Rep. Ro Khanna, currently serving in the U.S. Congress representing California’s 17th district, shared several insights on social media regarding economic and housing issues within his constituency and beyond. Khanna has been a member of Congress since 2017, succeeding Mike Honda.
On May 12, 2025, Rep. Khanna highlighted the disparity in wages for teachers and firefighters between his district and the national average. “In my district, teachers make between $81k–$102k while nationally they make between $61k–$62k. Firefighters are paid $165k in the district vs. $60k nationally.” Despite these higher salaries, he noted that many working-class constituents continue to struggle with living costs.
In another post from the same day, Khanna addressed concerns about institutional investors’ impact on the housing market. He stated that “Institutional investors buy over 2.5% of the housing market nationally and 17% of the housing in San Jose.” To counteract this trend, he advocated for legislative measures such as his Stop Wall Street Landlords Act.
Further discussing housing development initiatives, Khanna expressed support for local projects aimed at increasing housing availability. On May 12, he mentioned backing plans for Sunnyvale to build additional units in Moffett Park and Santa Clara’s efforts to expand its northern border with San Jose. “I support Sunnyvale building 20,000 more housing units in Moffett Park,” he said while acknowledging ongoing efforts by local leaders like Matt Mahan to reduce construction costs.
Ro Khanna was born in Philadelphia in 1976 and now resides in Fremont. He holds a BA from the University of Chicago (1998) and a JD from Yale University (2001).
