where he spent two terms. A member of the minority party in St. Paul, Ellison pushed school funding and helped repeal a vagrancy law that criminalized homelessness.

2006 House Race

In 2006, the DFL, Minnesota's arm of the Democratic Party, backed him in the primaries for the 5th district seat being vacated by Rep. Martin Sabo (D-Minn.)

Ellison's election bid was marked by controversy, most notably allegations that he associated with Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Ellison said he was never a member of the group. Ellison wrote a letter apologizing to the Jewish community saying, "They [The Nation of Islam] were and are anti-Semitic, and I should have come to that conclusion earlier than I did." He was also criticized for a history of late filing campaign-finance reports and for late payment of 40 parking tickets.

Despite those issues, Ellison won the three-way DFL primary by laying claim to Wellstone's progressive base with 41 percent of the vote. Ellison won the general election with 56 percent, while Alan Fine (R) and Tammy Lee (I) split the rest.

Ellison's election was criticized by far-right commentators and politicians, as was his decision to be sworn-in using a Koran once belonging to Thomas Jefferson. This caused then-Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) to say prior to the ceremony, "I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary."

In 2008, Ellison easily won reelection with 71 percent of the vote in the general election.

The Issues

During the 110th Congress, Ellison's first House term, the Minneapolis Democrat voted with his party 96.9 percent of the time.

After a July 2007 speech in which Ellison compared the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with the burning of the Reichstag in Nazi Germany, Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to reprimand Ellison.

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Though Ellison didn't apologize for claiming the Bush administration exploited fears to push policies that undermine civil libertie, he did say, "I did not intend any direct comparison between the totalitarian state of Nazi Germany and the current administration."

Foreign Affairs

Ellison has said the U.S. should never have invaded Iraq in 2003. He drew criticism from anti-war supporters for a March 2007 vote to withdraw troops from Iraq by Aug. 31, 2008 as opposed to leaving immediately. Ellison said he decided to vote for the bill after consulting fellow Minnesotan and former Vice President Walter Mondale (D), who said anti-war leaders would be discredited if the more moderate bill didn't pass.

In 2007, Ellison spoke out against the detention of Sudanese journalist Sami al-Haj at Guantanamo Bay. "There's no evidence I could find that would justify his detention," Ellison said of the Al-Jazeera employee who officials accused of aiding an al-Qaeda figure with a visa.Al-Haj was released without charge in 2008.

During conflict in the Gaza strip in January 2009, Ellison was one of 22 House members who voted present on a resolution supporting Israel's right to defend itself from Hamas attacks.

Ellison said the resolution made little mention of suffering in the Gaza and called for a ceasefire. The following month he was one of the first high-level U.S. officials to visit Gaza.

In April 2009, Ellison was one of five members of Congress who were arrested in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., protesting the expulsion of aid groups in Darfur. They were held on misdemeanor trespassing charges and were released within hours.

Outreach to Muslim Countries

During the Bush administration, Ellison volunteered to be part of the State Department's diplomacy effort, using his political rise as an American Muslim as a way to dispel perception in Muslim countries that the religion is not accepted in the U.S. The outreach effort involved both articles about Ellison published by the department and several Ellison trips to the Middle East and Africa.

Ellison has often found himself involved in civil liberties issues involving Muslims. Shortly after he was elected to Congress 2006, Ellison called for a meeting with U.S. Airways and the Metropolitan Airports Commission in Minneapolis to discuss the decision to remove six imams from a flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after their prayers were interpreted as suspicious behavior.

The Economy

In May 2007, Ellison introduced his first bill, which sought to prohibit credit-card companies from hiking interest rates for customers who have problems with other lenders. The provisions were added in the 2009 Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act.

Ellison supported the 2008 financial bailout bill, claiming the $700 billion package would keep Wall Street from paralyzing "Main Street."

Ellison favored the final $787 billion economic stimulus package in February 2008, but opposed trimming funding for housing and social-services programs that shaved $34 billion out of the bill.

Health-Care Reform

Ellison supported a robust public option that didn't make it into final 2010 health-care legislation.

The Network

Ellison is close to several Minnesota lawmakers, especially those with connections to the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.). Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ellison sponsored March 2009 legislation that would require mortgage lenders to verify a borrowers ability to repay.

Ellison's endorsement of Barack Obama 's 2008 presidential bid came early in February 2007. Ellison didn't play an active role in the campaign, being told by an Obama aide, "We have a very tightly wrapped message," a reference to the lawmaker's religion. Ellison blamed aides, not Obama, for the campaign's hesitancy in enlisting him.

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