Gregory Meeks

[constituency_baseline] District summary: New York's 5th Congressional District encompasses southeastern Queens, including Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans, South Ozone Park, and parts of the Rockaways, with a small portion extending into Nassau County. It is a majority-minority district with a population of approximately 790,000. Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents form the largest group at 39.6%, followed by Hispanic (21.1%), Asian (Non-Hispanic) at 14.8%, and White (Non-Hispanic) at 13.8%. The district is heavily immigrant: 43.1% of residents were born outside the United States, and 36.2% of households speak a non-English language at home. The median household income is $86,577, the poverty rate is 12.9%, and the homeownership rate is just 53.8% with a median property value of $671,700. JFK International Airport is the district's economic anchor, and 36.8% of workers commute via public transit — among the highest rates in the nation.

Voted nay on H.R.23 (Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act (sanctioning the ICC over arrest warrants for Israeli officials)) on 2025-01-09: Meeks voted against sanctioning the ICC despite being the top House recipient of AIPAC funding ($448,828) — a donor that strongly supports ICC sanctions. Forty-five Democrats broke ranks to support the bill. This vote represents a donor_defection: Meeks broke with a major donor's legislative priority while aligning with the Democratic majority (140 nays).

Voted nay on S.5 (Laken Riley Act (requiring detention of undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes)) on 2025-01-22: Meeks voted against this bill while 46 House Democrats joined all Republicans in support. His Queens-anchored district is 43.1% foreign-born with a 21.1% Hispanic population, making immigration enforcement a high-salience constituent issue. His vote aligned with immigrant-rights advocates in his majority-minority district.

Voted yea on H.R.8034 (Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 (providing $17.6 billion in military aid to Israel)) on 2024-04-20: Meeks, as Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, argued for the bill in Democratic caucus. His top career donor is AIPAC ($448,828). While 37 Democrats voted against the bill over concerns about offensive aid to Israel, Meeks supported it, citing the $9.2 billion in global humanitarian aid bundled in the package.

Voted yea on H.Res.845 (Censuring Representative Rashida Tlaib for comments on the Israel-Hamas war) on 2023-11-07: Meeks was one of only 22 House Democrats to vote to censure Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress. The vote put him sharply at odds with 184 of his Democratic colleagues and aligned with his top donor AIPAC's stated position. Tlaib represents a neighboring district with similar demographic composition to Meeks' own.

Voted yea on H.R.3746 (Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (debt ceiling deal)) on 2023-05-31: Meeks joined House Democratic leadership including Hakeem Jeffries in supporting the bipartisan debt ceiling deal, while 46 progressive Democrats opposed it over spending-cap concerns. His district's median household income ($86,577) and significant poverty rate (12.9%) meant constituents had material stakes in the social safety net provisions.