About
Elected in 2022, Congressman Glenn F. Ivey represents Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District. In the 119th Congress, he serves on the Ethics Committee and the Appropriations Committee. Congressman Ivey is laser-focused on preserving the rule of law, safeguarding federal workers, passing policing reforms that work for all, expanding public safety through common-sense gun reform, and promoting economic policies that lower the cost of living and level the playing field for the low and middle class.
During his first term in office, Congressman Ivey also served on the Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee. He was proud to be selected by Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to join the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump. On this task force, Congressman Ivey worked across the aisle to identify key failures and security risks within the Secret Service.
As a former prosecutor, Congressman Ivey brings an informed, objective perspective to his work in the House of Representatives and his advocacy for social justice.
Early Life
Ivey grew up in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and Dale City, Virginia. In North Carolina, his hometown was still segregated when he started school. But his parents were local leaders, and they sparked his steadfast commitment to educational and economic equity. Ivey’s mother was one of the first Black teachers at four different all-white schools, and his father worked for Manpower, a War on Poverty agency that helped unemployed workers in eastern North Carolina get workforce training and find jobs. After his family moved north to Dale City, Virginia, Ivey attended Gar-Field High School. He was President of the Math Club and Chess Club, Vice President of the National Honor Society, and captain of the varsity basketball team, which went to the Virginia Regional Finals in his senior year.
In 1983, Ivey graduated with honors from Princeton University. Three years later, he graduated from Harvard Law School, and his legal career formally began. His first job out of law school was in the litigation department at the prestigious Baltimore law firm of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander.
Early Career and Work on Capitol Hill
Ivey and his wife Jolene bought their first home together in Prince George’s County in 1988. From 1990 to 1994, Ivey served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. While there, he handled over 40 criminal jury trials, several appeals and grand jury investigations, and prosecuted major felonies and misdemeanors, including MS-13 gang members. During Ivey’s final two years in the office, he served under then-U.S. Attorney Eric H. Holder Jr., who later became President Obama’s Attorney General.
In private practice, Ivey was a partner at several prominent law firms. At D.C.-based AmLaw 100 firms Preston, Gates, Ellis (now K&L; Gates) and Venable LLC, he handled legislative, regulatory, and criminal matters. His expertise in criminal law earned him a position as Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Maryland from 1995 to 2014 and at Harvard University from 2013 to 2021. Ivey also worked on Capitol Hill, where he leveraged his legal prowess as the senior legislative assistant to Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Counsel to the Senate Whitewater Committee for Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), and Chief Counsel to former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD).
In 1998, then-Maryland Governor Parris Glendening appointed Ivey to be the Chairman of Maryland's Public Service Commission, which has jurisdiction over the electric, telecommunications, and gas industries in the state.
Public Office and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney
Ivey was elected State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County in 2002 and served two consecutive terms, during which he was a tireless fighter for his community. As State’s Attorney, Ivey helped create a more comprehensive and collaborative approach to rehabilitative justice, launched an aggressive community outreach program to work with community groups and residents to make neighborhoods safer, and developed youth empowerment initiatives to help reduce juvenile crime by getting youth involved in learning life skills and in understanding the criminal justice process. He also pushed for stronger witness intimidation penalties and established a first-of-its-kind Domestic Violence Prosecution Unit. When the real estate market went south, he established an award-winning mortgage fraud unit that stood up for homeowners.
In 2022, Ivey ran for Congress, redoubling his commitment to public service and community advocacy. In Congress, he has been a staunch defender of civil liberties, due process, justice, and good governance. The Trump administration brings new challenges to his role in the House of Representatives, especially as the Congressman for constituents in the National Capital Region, which has been disproportionately affected by mass reductions in force (RIFs), grant freezes, and cuts to critical federal agencies. Nevertheless, Congressman Ivey leans on his vast legal experience across the public and private sectors to be a productive legislator and resolute advocate for the people of Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District.
Congressman Ivey currently resides in Prince George’s County with his wife, Jolene, who is the County Councilmember At-Large. He has six children and three grandchildren. His son, Julian, serves as a Delegate for District 47A in the Maryland House of Delegates.