Current Role:
United States Special Envoy for Global Youth Issues, U.S. Department of State (December 1, 2022 – 2025)
Previous roles:
U.S. Representative, Iowa's 1st congressional district (January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021)
Iowa House of Representatives, 99th district (January 12, 2015 – January 3, 2019)
Education:
Drake University, B.A. in Public Relations, 2011
Background:
Born December 27, 1988, in Dubuque, Iowa; raised in Sherrill, Iowa. First-generation college graduate. Married Daniel Wasta in 2020. Publicly shared her experiences with endometriosis.
Career:
Before elected office, worked as a legislative aide for Iowa State Representative Todd Taylor and as a communications specialist for the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque. Served as Iowa volunteer coordinator for the 2008 Biden campaign.
Political positions:
Democrat. Advocate for working families, labor rights, affordable healthcare and education, women’s rights, reproductive healthcare, and bipartisan immigration reform. Supports public infrastructure investment and policies benefiting blue-collar communities.
Legislative achievements:
Co-founded and co-chaired the Congressional Endometriosis Caucus; led successful effort to double NIH funding for endometriosis research. Served as Assistant Whip in the 116th Congress. Youngest woman to flip a U.S. House seat and youngest woman to pass a bill through the House. Served on Small Business and Transportation & Infrastructure Committees.
Controversies:
In 2022, initially ruled ineligible for U.S. Senate Democratic primary due to petition signature issues; Iowa Supreme Court unanimously reversed the decision, allowing her to run. Lost the primary to Michael Franken.
Biography (100 words):
Abby Finkenauer is an American politician and advocate who served as the United States Special Envoy for Global Youth Issues from 2022 to 2025. Previously, she represented Iowa’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House (2019–2021) and the Iowa House of Representatives (2015–2019). A lifelong Democrat, Finkenauer is known for championing working families, women’s healthcare, and labor rights. She co-founded the Congressional Endometriosis Caucus, leading efforts to increase research funding. Finkenauer made history as one of the first two women elected to the U.S. House from Iowa and as the second-youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Abby4Iowa
Wikipedia_URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abby_Finkenauer
YouTube_URL: Not found
YouTube_Channel_ID: Not found
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abby4iowa
Twitter_URL: https://twitter.com/Abby4Iowa
Truth_Social_URL: Not found
TikTok_URL: Not found
Official_Website: https://abbyfinkenauer.com
Political_Party: Democrat
Current_Position: Previous Representative
