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

See Examples For:

resident commissioner

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

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

There is elected by the people a "resident commissioner" to the United States, who, unlike the delegates from other Territories, has no seat in Congress, but rather has official relations with the President.

From Our Government: Local, State, and National: Idaho Edition by J.A. James