21st-century American legislators

Barack Hussein Obama II ( bə-RAHK hoo-SAYN oh-BAH-mə; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the United States. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004.

Nancy Patricia Pelosi (née D'Alesandro; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician serving as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019, and previously from 2007 to 2011. Pelosi has served as a U.S. representative from California since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the only woman in U.S. history to serve as Speaker and, until the inauguration of Kamala Harris as vice president, is the highest-ranking female elected official in United States history. As House Speaker, Pelosi is second in the presidential line of succession, after the vice president.

Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician, attorney, and author who has served as the junior United States Senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He was the 38th mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, and served on the Municipal Council of Newark for the Central Ward from 1998 to 2002.

Clarence Burgess Owens (born August 2, 1951) is an American politician, nonprofit executive, and former professional football player serving as the U.S. representative for Utah's 4th congressional district since 2021. He played safety for 10 seasons for the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders, winning a championship with the Raiders in Super Bowl XV in 1980. Since leaving the NFL, Owens has founded several businesses and is the CEO of a nonprofit dedicated to helping troubled and incarcerated youth. A Republican, Owens was first elected to Congress in 2020, when he narrowly defeated incumbent Democrat Ben McAdams in the 2020 election. Owens is one of four black Republicans in the House of Representatives.

Harold Eugene Ford Jr. (born May 11, 1970) is an American financial managing director, pundit, author, and former U.S. congressman who served from 1997–2007 in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party from Tennessee's 9th congressional district, centered in Memphis. He is the son of former Congressman Harold Ford Sr., who held the same seat for 22 years. In 2006, Ford made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Bill Frist. He is a member of the Ford political family from Memphis. Ford was the last chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC).

Johnny Reid "John" Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.

Robert Guy "The Torch" Torricelli (born August 27, 1951), is an American attorney and former politician. A Democrat, Torricelli served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 9th district from 1983 to 1997 and as a United States senator from New Jersey from 1997 to 2003. He is notable for his tenure as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In September 2002, Torricelli ended his Senate re-election campaign after having been formally admonished by the U.S. Senate in connection with a campaign finance scandal. He later founded Rosemont Associates, a consulting group.

Joe Linus Barton (born September 15, 1949) is a Republican politician who represented Texas's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2019. The district included Arlington, part of Fort Worth, and several small towns and rural areas south of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. He was also a member of the Tea Party Caucus. In 2014, Barton became the longest-serving member of the Texas congressional delegation.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989), popularly known as AOC, is an American politician and activist who serves as the U.S. Representative for New York's 14th congressional district. The district includes the eastern part of the Bronx and portions of north-central Queens in New York City. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Tulsi Gabbard (born April 12, 1981) is an American politician and United States Army Reserve officer who served as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Elected in 2012, she was the first Hindu member of Congress and also the first Samoan-American voting member of Congress. In early February 2019 she announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 United States presidential election.