Eliot Lance Engel (; February 18, 1947 – April 10, 2026) was an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from New York from 1989 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented a district covering portions of the north Bronx and southern Westchester County.
Engel won his first congressional election in 1988, defeating Mario Biaggi in the Democratic primary. In 2019, following Democratic gains in the 2018 elections, Engel was named chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; he previously was its ranking member from 2013. In 2020, after 16 terms in office, Engel was defeated in the Democratic primary by middle school principal Jamaal Bowman.
Early life and education Engel was born in the Bronx on February 18, 1947, the son of Sylvia (née Bleend) and Philip Engel, an ironworker. His grandparents, of Ukrainian Jewish background, were immigrants from the Russian Empire.
In 1969, Engel graduated from Lehman College of the City University of New York with a Bachelor of Arts in history. He received a master's in school counseling in 1973 from the same institution. In February 1987, he earned a Juris Doctor from New York Law School. Early career New York State Assembly After working as a social studies teacher at IS 174 in The Bronx and guidance counselor in other schools, Engel entered politics. In 1977, Engel entered the special election for a seat in the New York State Assembly after the incumbent Democrat Alan Hochberg was forced to resign. He was the Liberal Party nominee in the special election, and on March 1, 1977, he won by 103 votes, defeating Democratic nominee Ted Weinstein and Republican nominee Arlene Siegel.
Engel was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1977 to 1988, sitting in the 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, and 187th New York State Legislatures. He chaired the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, and the Subcommittee on the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program.
U.S. House of Representatives Elections In 1988, Engel ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York's 19th congressional district. His state assembly district covered much of the congressional district's southeastern corner. He defeated ten-term Rep. Mario Biaggi in the Democratic primary with 48% of the vote; Biaggi had resigned his seat and did not campaign for office, though his name remained on the ballot. Biaggi had been charged by Rudy Giuliani with racketeering in the Wedtech scandal, and was eventually jailed. Biaggi was unopposed for the Republican nomination (he had run on both the Republican and Democratic lines since 1972). Engel won the general election with 56% of the vote.
In 1994, Engel defeated musician Willie Colón 62%-38%. In 2000, Engel defeated State Senator Larry Seabrook, who had the support of Bronx County Democratic Party Chairman Roberto Ramirez, 50%-41%.
In 2020, Engel was challenged in the primary by Yonkers school principal Jamaal Bowman, who ran well to Engel's left. Engel initially received an endorsement from New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, Mario Biaggi's granddaughter. However, in early June, after a hot mic gaffe by Engel, where he insisted on speaking at a press conference and said, "If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care", Biaggi withdrew her support of Engel and instead endorsed Bowman. In a mid-June poll, Engel trailed Bowman by ten percentage points and, after the election, with early and election day votes counted, Bowman led Engel by almost 12,000 votes, 61.8% to 34.9%. Absentee ballots were scheduled to be counted on June 30, 2020,New York Primary Election Results: 16th Congressional District, The New York Times, June 24, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2010. though some sources called the race for Bowman before the counting of absentee ballots. After the absentee ballots were counted, Bowman's lead was 55.4%-40.6%, or 13,218 votes. The race was called for Bowman on July 17, 2020, with the New York State Board of Elections certifying the results on August 6, 2020.
Committee assignments Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power Subcommittee on Health Committee on Foreign Affairs (chair, 116th Congress) (Ranking Member, 113th, 114th, 115th Congress)
Party leadership Vice Chair of the Democratic Task Force on Homeland Security Assistant Democratic Whip
Caucus memberships Arab-Israeli Peace Accord Monitoring Group Congressional Albanian Caucus Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety Congressional Hellenic-Israeli Alliance Ad Hoc Congressional Committee for Irish Affairs Democratic Leadership Council Democratic Task Force on Health House Oil and National Security Caucus (Founder and co-chair) Israel Allies Caucus New Democrat Coalition House Caucus on Human Rights House Caucus on the Hudson Valley United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus Congressional Arts Caucus Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus Congressional Medicare for All Caucus (Founding Member) Climate Solutions Caucus U.S.-Japan Caucus Congressional Argentina Caucus (Founder)
Attendance at the State of the Union address
Engel could be seen shaking hands with the President at a number of televised State of the Union addresses during his time in Congress. Along with other Members of Congress, Engel showed up at the Capitol early in order to guarantee that he would get an aisle seat. Engel managed to shake hands with the President at every address, and be seen by his constituents on live television, starting when he arrived in Congress in 1989. He said, "It's an honor to shake the hand of the president of the United States no matter who it is."
This tradition ended in 2017 when Engel decided not to shake then President Donald Trump's hand.
Political positions
Healthcare reform A strong supporter of single payer healthcare, Engel supported quality access to health care, and referred to himself as pro-choice "all the way". Engel was a co-sponsor of the United States National Health Care Act, which would implement a single-payer health care system in the United States. In 2010 he was a strong supporter of the landmark Affordable Care Act once he secured provisions that New York would not be penalized for providing more generous benefits than other states.
In 2008, Engel authored the ALS Registry Act (P.L. 110–373), which established a national registry for the collection and storage of data on those suffering from ALS. He also authored the Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Act (P.L. 110–361), which promoted research at Centers of Excellence for Muscular Dystrophy.
In 2010, Engel wrote the Partnering to Improve Maternity Care Quality Act to improve maternity care for mothers and newborns, and to do so in partnership with doctors, advocates, payers, and purchasers. In 2010 he also wrote the Gestational Diabetes Act of 2010, which passed the House, but did not come to a vote in the Senate. In 2018, he reintroduced the legislation in the 115th Congress for consideration. It was not voted on. The legislation would provide for better tracking and research into gestational diabetes, which, if untreated, could lead to Type 2 diabetes for both mother and child.
Global health Engel supported an improved re-authorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Within the PEPFAR bill, Engel included his bill, the Stop Tuberculosis Now Act. This measure would provide increased U.S. support for international tuberculosis control activities, and promotes research to develop new drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines.
Energy In 2005, Engel, along with Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA), introduced the Fuel Choices for American Security Act (H.R. 4409), later modified and re-introduced in 2007 as the DRIVE Act (H.R. 670) - the Dependence Reduction through Innovation in Vehicles and Energy Act - with more than 80 bi-partisan co-sponsors. It was designed to promote America's national security and economic stability by reducing dependence on foreign oil through the use of clean alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies. It also called for increased tire efficiency - to increase a vehicle's gas miles.
Many provisions of the DRIVE Act were included in the Energy Independence and Security Act, which was signed into law on December 19, 2007, and became Public Law No. 110-140. This law mandates increased fuel efficiency standards from 25 miles per gallon to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The law also requires improved energy efficiency standards for appliances, lighting, and buildings, and the development of American-grown biofuels like cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, and biobutanol.
Engel introduced the Open Fuel Standards Act, alongside Congressmen Kingston, Steve Israel (D-NY), and Bob Inglis (R-SC). This bill would have required 50 percent of new cars sold in the United States by 2012 (and 80 percent of new cars sold by 2015) to be flexible-fuel vehicles capable of running on any combination of ethanol, methanol, or gasoline. Flex fuel vehicles cost about $100 more than the same vehicle in a gasoline-only version.
Engel on the Energy and Commerce Committee and Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment. He played a key role in negotiating the American Clean Energy and Security Act, HR 2454, which passed the House on June 26, 2009. That legislation was intended to revitalize the economy by creating millions of new jobs, increase American national security by reducing dependence on foreign oil, and preserve the planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It passed the House in 2009, but was not voted on by the Senate in the 111th Congress.
Gun control A supporter of gun control, Engel said in a National Gun Violence Awareness Day statement that he had worked in Congress "to ban assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and armor-piercing bullets, institute universal background checks, adopt extreme risk protection orders, and restore funding for gun violence research". He voted against a 2003 bill that immunized firearm manufacturers and dealers from civil liability for gun misuse. He supported smart gun technology to prevent guns from being used by unauthorized persons, and voted against a bill to reduce the waiting period to purchase a gun at a gun show. In 2009, Engel was one of 53 members of Congress who signed a letter to President Barack Obama, urging the new president to resume enforcement of a ban on the import of foreign assault weapons (authorized by the Gun Control Act of 1968 and enforced during the administrations of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton). In 2001, after 400,000 defective gun locks were recalled from the market, Engel introduced a bill intended to protect parents and children from faulty gun locks by instructing the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to set a national quality standard for all child safety devices used on firearms.
Other domestic issues On December 22, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Truth in Caller ID Act. The legislation was introduced by Bill Nelson in the Senate, passed the House on December 15, and is virtually identical to Engel's bill. The new law cracks down on the use of caller ID spoofing, often used by criminals to trick their victims into giving out personal information. The legislation will help law enforcement combat identity theft.
Engel originally introduced the Securing our Borders and Our Data Act in July 2008, HR 6702. That bill would ensure that when a traveler enters the United States, a border agent cannot search or seize the traveler's data or equipment without cause. The legislation was re-introduced in the 111th Congress as HR 239. The Department of Homeland Security altered their rules to prevent agents from searching and seizing without cause. This encompassed much of Engel's legislation.