Susan Wild

On December 31, 2017, Wild resigned from office to pursue her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives to succeed retiring Representative Charlie Dent (R) in 2018.[10] Dent's district had previously been the 15th, represented by seven-term Republican Charlie Dent. She won a six-candidate Democratic Party primary election with 33% of the vote, narrowly defeating Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli, and faced Republican Lehigh County Commissioner Marty Nothstein in the November 6 general election.[11][12] She defeated Nothstein in the general election with 53.5% of the vote to Nothstein's 43.5%.[13][14]

On the same day, Wild also ran in a separate special election for the balance of Dent's term; he had resigned in May after announcing the previous fall that he would not run for reelection.[15][16] On November 15, 2018, it was announced that Wild had won the 15th congressional district's special election, receiving 130,353 votes to Nothstein's 129,593 votes.[17][18]

There was a closer margin in the special election because that election was under the former 15th district, which had been thrown out by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in February 2018. The former 15th had stretched from the Lehigh Valley into heavily Republican territory between Lebanon and Harrisburg, by way of a tendril in Berks County. The new 7th district is a more compact district centered in the Lehigh Valley, and includes a sliver of the Poconos.

Wild ran for reelection to a second term. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary[19] and faced former Lehigh County Commissioner Lisa Scheller[20] in the general election. Wild defeated Scheller with 51.9% of the vote, less than was expected.[21]

Following the 2020 census, Wild was redistricted into a more competitive congressional seat. She was criticized by some district residents when she said of her new district, "Carbon County has many attributes, but it is a county that—although it was once an Obama county—it since has become a Trump county. I'm not quite sure what was in their heads because the people of Carbon County are exactly the kind of people who should not be voting for a Donald Trump, but I guess I might have to school them on that a little bit. But most of all, it is a very rural county."[22]

In a rematch of the 2020 election, Wild defeated Scheller.[23]

Wild speaking with press in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Wild (right) visiting Lehigh Heavy Forge with Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh

In 2021, Wild cosponsored a resolution to expel Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress, saying that Greene "advocated violence against our peers, the Speaker and our government".[24]

As of November 2022, Wild had voted in line with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[25] In the 117th Congress, Wild voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time.[26]

In 2020, Wild co-sponsored a bill to reauthorize the Older Americans Act for five years with a 35% increase in funding. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law in March 2020.[27]

In 2022, Wild voted for H.R. 1808: Assault Weapons Ban of 2022; this bill would ban, among other guns, AR-15s.[28][29]

Wild has been critical of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro for holding views she characterized as "far-right", "misogynistic", "homophobic" and "anti-immigrant". In March 2019, she and 29 other Democratic lawmakers wrote U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a letter that read in part, "Since the election of far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro as president, we have been particularly alarmed by the threat Bolsonaro's agenda poses to the LGBTQ+ community and other minority communities, women, labor activists, and political dissidents in Brazil. We are deeply concerned that, by targeting hard-won political and social rights, Bolsonaro is endangering Brazil's long-term democratic future."[30]

In 2023, Wild voted against H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[31][32]

In February 2023, Wild signed a letter advocating for President Biden to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.[33]

On January 31, 2023, Wild voted against H.R.497:Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, a bill that would lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.[34][35]

On February 1, 2023, Wild voted against a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.[36][37]

In 2019 Wild voted against allowing victims of crimes by illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities to report the incident to the Department of Homeland Security.[38]

On February 9, 2023, Wild voted against H.J.Res. 24: Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 which condemns the District of Columbia's plan that would allow illegal immigrants to vote in local elections.[39][40]

On December 18, 2019, Wild voted for the first article of impeachment, "abuse of power", and the second article of impeachment, "obstruction of Congress", against President Donald Trump.[41]

• Committee on Ethics (Ranking member)
• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations (Vice Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment
• Committee on Education and Labor
  • Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
• Committee on Science, Space and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Research and Technology

• New Democrat Coalition[42]
• Congressional LGBT+ Equality Caucus[43][44]
• Congressional Ukrainian Caucus[45]
• Black Maternal Health Caucus[46]
• New Democrat Coalition Climate Change Task Force (Co-Chair)[47]
• Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus (Vice Chair)[47]
• House Pro-Choice Caucus[48]