Salazar, María Elvira, 1961-

<p>Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar proudly represents Florida’s 27th Congressional District, passionately serving the people of South Florida. She currently serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs as well as the House Committee on Small Business.</p>

<p>Congresswoman Salazar is committed to acting tirelessly in defense of individual rights and liberties, spearheading economic development & job training efforts, and promoting environmental resiliency in her community. She is well-known for her advocacy for Human Rights and democracy around the world, especially for the people of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, as well as for her unabashed support of our global & regional partners such as Israel, Colombia, and Taiwan.</p>

<p>Congresswoman Salazar is a five-time Emmy Award-winning journalist— she has spent her career holding the corrupt and powerful accountable. Congresswoman Salazar has gone toe-to-toe with Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, Chile’s Augusto Pinochet, and most notably Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, being the only US Spanish-language journalist to ever interview the tyrant one-on-one. Starting at the age of 22, she has worked for every major US Spanish-language broadcasting network: Telemundo, Univision, AmericaTeve, MegaTV, and CNN en Español.</p>

SALAZAR, Maria Elvira, a Representative from Florida; born in Miami, Miami-Dade County, Fla., November 1, 1961; graduated from the Deerborne School, Coral Gables, Fla., 1979; B.A., University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla., 1983; M.P.A., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1995; journalist; unsuccessful candidate for election to the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress in 2018; elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress (January 3, 2021–present).

<p>María Elvira Salazar (born November 1, 1961) is an American journalist, author, and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Florida's 27th congressional district. She is currently one of the Republican assistant whips under Steve Scalise. Prior to entering politics, she worked for the Spanish-language network Telemundo for three decades after serving as a news anchor for Miami-based Mega TV. She has also worked for CNN Español and Univision.</p>

<p>She was the Republican nominee for Congress in 2018, losing to Donna Shalala. Salazar won the 2020 rematch, receiving 51.4% to Shalala's 48.6%. Salazar's term in office commenced on January 3, 2021, and she was scheduled to be sworn in to the 117th United States Congress that day, but she was diagnosed with COVID-19 shortly before the start of the term, and was sworn in on January 12 instead.</p>

<p>Salazar was born in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, the daughter of Cuban exiles. She grew up bilingual, speaking both Spanish and English. She spent part of her childhood in Puerto Rico.</p>