U.S. Representative Kaialiʻi (Kai) Kahele is serving his first term in Congress. He represents Hawaiʻi’s 2nd Congressional District, encompassing the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kauaʻi, Niʻihau and the rural parts of Oʻahu, including Waimanālo, Kailua, Kāneʻohe, the North Shore, and Leeward coast.

Congressman Kahele serves on two House committees, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, one of the largest committees in Congress that has jurisdiction over all modes of transportation, and the Armed Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over U.S. defense policy, including ongoing military operations.

Congressman Kahele is a combat veteran, pilot and a commissioned officer in the Hawai‘i Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force where he continues to serve as a lieutenant colonel at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaiʻi. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules pilot in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In addition to serving the country in Congress and the Armed Forces, Congressman Kahele is an active commercial airline pilot with Hawaiian Airlines where he flies the Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft on both domestic and international routes.

Prior to being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Kahele served in the Hawaiʻi State Senate where he represented the 1st Senatorial District, which encompasses the greater area of Hilo on the island of Hawaiʻi. During his tenure as a state senator, he served as the Majority Whip and Majority Floor Leader as well as the Chair of the Committees on Higher Education and Water and Land.

He earned a B.S. in Education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where he was a member of the University’s NCAA Division 1 volleyball team. He is a graduate of Hilo High School and resides on Hawaiʻi Island with his wife and three daughters.

Learn more about our district and Representative Kahele.