Charles Rangel

**Charles Bernard "Charlie" Rangel** (; June 11, 1930 – May 26, 2025) was an American politician. He served as the U.S. Representative for .  A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving member of the House of Representatives. He served from 1971 to 2017.

Rangel was born in Harlem in Upper Manhattan. He earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his service in the United States Army during the Korean War.

Rangel graduated from New York University in 1957 and St. John's University School of Law in 1960. He worked as a private lawyer, assistant U.S. attorney, and legal counsel during the early-mid-1960s. He was in the New York State Assembly from 1967 to 1971 and beat long-time incumbent Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in a primary challenge on his way to being elected to the House of Representatives.

In 2007, Rangel became the first African-American Chair of the important House Ways and Means Committee. He was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

He was a strong critic of the George W. Bush administration and the Iraq War.

Rangel did not run for re-election in the 2016 election. Rangel left office at the expiration of his term on January 3, 2017.

In 2020, Rangel endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president during the 2020 presidential election.

Rangel died at a hospital in New York City on May 26, 2025, at the age of 94.

## Other websites

- Charlie Rangel for Congress
- Charlie Rangel's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **image**: Charles Rangel, official portrait, 113th Congress.jpg
- **alt**: Color photograph of Representative Rangel as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee
- **caption**: Official portrait, 2013
- **office**: Member of the
United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives
from New York (state), New York
- **term start**: January 3, 1971
- **term end**: January 3, 2017
- **predecessor**: Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
- **successor**: Adriano Espaillat
- **office1**: Chair of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means, House Ways and Means Committee
- **term start1**: January 3, 2007
- **term end1**: March 3, 2010
- **predecessor1**: Bill Thomas
- **successor1**: Sander Levin
- **state assembly2**: New York
- **district2**: 72nd
- **term start2**: January 1, 1967
- **term end2**: December 31, 1970
- **predecessor2**: Bill Green (New York politician), Bill Green
- **successor2**: George W. Miller (politician), George Miller
- **birth name**: Charles Bernard Rangel
- **birth place**: New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S.
- **death place**: New York City, New York, U.S.
- **party**: Democratic Party (United States), Democratic
- **children**: 2
- **signature**: Charles B Rangel Signature.svg
- **allegiance**: United States
- **branch label**: Branch
- **serviceyears**: 1948–1952
- **serviceyears label**: Service years
- **rank**: Staff sergeant#United States, Staff Sergeant
- **unit**: 503rd Artillery Battalion,
2nd Infantry Division (United States), 2nd Infantry Division
- **battles**: *Korean War
**Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River, Battle of Kunu-ri