Anna Eshoo

Anna Eshoo
Born	Anna Georges 13 12, 1942
Birthplace	New Britain, Connecticut, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician
Known for	U.S. Representative for California (1993–2025), technology and health care policy
Education	Cañada College (AA)
Children	2
Awards	Woman of the Year (Assembly District 23, 2025)

Anna A. Eshoo (Template:IPAc-en; née Georges; born December 13, 1942) is an American politician who served as the U.S. Representative for California's 16th congressional district from 1993 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, Eshoo represented a district rooted in Silicon Valley, encompassing the cities of Redwood City, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and Palo Alto, as well as a portion of San Jose. Over the course of more than three decades in Congress, she became one of the House's leading voices on technology regulation, telecommunications policy, and health care legislation. Born in New Britain, Connecticut, to a family of Assyrian and Armenian heritage, Eshoo was the only Assyrian-American member of Congress and the only Armenian-American woman in Congress during her tenure. On November 21, 2023, she announced that she would not seek re-election in 2024, concluding a congressional career that spanned 32 years. She was succeeded by Sam Liccardo in January 2025.

Early Life

Anna Georges was born on December 13, 1942, in New Britain, Connecticut, a small industrial city in the central part of the state. Her family background reflects a dual heritage: she is of Assyrian descent on one side and Armenian descent on the other. This heritage made her a distinctive figure in American politics, as she was the only Assyrian-American to serve in the U.S. Congress and the only Armenian-American woman to hold a congressional seat during her time in office.

Eshoo grew up in Connecticut before eventually relocating to California, where she would build her political career. Details regarding her childhood and family life in New Britain are not extensively documented in public sources, but her ethnic background remained an important aspect of her public identity throughout her career. She frequently acknowledged her Assyrian and Armenian roots and engaged with diaspora communities on issues of cultural preservation and recognition of historical atrocities faced by both groups.

Education

Eshoo attended Cañada College, a community college located in Redwood City, California, where she earned an associate's degree. Cañada College is part of the San Mateo County Community College District and served as the foundation for Eshoo's subsequent entry into public service and local politics in the San Francisco Peninsula area.

Career

Early Political Career

Before entering Congress, Eshoo built her political career through local government service in San Mateo County. She served on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, gaining experience in local governance and constituent services that would later inform her approach to federal lawmaking. Her work on the Board of Supervisors provided her with a foundation in the issues facing the communities of the San Francisco Peninsula, including land use, public health, and local economic development.

Her early political involvement also included Democratic Party activism and engagement with community organizations, which helped her establish a network of supporters in the region that would prove instrumental in her subsequent congressional campaigns.

U.S. House of Representatives

Eshoo was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, taking office on January 3, 1993. She initially represented California's 14th congressional district. Following redistricting after the 2010 census, her district was renumbered as the 18th congressional district beginning in 2013. After another round of redistricting following the 2020 census, the district was designated as the 16th congressional district starting in 2023. Throughout these changes, the core of her constituency remained in Silicon Valley.

Her predecessor in the district, as reconstituted after the 1990 redistricting, was Republican Tom Campbell. Eshoo won her initial election and was subsequently re-elected in every cycle through 2022, serving a total of 16 terms in Congress. Her electoral margins were consistently strong in the heavily Democratic district.

Technology and Telecommunications Policy

Representing the heart of Silicon Valley, Eshoo became one of the most prominent congressional voices on technology and telecommunications issues. Her district was home to many of the world's leading technology companies, including major firms headquartered in Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale. This geographic reality shaped much of her legislative agenda and committee work.

Eshoo was a member of the Congressional Internet Caucus, reflecting her engagement with issues related to the digital economy, internet governance, and innovation policy. She worked on legislation related to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including efforts to reform the agency's rulemaking processes. A bipartisan FCC process reform bill that she supported gained notable momentum during her tenure.

In her final year in Congress, Eshoo continued to engage with emerging technology issues. In December 2023, she co-introduced a landmark bill on artificial intelligence regulation alongside Representative Don Beyer of Virginia. The legislation addressed the growing need for federal oversight of AI systems. Eshoo served as Co-Chair of the relevant congressional caucus, while Beyer served as Vice Chair. The bill represented one of the most significant congressional efforts to establish a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence during that period.

Health Care

Health care policy constituted another major pillar of Eshoo's legislative career. She was one of the House's senior Democrats on health care matters, serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over a broad range of health policy issues including pharmaceutical regulation, public health, and medical innovation.

Eshoo's work on health care drew both praise and scrutiny. She was described as a prominent ally of the pharmaceutical industry, a characterization rooted in her legislative record on drug pricing, patent policy, and biomedical research funding. Her district's proximity to the biotechnology industry along the San Francisco Peninsula influenced her approach to these issues. STAT News, in reporting on her retirement announcement, noted her role as "one of the House of Representatives' top Democrats on health care issues and a longtime pharmaceutical industry ally."

Her involvement in health care legislation extended to matters of oversight and the regulation of medical products. She participated in debates over the Affordable Care Act and subsequent health policy initiatives during both the Obama and Biden administrations.

Environmental Policy

Eshoo also engaged with environmental and conservation issues during her congressional career. She played a role in efforts related to land conservation on California's central coast. The Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument in Santa Cruz County was one such conservation effort involving federal designation of protected lands. The monument, which opened to the public in 2025 following years of planning and trail construction, was the result of collaborative work among nonprofits, community members, and elected officials at multiple levels of government.

The Sierra Club's Loma Prieta Chapter honored Eshoo upon her retirement at its 2024 Guardians of Nature Benefit, recognizing her environmental contributions during her time in Congress.

2008 Presidential Primary

During the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Eshoo endorsed Barack Obama for president, aligning herself with the Illinois senator in a contested primary race against Hillary Clinton. The endorsement placed Eshoo among the early congressional supporters of Obama's candidacy in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Congressional Oversight

Throughout her career, Eshoo was an advocate for congressional oversight of the executive branch. She spoke publicly about the importance of the legislative branch's role in holding the executive accountable, a theme she articulated in various public appearances and media engagements.

Retirement

On November 21, 2023, Eshoo announced in a video posted on social media that she would not seek re-election in 2024. At the time of her announcement, she was 80 years old and had served in the House for over 30 years. In an interview reflecting on her decision, she indicated that she had already been preparing for another campaign—having lined up endorsements, secured donations, and organized volunteers—before deciding it was time to step down. She described the decision as a deeply personal one, telling reporters: "It's time, Anna."

Her retirement prompted reflections on her legacy from colleagues, media outlets, and advocacy organizations. STAT News highlighted her influence on health care policy, while the Sierra Club acknowledged her environmental record. Her successor, Sam Liccardo, the former mayor of San Jose, took office on January 3, 2025.

Personal Life

Anna Eshoo's birth name was Anna Georges. She has two children. Eshoo has been a long-time resident of the San Francisco Peninsula area, maintaining roots in the community she represented for over three decades.

Her Assyrian and Armenian heritage has been a notable aspect of her public identity. As the only Assyrian-American member of Congress and the only Armenian-American woman in Congress during her tenure, she held a distinctive position in the legislative body's diverse composition. She engaged with both diaspora communities on issues of cultural and historical significance.

Recognition

In 2025, California Assemblymember Marc Berman of Menlo Park named Eshoo as the Woman of the Year for Assembly District 23, recognizing her decades of public service representing the communities of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Peninsula.

The Sierra Club's Loma Prieta Chapter honored Eshoo at its 2024 Guardians of Nature Benefit, celebrating her environmental contributions during her time in Congress.

Eshoo's retirement from Congress drew recognition from across the political spectrum and from numerous organizations and media outlets. Her three decades of service made her one of the longest-serving representatives in the history of Silicon Valley's congressional delegation.

Legacy

Anna Eshoo's 32-year tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives spanned a period of extraordinary transformation in her Silicon Valley district and in the technology sector more broadly. When she first took office in 1993, the internet was in its infancy as a commercial medium; by the time she left in 2025, the district she represented had become the global epicenter of the digital economy, and Congress was grappling with questions about artificial intelligence regulation that would have been inconceivable at the start of her career.

Her legislative work on technology, telecommunications, and health care policy positioned her as a key intermediary between Silicon Valley's technology industry and the federal government. As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, she was involved in shaping the regulatory frameworks that governed the digital economy, telecommunications infrastructure, and pharmaceutical industry during a period of rapid change.

The AI regulation bill she co-introduced with Representative Don Beyer in December 2023 represented one of the final major legislative initiatives of her career and reflected the evolving challenges of technology governance.

Her role as the sole Assyrian-American in Congress and the only Armenian-American woman in the body during her service marked her as a figure of representation for two diaspora communities with significant populations in the United States.

Conservation efforts she supported, including work related to the Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument, continued to bear fruit after her departure from office, with the monument's public opening in August 2025 celebrated as a community achievement involving many stakeholders.