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

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

Attorney Pablo José Hernández is running unopposed to be the party’s candidate for resident commissioner, the first person in 20 years to seek that nomination.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 2, 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

Jenniffer González-Colón, the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico and its lone representative in Congress, backed a compromise measure among competing plans.

From New York Times • Dec. 15, 2022

The island is represented at Washington by a resident commissioner.

From A Brief History of the United States by McMaster, John Bach