Debbie Mucarsel-Powell


Debbie Jessika Mucarsel-Powell is an American politician and college administrator serving as a U.S. Representative for since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, her district covers the western part of Miami-Dade County, including Homestead, as well as the Florida Keys.

Early life and education

Mucarsel-Powell was born and raised in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the daughter of Imelda Gil and Guido Mucarsel Yunes. Mucarsel-Powell immigrated to the United States when she was 14 years old, with her mother and three older sisters. She began working in a doughnut shop and continued to work to help support her family, who shared a one bedroom apartment.
She attended Pomona Catholic High School in Pomona, California. She earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Pitzer College and a master's degree in International Political Economy from Claremont Graduate University.

Earlier career

Mucarsel-Powell worked for non-profits like the Hope Center, Zoo Miami Foundation, and the Coral Restoration Foundation. From 2003 to 2007, she served as the Director of Development at Florida International University. She was the Associate Vice President for Advancement at FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine from 2007 to 2011. Mucarsel-Powell became an associate dean at the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.
Mucarsel-Powell had volunteered for the presidential campaigns of John Kerry and Barack Obama, and in 2016, she ran unsuccessfully against Anitere Flores for the Florida State Senate.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In August 2017, Mucarsel-Powell announced she would challenge Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo in of the United States House of Representatives in the 2018 elections. She defeated veteran Demetries Grimes in the Democratic Party primary election, receiving 63.5% of the vote.
In the November 6 general election, Mucarsel-Powell defeated Curbelo, receiving 50.9% of the vote, becoming the first Ecuadorian-born person to be elected to the United States Congress and the first woman to represent Florida's 26th congressional district.

Tenure

On December 18 2019, Mucarsel-Powell voted to impeach President Donald J. Trump.

Committee assignments

Source: Clerk of the House of Representatives

Caucus memberships

Personal life

She is of Ecuadorian and Lebanese ancestry. When she was 24, her father was killed in Ecuador in gun violence. She and her husband, Robert Powell, have two children.