Raja Krishnamoorthi

Law enforcement funding

In June 2022, Krishnamoorthi joined local officials to present the Schaumburg Police Department with a check for $340,000 in recognition of federal funding he secured for a mobile response unit for mental health and substance misuse. This unit, implemented by the Schaumburg Police Department, Elk Grove Police Department, the Start Here Addiction Rehabilitation and Education Program, the Foglia Treatment Center, the Kenneth Young Center, and Live4Lali, allows the police to address 911 calls through crisis intervention overseen by social workers and community response professionals with experience related to mental health and substance disorders.^[26]

Education, job training and workforce development

In June 2017, the House unanimously passed the Thompson–Krishnamoorthi Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which would overhaul the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and provide more flexibility to states.^[27] In November 2017, Krishnamoorthi and GT Thompson co-led a letter to the Senate education committee with 235 fellow members of the House urging them to take up the legislation.^[28] The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act passed the Senate and was signed into law by President Trump in July 2018.^[29]

TikTok

In December 2022, Krishnamoorthi and two other lawmakers introduced the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act), which would prohibit Chinese- and Russian-owned social networks from doing business in the United States.^[30] He later said that the TikTok algorithm was manipulated by the Chinese government. He also expressed concern about the alleged surveillance of journalists, possible manipulation of the algorithm in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, and the fact that Osama bin Laden's 'Letter to America' had gone viral. He said that he wanted the platform sold, not banned.^[31][32]

Trump administration security clearance issues

In October 2017, Krishnamoorthi questioned the director of the National Background Investigations Bureau about the number of mistakes made in senior presidential advisor Jared Kushner's security clearance during a hearing by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In response to repeated questioning about whether he could recall "if there has ever been an applicant having to submit four addenda detailing over 100 errors and omissions being able to maintain their security clearance once those errors have been identified," Director Phalen said that he had never seen that level of mistakes.^[33]

Immigration and Trump administration's travel ban

On January 28, 2017, Trump's executive order placing restrictions on people entering the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries caused 18 travelers arriving at O'Hare International Airport to be detained and questioned by federal officers,^[34] including a family of legal permanent residents and their 18-month-old baby,^[35] who held U.S. citizenship.^[36] Krishnamoorthi arrived at O'Hare within hours to speak to immigration officials but was told they were unavailable.^[37] While joining a protest at the airport Krishnamoorthi said of the detentions, "They applied legally, they've been vetted and they've been here, in many cases, for decades, and they were detained by their own country at the airport. So many of our businesses rely on green card holders. How are we supposed to attract these people if they think they'll be detained at the airport if they go abroad for a wedding, or just to show their baby to relatives?"^[38]

In a WGN radio interview the next morning, Krishnamoorthi denounced Trump's immigration initiative, calling it the "worst executive order you could draw up to unify the country."^[39]

First impeachment of Donald Trump

As a member of both the House Oversight Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Krishnamoorthi was closely involved in Trump's impeachment as a member of the Intelligence Committee.^[40]

Vaping and e-cigarettes

Time magazine called Krishnamoorthi the vaping industry's "biggest enemy in D.C."^[41] In July 2019, as chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, he held hearings investigating the industry's marketing practices, especially those allegedly aimed at children. In the wake of this investigation, the FDA issued a warning letter to e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs, which then halted all domestic marketing and advertising.^[41]

COVID-19 pandemic

As chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Consumer and Economic Policy, Krishnamoorthi led investigations into the federal response to the pandemic, including the federal ventilator shortage^[42][43] and the Trump administration's misuse of CDC funds for partisan political messaging, funds that were originally intended for a public awareness campaign. After public outcry, the Department of Health and Human Services canceled the campaign using celebrities who had been vetted, in part, based on their political leanings.^[44][45]

Animal welfare

Krishnamoorthi has a legislative history of supporting animal welfare measures. In 2021, he reintroduced the bipartisan Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act, which strengthens licensing enforcement for animal dealers.^[46][47] In 2025, Humane Action Fund, the political arm of Humane World for Animals, gave Krishnamoorthi a rating of "100+" indicating that he had taken stances consistent with the Humane Action Fund on all the organization's priority legislation. Additionally, the fund designated him a "leader" indicating further actions to support animals.^[48]

Artificial intelligence and national security

Krishnamoorthi has advanced legislation on artificial intelligence, particularly its implications for national security and defense.^[49] He supported a Biden administration rule that limited the export of U.S.–made AI accelerators to most countries. This rule was opposed by technology companies, including the U.S. semiconductor giant Nvidia. Supporters of the rule, including Krishnamoorthi, were described as "China hawks." Krishnamoorthi advocates for closing loopholes that allow the diffusion of U.S. semiconductor technology to China.^[50]

Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict

In October 2020, Krishnamoorthi co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemning Azerbaijan's offensive operations against the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.^[51]

Other congressional investigations and oversight activities

In November 2020, Krishnamoorthi led investigations into the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)'s failure to establish side-impact test standards for children's car seats and boosters, effectively allowing manufacturers to create their own standards. Some manufacturers were found to be selling booster seats that had been shown to be unsafe in the companies' own safety tests.^[52]

In November 2020, Krishnamoorthi called for the investigation of Senator David Perdue's stock trades involving a defense contractor while he was on the Senate Armed Services Committee.^[53]

During an Oversight Committee hearing into the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma's role in the opioid epidemic, Krishnamoorthi sharply criticized members of the Sackler family as well as Purdue Pharma executives, calling on Purdue Pharma president Craig Landau to take responsibility for the company's involvement in the opioid crisis and forgo the $3.5 million bonus he was then seeking from Purdue Pharma, while the company was struggling to pay out damages to victims of the opioid OxyContin.^[54]

In 2021, Krishnamoorthi began an investigation into the Washington Commanders and their owner, Dan Snyder, for workplace misconduct related to widespread sexual harassment, citing a lack of transparency in the NFL's own investigation into the matter.^{[55][56][57][58]} In April 2022, the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy found evidence indicating the team "routinely withheld security deposits that should have been returned to customers", "improperly convert[ed] certain unclaimed security deposits into revenue", and "repeatedly concealed ticket sales revenue" from the NFL.^[55] The Commanders denied any financial misconduct.^[59] In May 2022, Krishnamoorthi canceled a fundraiser "out of an abundance of caution" after being informed lobbyists had sent unauthorized correspondence and outreach for the event, referencing the ongoing investigation.^[60] Lobbyist Mike Manatos admitted the correspondence was sent without the knowledge of or coordination with Krishnamoorthi or his staff.^[60] In July 2022, Snyder testified before the House Committee in a private deposition.^[61]