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Jake Auchincloss
American politician (born 1988) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jacob Daniel Auchincloss (/ˈɔːkɪnklɒs/ AW-kin-kloss; born January 29, 1988) is an American politician, businessman, and Marine Corps officer serving as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the Newton City Council from 2015 to 2021.
Born to a wealthy family in New England, Auchincloss graduated with a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 2010. Commissioning into the U.S. Marine Corps that same year, he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and to Panama in 2014. He currently serves in the Marine Corps Reserve with the rank of major.
Returning home from the military, Auchincloss ran for Newton city council in 2015. After his election victory, he earned his MBA from MIT and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. In 2020, he was elected to the United States Congress at age 32, succeeding Joe Kennedy III.
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Early life and education
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Jacob Daniel Auchincloss was born on January 29, 1988, in Newton, Massachusetts, to Laurie Glimcher and Hugh Auchincloss.[1] Both of his parents are physician-scientists specializing in immunology. His father, also a surgeon, served briefly as the interim director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases after Anthony Fauci resigned in 2023.[2] His mother is a scientist and the former president and CEO of Dana–Farber Cancer Institute who was at the center of several controversies prior to stepping down from her leadership role.[3][4][5] Auchincloss's maternal grandfather, Melvin J. Glimcher, pioneered the development of artificial limbs and the robotic arm, and was chair of orthopedic surgey at Harvard University.[6][7] Auchincloss's grandfather was first cousin once removed from Hugh D. Auchincloss Jr. and step-father to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.[8]
Auchincloss was raised in Newton with his sister Kalah and brother Hugh G. and attended Newton North High School.[9] He is matrilineally Jewish and was raised in his mother's faith.[10] His father is of Scottish ancestry.[11]
Auchincloss studied government and economics at Harvard University, graduating with honors. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps[12] then returned to school and earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in finance from the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[13][14]
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Career
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Military service
After graduating from Harvard College, Auchincloss joined the United States Marine Corps, earning his commission through Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Virginia. He commanded infantry in Helmand Province in 2012 and a reconnaissance unit in Panama in 2014. In Helmand, he led combat patrols through villages contested by the Taliban. In Panama, his team of reconnaissance Marines partnered with Colombian special operations to train the Panamanian Public Forces in drug-interdiction tactics.[15]
Auchincloss completed both infantry training in Quantico and the Marine Corps's reconnaissance training in California, profiled in Nate Fick's One Bullet Away. He graduated from the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) school in Maine and was an honor graduate from the Basic Airborne Course in Georgia. He remained in the Individual Ready Reserve after leaving active duty and was promoted to major on September 1, 2020.[16]
Local government
After returning home from the military, Auchincloss worked for Charlie Baker's successful 2014 gubernatorial campaign.[17][18]
In 2015, Auchincloss ran for Newton City Council on a platform of full-day kindergarten and expanded pre-K offerings. He defeated the incumbent councilor.[19][20] He was reelected to the Newton City Council in 2017 and 2019.[21][22] He chaired the transportation and public safety committee.[23] In office, he supported progressive immigration and housing policies, sustainable transportation and co-docketed the successful Sanctuary city ordinance.[24][25]
When the Newton City Council debated a pay raise for elected officials, Auchincloss voted no.[26] Auchincloss was the first elected official to endorse Ruthanne Fuller for mayor of Newton.[27]
Business
While serving on the Newton City Council and attending MIT, Auchincloss was the director of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition.[28] He also worked at a cybersecurity startup as a product manager and at Liberty Mutual as a senior manager at its innovation arm, Solaria Labs.[25]
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U.S. House of Representatives
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Elections
2020
Auchincloss's portraits during the 117th Congress
On October 2, 2019, Auchincloss announced his candidacy for the open Massachusetts's 4th congressional district to succeed Joe Kennedy III, who unsuccessfully ran for the Senate against incumbent Democrat Ed Markey.[29]
Auchincloss raised the most money during the primary election in both the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 and earned endorsements from the National Association of Government Employees, VoteVets, The Boston Globe and James E. Timilty.[30][31][32][33] He earned the support of several Newton politicians, including the president and vice president of the city council and the chair and vice chair of the school committee.[34] He earned additional endorsements throughout the district.[35]
During the campaign, questions arose about his party affiliation. Auchincloss was originally a Democrat but was a registered Republican from 2013 to 2014 while working for Charlie Baker's gubernatorial campaign. He continued to vote in Republican primaries as an independent until late 2015 before becoming a Democrat again.[36] Auchincloss faced a series of small controversies throughout the campaign, and apologized for old statements on social media that seemed to justify the burning of the Quran and for mocking efforts by a local community to rename Columbus Day "Indigenous Peoples' Day" in 2016.[37]
The Democratic primary took place on September 1, 2020.[38] In a race with eight other candidates, Auchincloss won with 22.4% of the vote. It took the Associated Press three days to call the race because nearly one million votes were cast through mail-in ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[39]
In the November general election, Auchincloss defeated Republican nominee Julie Hall. He assumed office on January 3, 2021.[40]
Tenure
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On January 6, 2021, after the 2021 attack on the United States Capitol, Auchincloss tweeted his agreement with lawmakers' calls to remove President Donald Trump from office, either through the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution or impeachment. Auchincloss voted to certify the results of the 2020 United States presidential election in the early morning of January 7, 2021. On January 21, he voted to approve the congressional waiver for General Lloyd Austin, President Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of Defense.
On June 16, 2022, seven people affiliated with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, including Robert Smigel, were arrested by U.S. Capitol Police and charged with unlawful entry into the complex.[41] According to a letter from Jim Jordan and Rodney Davis, the Colbert crew was let back into the building with the help of Auchincloss and Adam Schiff, leading to the unlawful entry charges.[42] In a statement released by an Auchincloss spokesperson, Matt Corridoni said of the incident, "We do not condone any inappropriate activity and cannot speak to anything that occurred after hours."[43]
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In Congress, Auchincloss voted with President Joe Biden 100% of the time according to FiveThirtyEight. This gives him a Biden Plus/Minus score of +1 with higher support for Biden than would be expected given the makeup of his district.[44] Auchincloss backed Biden to run for re-election in 2024 and urged Democrats to more aggressively defend him despite concerns about his age and health, including on right wing media.[45]
On January 25, 2023, Auchincloss delivered a one-minute speech on the House floor entirely generated using ChatGPT, making it the first speech in Congress to be written with artificial intelligence programs. The speech was about creating a U.S.–Israel research facility centered on artificial intelligence.[46]
Auchincloss endorsed Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro for role of Kamala Harris' running mate in the 2024 Presidential election outlining his centrist appeal, "Harris needs to win Pennsylvania, signal moderation and reassure Haley voters that she'll stand up to the left. The more the Twitter left piles on [Shapiro], the more helpful he is to Harris."[47]
Syria
In 2023, Auchincloss was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of a bill to direct President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[48][49]
Israel
Auchincloss voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[50][51] In October 2023, Auchincloss rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, saying that "Calls for de-escalation, even if well-meaning, are premature, Israel needs the military latitude to re-establish deterrence and root out the nodes of terrorism. Israel did not ask America to de-escalate on September 12, 2001."[52]
Marijuana
As of July 2025, Auchincloss has received an "A" rating from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) based on public statements and voting records.[53]
Committee assignments
Caucus memberships
Source:[55]
- Armenian Caucus
- BIOTech Caucus[56]
- Congressional Blockchain Caucus[57]
- Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations
- Congressional Jewish Caucus[58]
- Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus[59]
- Congressional YIMBY Caucus[60]
- Native American Caucus
- Portuguese American Caucus
- Pro-Choice Caucus
- Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus
- ALS Caucus
- Autism Caucus
- Diabetes Caucus
- Friends of Australia Caucus
- Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
- HIV/AIDS Caucus
- Rare Disease Caucus[61]
- Teleheath Caucus
- Defense Spending Reduction Caucus
- Sustainable Energy and Environment Caucus
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Electoral history
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Personal life
On July 28, 2017, Auchincloss married his wife Michelle. They have three children, a son and two daughters. They live in Newtonville, Massachusetts.[62][63]
See also
References
External links
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