Nita Sue Lowey ( LOH-ee; née Melnikoff; born July 5, 1937) is an American politician who formerly served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1989 until 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Lowey also served as co-Dean of the New York Congressional Delegation, along with former U.S. Representative Eliot Engel. Lowey's district was numbered as the 20th from 1989 to 1993, as the 18th from 1993 to 2013, and as the 17th beginning in 2013. The district includes many of New York City's inner northern suburbs, such as White Plains, Purchase, Tarrytown, Mount Kisco, and Armonk. She was succeeded by fellow Democrat Mondaire Jones. In 2018, Lowey became the first woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee. She announced on October 10, 2019, that she would retire and not run for re-election to Congress in 2020.