resident commissioner

American  

noun

1. a representative from a dependency, as Guam or Puerto Rico, who is entitled to speak, but not to vote, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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resident commissioner British  

noun

1. the representative of Puerto Rico in the US House of Representatives. He or she may speak but has no vote

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Etymology

Origin of resident commissioner

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

She was elected chair of the Republican Party of Puerto Rico in 2015 and two years later became resident commissioner, a role similar to a U.S. representative but with limited voting power in Congress.

From Salon • May 6, 2026

Mr. Hernandez, a Democrat, is resident commissioner of Puerto Rico.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

The statistics don’t include those delegates and the resident commissioner for Puerto Rico, who cannot vote on the final passing of bills but are members of Congress.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 11, 2024

Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon, who as Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner is the territory’s nonvoting member, ranked 23rd out of 222 among House Republicans.

From Washington Times • Mar. 27, 2023

As resident commissioner, Mr. Fisher had powers equal to those of the Governor, and was thus enabled to prolong the contest.

From History of Australia and New Zealand From 1606 to 1890 by Sutherland, Alexander