2023-07-18_2103 Political - Maxwell Frost - Wikipedia_(v-1-0-0)

7/18/23, 9:01 PM Maxwell Frost - Wikipedia

Maxwell Frost
Maxwell Alejandro Frost (born January 17, 1997)[1] is an American politician, activist and musician Maxwell Frost
serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 10th congressional district since 2023. A member of the
Democratic Party, he was previously the national organizing director for March for Our Lives. Elected at age
25,[2] Frost is the first member of Generation Z to serve in the United States Congress.

Early life
Frost was born on January 17, 1997, to a woman of Lebanese and Argentine descent and a Haitian
father.[3][4] His biological mother had several children.[5] He was adopted from birth; his adoptive mother is
a special education teacher who migrated to the United States from Cuba in the Freedom Flights, and his
adoptive father is a musician from Kansas.[6] He reconnected with his birth mother in June 2021.[6][7] Frost
attended Osceola County School for the Arts in Kissimmee, Florida.[8] He attended Valencia College but
dropped out before his senior year.[6][9]

Early career Member of the

U.S. House of Representatives
Frost has been organizing since around 2012, when he was active with Barack Obama's 2012 presidential from Florida's 10th district
campaign.[10][8] He also volunteered with the Newtown Action Alliance, an organization created in response Incumbent
to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.[6] He has identified Occupy Wall Street, the Columbine Assumed office
High School massacre, the killing of Trayvon Martin, and the Orlando nightclub shooting as events that January 3, 2023
affected his thinking.[11] He later volunteered for Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and Margaret Good.[7] Preceded by Val Demings
Personal details
Frost survived an incident of gun violence at a Halloween event in Downtown Orlando in 2016.[6][12]
Born Maxwell Alejandro
Frost was an organizer with the American Civil Liberties Union and worked to support Florida's 2018 Frost
Amendment 4 and to pressure Joe Biden to stop supporting the Hyde Amendment in 2019.[6] He was the January 17, 1997
Orlando, Florida,
national organizing director for March for Our Lives.[6][13] In November 2021, Frost was arrested at a voting
U.S.
rights rally in Lafayette Square led by William Barber II and Ben Jealous.[14]
Political Democratic
party
U.S. House of Representatives Education Valencia College
Website House website (htt
Elections p://frost.house.gov)

2022

In August 2021, Frost announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Florida's 10th congressional district.[15] During the primary
campaign, he released a television ad in Spanglish, telling The Hill, "Latinos are in a place where their first language is Spanish but they speak
English as well, and quite frankly that's me ... We speak Spanglish in the house, and I know that's the same for a lot of Latino families in the
district."[16]

Frost beat state Senator Randolph Bracy and former U.S. Representatives Alan Grayson and Corrine Brown, among others, in the August 23,
2022, primary.[17] Due to the district's Democratic tilt, Frost was expected to win the general election in November 2022,[18] which he did,
defeating Republican Calvin Wimbish by a 19% margin, which was smaller than the 32% margin by which Biden won the district in 2020.[19]
Frost is the youngest member of Congress and the first member of Generation Z elected to Congress.[13][6][20][21][22] He was endorsed by
numerous national and local political figures, including Jesse Jackson, former NAACP President Ben Jealous, civil rights activist Dolores Huerta,
and U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.[23]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:[24]

Committee on Oversight and Accountability

Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce
Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

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Subcommittee on Environment

Caucus memberships
Congressional Black Caucus
Congressional Equality Caucus
Congressional Hispanic Caucus[25]
Congressional Progressive Caucus[26]

Political positions

Environment

Frost supports a Green New Deal.[6] He has identified environmental justice as a priority of his campaign.[4][7]

Guns

Frost advocates for gun control.[4][7]

In January 2023, Frost and Representative Jared Moskowitz sent House Speaker Kevin McCarthy a letter asking him to convene a classified
meeting to address mass shootings. The letter called for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to conduct the meeting.[27]

Healthcare

Frost supports single-payer healthcare and investing in pandemic prevention.[4][6][7]

Criminal justice

Frost wants to "build toward a future without prison."[6] He supports the decriminalization of sex work and cannabis use.[7][28]

Israel

Frost supports a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and has indicated his intent to travel to Israel to promote "US leadership in
bringing peace to a region that so desperately needs and deserves it."[29][30] He has called himself pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian.[29][30][31] He
supports unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel.[29][30][32] He has criticized the Palestinian Authority's martyr's fund that compensates the
families of dead and wounded militants, likening it to a recruitment tactic of Hamas for the purpose of committing politically motivated violence
against Israel.[29][32] Frost vehemently opposes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, accuses it of harboring leadership
from terrorist organizations, and suggests that businesses that participate in BDS should in turn be divested.[29][30][32]

Frost had formerly participated in pro-Palestine activism, signing pledges with the Florida Palestine Network (FPN) and the Palestinian
Feminist Pledge, calling for support of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, ending military aid to Israel,
and rejecting the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism.[33] In early August 2022, the Jewish news website Jewish Insider published a
candidate questionnaire from Frost's congressional campaign that showed a shift in Frost's foreign policy positions on Israel and Palestine.[32]
Jewish Insider characterized his responses as a reversal that distanced himself from his past while declaring an aggressive stance against the
BDS movement, calling for unconditional military aid to Israel, and stating his opposition to anti-Zionism.[30] His campaign later released a
position paper that formalized these positions.[29][32][34]

Crypto regulation

During his campaign, Frost announced a "crypto-advisory council" that would advise him during his campaign.[35] He received $8,700 in
contributions from Sam Bankman-Fried and his brother and nearly $1 million in help from the Super-PAC Protect Our Future, almost all of it
after announcing the council.[36]

Personal life
Frost speaks Spanish and English.[16] He is a jazz drummer and plays the timbales.[8][13] His nine-member high school band Seguro Que Sí
(Spanish: "of course") performed in the parade during Obama's second inauguration in 2013.[8][37]

In December 2022, Frost said he was denied a rental apartment in Washington, D.C., due to a "really bad" credit history. He said his credit
rating was bad because he "ran up a lot of debt running for Congress for a year and a half".[38]

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Frost was among a handful of Democrats who received about $1 million in support from former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried's Protect Our
Future PAC, as well as the maximum individual donation of $2,900.[39] In December 2022, the U.S. government indicted Bankman-Fried after
alleging that he gave investor money to progressive political candidates, among other fraudulent crimes.[40] After the announcement of charges
against Bankman-Fried, Frost donated the individual donation to the Zebra Coalition, an LGBTQ charity.[41]
Electoral history
Primary
Year Office Party
Total % P.
2022 U.S. House Democratic 19,288 34.77% 1st
Source: Secretary of State of Florida | Election Results (https://www.dos.myflorida.com/elections/data-statistics/elections-data/election-results-archive/)
See also
List of African-American United States representatives
List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
Progressive except Palestine
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Result Swing Ref.
Total % P.
117,955 59.00% 1st Won Hold [42]
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17. Swisher, Skyler (August 23, 2022). "Maxwell Frost, 25-year-old
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1119003972/maxwell-frost-first-gen-z-candidate-wins-primary).
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19. Clifford, Tyler (November 9, 2022). " 'Life is wild!': First Generation
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d/us/life-is-wild-first-generation-z-member-elected-us-congress-202
2-11-09/). Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
20. Galbraith, Alex (July 3, 2022). "Democratic congressional candidate
Maxwell Frost confronts Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during Orlando
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21. Rozsa, Lori; Weigel, David (August 24, 2022). "Who is Maxwell
Frost, the Gen Z Democratic nominee in Florida?" (https://archive.p
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24. "Maxwell Frost" (https://clerk.house.gov/members/F000476). Clerk
of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved May 3,
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25. "Members" (https://chc.house.gov/members). April 21, 2023.
26. "Progressive Caucus" (https://weareprogressives.org/). Progressive
Caucus. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
27. Bakich, Grayson (January 27, 2023). "Frost and Moskowitz Call for
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023/01/frost-moskowitz-call-classified-briefing-mass-shootings/).
The Floridian. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
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congress-florida-primary/7882847001/). USA Today. Retrieved
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29. "A Two-State Solution: The Path Towards Peace" (https://jewishinsi
der.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/102
22213/maxwell_frost_israel_paper_final.pdf) (PDF). Maxwell Frost
for Congress. August 10, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022 – via
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30. "Maxwell Frost Jewish Insider Questionnaire" (https://jewishinsider.
nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/102222
11/Maxwell-Frost-Jewish-Insider-Questionnaire-.pdf) (PDF). Jewish
Insider. August 10, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
31. Samuels, Ben (August 24, 2022). "Pro-Israel Candidates Win Key
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2022-08-24/ty-article/.highlight/pro-israel-candidates-win-key-primar
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Haaretz. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
32. Kassel, Matthew (August 11, 2022). "Gen Z progressive says he's
'pro-Israel' and 'pro-Palestinian' " (https://jewishinsider.com/2022/0
8/maxwell-frost-democratic-primary-florida-tenth-congressional-distr
ict/). Jewish Insider. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
External links
Congressman Maxwell Frost (https://frost.house.gov/) official U.S. House website
Maxwell Frost for Congress (https://www.frostforcongress.com/) campaign website
Biography (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000476) at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Financial information (federal office) (https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/H2FL10259) at the Federal Election Commission
Legislation sponsored (https://www.congress.gov/member/maxwell-frost/F000476) at the Library of Congress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_Frost
Maxwell Frost - Wikipedia
33. "How Florida progressive Maxwell Frost courted Palestinians, then
abandoned them" (http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/how-florida-
progressive-maxwell-frost-abandoned-palestine). Middle East Eye.
August 29, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
34. Plitnick, Mitchell (August 25, 2022). "Maxwell Frost abandoned
Palestine on his way to Democratic primary victory" (https://mondo
weiss.net/2022/08/maxwell-frost-abandoned-palestine-on-his-way-t
o-democratic-primary-victory/). Mondoweiss. Retrieved
November 9, 2022.
35. Powers, Scott (April 27, 2022). "CD 10 Democratic candidate
Maxwell Frost sets up crypto advisory council" (https://floridapolitic
s.com/archives/520117-cd-10-democratic-candidate-maxwell-frost-
sets-up-crypto-advisory-council/). Florida Politics - Campaigns &
Elections. Lobbying & Government. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
36. Freedlander, David (December 22, 2022). "The Fall of the
Progressive Boy King" (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/12/sa
m-bankman-fried-and-sean-mcelwees-fateful-alliance.html).
Intelligencer. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
37. Rodriguez, Sabrina (August 23, 2022). " 'The Future We Deserve':
This Florida Gen Z Candidate Thinks He Can Chart a New Path For
the Youth" (https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/08/23/m
axwell-frost-florida-gen-z-00052772). Politico. Retrieved August 24,
2022.
38. Gans, Jared (December 8, 2022). "First Gen Z congressman-elect
says he was denied DC apartment, noting 'really bad' credit" (http
s://thehill.com/homenews/house/3767342-first-gen-z-congressman-
elect-says-he-was-denied-dc-apartment-noting-really-bad-credit/).
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39. Powers, Scott (August 5, 2022). "PAC pours $692K into TV to
support Maxwell Frost in CD 10" (https://floridapolitics.com/archive
s/544515-pac-pours-692k-into-tv-to-support-maxwell-frost-in-cd-1
0/). Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying &
Government. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
40. Yaffe-Bellany, David; Goldstein, Matthew; Flitter, Emily (December
13, 2022). "Prosecutors Say FTX Was Engaged in a 'Massive,
Yearslong Fraud' " (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/business/f
tx-sam-bankman-fried-fraud-charges.html). The New York Times.
ISSN 0362-4331 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331).
Retrieved December 14, 2022.
41. "It seems clear that Sam Bankman Fried cheated and conned over
a million people out of their money. Many of these being working
class families that lost their life savings. They deserve justice and
Sam Bankman Fried should be held accountable" (https://twitter.co
m/maxwellfrostfl/status/1603134572610609152). Twitter. Retrieved
December 20, 2022.
42. Primary election:
"Florida Department of State Division of Elections: August 23,
2022, Primary Election" (https://archive.is/K0UUn/ac3ee736c0e
b153105e1a3342eb431b011489dc7.png).
results.elections.myflorida.com (in Spanish). Tallahassee:
Secretary of State of Florida. 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
General election:
"Florida Department of State Division of Elections: November 8,
2022, General Election" (https://archive.vn/jN78Q/cab07dca22b
5a3ef9ca58e3f25978c21b0336894.png).
results.elections.myflorida.com (in Spanish). Tallahassee:
Secretary of State of Florida. 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
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Profile (https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/209096) at Vote Smart
Maxwell Frost (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12921894/) at IMDb
Appearances (https://www.c-span.org/person/?135481) on C-SPAN

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