Congressman Darrell Issa
Congressman Darrell Issa represents California's 48th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the seniormost member of San Diego’s Congressional Delegation.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Issa enlisted in the U.S. Army as a senior in high school and gained an ROTC scholarship before earning a degree in business from Sienna Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. After graduation, Issa was commissioned as an Army officer and promoted to the rank of captain. He completed his active-duty military service in 1980 and turned his focus to the private sector.
A holder of 37 patents, Issa founded and served as CEO of California-based Directed Electronics Incorporated, the nation’s leading manufacturer of vehicle anti-theft and auto security devices. In 1994, Issa was named by Inc. Magazine as Entrepreneur of the Year for the San Diego region. Issa also served as a member of the board of governors of the Electronics Industry Association, director of the San Diego Economic Development Association and the Greater San Diego County Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association, a leading organization of more than 2,000 companies representing the most innovative and advanced leaders of the consumer technology industry.
In Congress, Issa is the Senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Vice Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and a member of the Space, Science, and Technology Committee. He is also the current Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet. From 2011 to 2015 Issa also served as Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He previously served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Energy & Commerce Committee, the Small Business Committee, and the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
As a legislator and leader at California’s grassroots level, Issa has consistently championed limited government and advanced key legislation to promote transparency and hold government accountable to the people. He is the author of more than 100 legislative bills with dozens supported by bipartisan majorities of the Congress and signed by both Republican and Democrat presidents.
California’s 48th Congressional District encompasses the central and eastern parts of San Diego County and part of southwestern Riverside County, including the communities of Alpine, Bonsall, Borrego Springs, Bostonia, Campo, Escondido, Fallbrook, Hidden Meadows, Lakeside, Murrieta, Poway, Ramona, Rancho San Diego, Santee, Temecula, Valley Center, Winter Gardens, the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line, and most of the San Diego-Mexico international border.
