Judy Chu — Democrat Candidate for U.S. House in California, 2026

Judy Chu voted "Nay" on DHS funding, citing ICE's lack of accountability and alleged civil rights abuses. She condemned the expanded travel ban and criticized the SBA's decision to make green card holders ineligible for small business loans, describing it as discriminatory. Chu advocates for fair and speedy proceedings for immigrants and opposes family separations, emphasizing due process and humane treatment for asylum seekers. She is reintroducing the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act and a bill to reunite immigrant families.

“I do not believe that immigrants seeking refuge in the United States should be labeled as criminals. They should be afforded fair, speedy proceedings and due process rights as dictated by our laws. And children who enter the country either unaccompanied or with family should never be separated from their loved ones. We need to do more to help children and their families who have no choice but to flee dangerous conditions and seek refuge in the United States by making sure that everyone claiming asylum is held in less restrictive settings and allowed to make their case before an immigration judge. — Rep. Judy Chu, Press Release, January 15, 2026”

Representative Judy Chu advocates for affordable and accessible healthcare for all, emphasizing that individuals should not be denied treatment due to preexisting conditions or face financial hardship for medicine. She supports protecting and expanding the Affordable Care Act and Medicare. Ms. Chu voted against the FY2026 NDAA due to provisions impacting reproductive health care access for military families and has called for extending ACA tax credits. She also introduced the Bipartisan PEERS in Medicare Act to improve mental health care.

“Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, 1 week ago, Republicans skyrocketed healthcare costs for 22 million Americans. They chose to let the ACA tax credits expire, even though there was bipartisan support to extend them. Now, families are seeing premiums jump by hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a month. That is utterly devastating and was entirely avoidable. Middle-class families are being forced to cancel coverage. People with cancer are going uninsured. Small business owners are being told to pay 34 percent more, or $40,000 a year, or go without care. Republicans knew this would happen, and they did it anyway. Now, we have a chance to fix it. Democrats have a clean, 3-year extension of these tax credits on the floor today with bipartisan support. Let's make sure families get the help they need. — Rep. Judy Chu, Congressional Record, January 8, 2026.”

Rep. Judy Chu voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which she describes as the nation's largest investment in fighting climate change through tax credits for clean energy and efficiency. She also supported the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for grid resilience and EV charging. Additionally, she introduced the bipartisan FIRE Act to improve wildfire response and detection, and the HIRE CREDIT Act to aid disaster survivors. She voted against the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act and the Don’t Mess With My Home Appliances Act.

“I proudly voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which is our nation’s largest ever investment in fighting climate change. This law includes expanded and extended tax credits for carbon-free electricity production, battery storage, transportation electrification, building and manufacturing efficiency, and new technologies to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. Together with the investments in grid resilience and EV charging included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law)that I enthusiastically supported, our country has taken unprecedented steps to fight climate change. — Rep. Judy Chu, http://chu.house.gov/issues/energy (Press Release, February 12, 2026)”

Judy Chu advocates for abortion rights and reproductive healthcare access. She champions the Women's Health Protection Act to ensure nationwide abortion care and supported California Proposition 1, Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment. Chu voted against the FY2026 NDAA due to provisions that denied IVF access for military families and condemned Louisiana's efforts to criminalize abortion care, supporting California's abortion shield laws. She also supports various international acts like the HER Act to repeal the Global Gag rule.

““This is a dangerous escalation in the Republican campaign to end abortion everywhere,” said Rep. Chu. “Louisiana is trying to criminalize doctors in California for providing safe, legal health care that is protected under our state’s laws. That is an outrageous abuse of power. [...] “Abortion medication is FDA-approved, overwhelmingly safe, and used by millions of women nationwide. What truly puts women at risk is Louisiana’s extreme abortion ban, and now, its attempt to intimidate doctors nationwide by threatening them with prison sentences. “This is not about patient safety. It is about exporting an extremist agenda beyond state borders and punishing providers for defying it. I support Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to reject Louisiana’s extradition request and uphold California’s abortion shield laws. California will not be complicit in attacks on doctors or patients. [...] “I will continue fighting in Congress to pass my bill, the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore the right to abortion care nationwide, ensuring that no provider is treated like a criminal and no patient is denied care because of where they live or who is in power.” (Rep. Judy Chu, http://chu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-judy-chu-condemns-louisianas-attempt-criminalize-abortion-care-and, January 14, 2026)”

Representative Judy Chu voted against two versions of the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1071 and H.R. 3838), citing harmful provisions that strip rights, promote discrimination, and inject partisan politics into the armed forces. She also opposed the Trump administration's military operation in Iran, deeming it an unlawful war without congressional authorization. Conversely, she supports strong foreign aid, advocating for billions in appropriations for diplomacy, humanitarian assistance, global health, and human rights to promote peace and opportunity worldwide.

““I could not in good conscience support this year’s NDAA. Our service members deserve a defense bill that strengthens our military and supports their families, not one that strips away rights, fails to constrain the Trump administration’s abuse of the military, and injects partisan politics into our armed forces." — Rep. Judy Chu, Press Release, December 10, 2025”

Representative Judy Chu co-introduced the bipartisan Foster Youth Postsecondary Education Access and Success Act to enhance postsecondary education access for foster youth. She also co-introduced the Restarting Education After Disasters Act, aiming to strengthen federal support for schools impacted by disasters. Chu criticized the Education Department's decision to end funding for Minority-Serving Institutions programs and advocates for increased federal investment in public schools to ensure equitable opportunities, including better infrastructure, reduced class sizes, and expanded STEM and arts education.

“A child’s zip code should never determine the quality of their education. I am committed to increasing federal investment in our public schools to guarantee equitable opportunities for every student so they can be set up for a healthy, successful life. That means investing in school infrastructure and resources to ensure that students are learning in safe and updated classrooms, reducing class sizes, fighting against book bans, and fulfilling our promise to students with disabilities. It also means investing in our teachers so that we can attract, train, and retain the best educators for our students. We also must prepare our students for a 21st century world by expanding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) opportunities and strengthening access to arts and music education. — Rep. Judy Chu, chu.house.gov/issues/education, December 22, 2025 (in context of criticizing Education Department's funding decision).”

Judy Chu supports gun safety measures, advocating for policies focused on prevention and intervention rather than punishment to reduce crime. She introduced H.R. 7170, the Language Access to Gun Violence Prevention Strategies Act of 2026, designed to enhance accessibility to gun violence prevention initiatives for those with limited English proficiency. She also reintroduces gun safety legislation and has received an endorsement from Giffords.

“Gun violence is deeply personal to me. Three years ago, my hometown lost 11 neighbors to a mass shooting. I will never stop fighting to end gun violence in America, and I’m honored to stand alongside her in this work.” - Judy Chu, Pomona Valley News, January 8, 2026”