Monica De La Cruz
Mónica de la Cruz is an American politician and insurance agent from the state of Texas. She has represented in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2023 as a Republican.
Early life and career
De la Cruz graduated from James Pace Early College High School in Brownsville, Texas, and the University of Texas at San Antonio, studying marketing. She later attended the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, studying Spanish. She interned for Turner Entertainment before working for Cartoon Network Latin America. Before being elected to the U.S. Congress, she was an insurance agent and business owner.U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2020
In 2020, De la Cruz ran in, and lost to incumbent Democrat Vicente González by almost three percentage points.2022
Endorsed by Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, De la Cruz ran again in the 15th district in 2022, while González was redistricted to. De la Cruz defeated Democratic nominee Michelle Vallejo in the general election, earning 80,869 votes to Vallejo's 67,913. When she took office in 2023, she became only the eighth person to represent this district since its creation in 1903, and the first Republican. By a matter of a few months, she was the second Republican elected from a Río Grande Valley county in over a century; the first, Mayra Flores, was elected to a partial term in a neighboring district in 2022. De la Cruz is the first Republican elected to a full term after it was redrawn.2024
De la Cruz ran for re-election in 2024 and faced Michelle Vallejo in the general election. De la Cruz was re-elected by 14 points.Tenure
In March 2024, De la Cruz delivered the Republican response to President Joe Biden's 2024 State of the Union Address in Spanish.In June 2024, Politico reported De la Cruz earmarked $2.4 million in taxpayer funds to Angels of Love Advocacy Project, an organization founded by Della Fay Pérez— the two were set to appear at a press conference together in late May until Pérez was arrested days prior for allegedly stealing $500,000 from Ponzi scheme victims.
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:- Committee on Agriculture
- * Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit
- * Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture
- Committee on Financial Services
- * Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
- * Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance
Caucus memberships
Political positions
De la Cruz voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.Personal life
De la Cruz is an Episcopalian.De la Cruz has been married and divorced twice and has two children. De la Cruz's split from her second husband in 2021, Juan Gabriel Hernández, resulted in an acrimonious divorce. Her brother, Carlos, is running for the redrawn Texas's 35th congressional district in 2026.