Who’s Who in Defense: Ro Khanna, Ranking Member, HASC’s Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems (CITI)

U. S. Representative Ro Khanna, D-17th District, California

Responsibilities

• Khanna is the ranking member of a subcommittee that’s focused on technologies with the potential to threaten US national security. Since its creation in 2021 during the 117th Congress, the House subcommittee has been narrowing the aperture on hot-topic issues ranging from the electromagnetic spectrum to artificial intelligence, helping to assign value and assess key threats, and opening up issues for congressional debate.
• CITI has legislative jurisdiction over DoD policy related to the electromagnetic spectrum, electronic warfare, and the acquisition of computer software. Additionally, it oversees DoD policy, programs and accounts relating to: artificial intelligence; cyber security; cyber operations; cyber forces; information technology; and science and technology. Their authority includes defense-wide programs and accounts associated with R&D, testing and evaluation, save for those defense-wide programs related to the R&D, testing and evaluation of missile defense systems.

Quote

• “Silicon Valley plays a central role in changing the world through technological innovations. These changes have improved the lives of millions and have opened up a world of job and economic opportunity nationwide. However, they also come with a host of new challenges to consider. I believe that in the age of technology and connectivity, we are entitled to a basic set of rights that protect access, privacy, and universality of internet use,” Khanna stated. 

Committees/Political Caucus

• Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

• Member of more than 20 caucuses in the 119th Congress. Co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. Vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Political/Professional/Academic Career

• US representative from California’s 17th Congressional District, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, since 2017. Serving his fifth term in office. 
• Lectured on economics at Stanford University and was an adjunct professor at Santa Clara Law School between 2012 to 2016.
• An attorney for Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the largest law firm in Silicon Valley, from 2011 to 2014.
• Deputy assistant secretary in the US Department of Commerce under the Obama administration, from 2009 to 2011.
• An attorney with O’Melveny & Myers, specializing in trade and intellectual property, from 2004 to 2009.

Education

• Yale University – JD degree in 2001.
• University of Chicago – BA in Economics. Graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1998. 

Personal 

• Born September 13, 1976, in Philadelphia, PA, Khanna is the son of a chemical engineer and a teacher who immigrated to America during the 1970s. Reportedly, the young Khanna’s interest in public service stemmed from his grandfather’s commitment to achieving social justice under British rule. Led by Mahatma Gandhi, the movement for independence called for civil disobedience, and charged Indians to “be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Freedom came with the Indian Independence Act of 1947, but not before some of its most ardent supporters were imprisoned, including his grandfather. 

• Author of two books – Entrepreneurial Nation: Why Manufacturing is Still Key to America’s Future, and Dignity in a Digital Age. 

• He and his wife Ritu, married in 2015, have two children. They live in Fremont, CA.