Congressman James R. Walkinshaw is serving his first term in Congress representing Virginia’s 11th Congressional District. The district includes most of Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, and the towns of Vienna and Herndon.
Congressman Walkinshaw serves on the influential House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which oversees the federal workforce, government operations, and federal IT management—areas that are critical to Northern Virginia’s economy. He also serves on the Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee. In these roles, Congressman Walkinshaw is focused on protecting the nonpartisan civil service, supporting fair pay, benefits, and treatment for federal employees, strengthening oversight of federal procurement and information technology, and holding the Administration accountable.
He also serves on the powerful Committee on Homeland Security, which has broad jurisdiction over national security policy, overseeing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its components, covering areas like border/port security, cybersecurity, transportation security, counterterrorism, emergency management (FEMA), and customs, handling legislation and conducting oversight for the nation's security.
He is the Founder and Co-Chair of the Federal Workforce Caucus, launched alongside Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), to defend a merit-based civil service and ensure federal workers can serve the American people free from political interference. The caucus is advancing policies to strengthen recruitment and retention, boost morale, modernize pay and professional development, and reinforce the good-government values that keep public service strong.
Walkinshaw is also engaged on other critical issue areas, including protecting Social Security and Medicare, expanding investment in transportation and infrastructure, addressing the climate crisis, expanding access to affordable housing, defending reproductive freedom, and strengthening democracy at home and abroad.
In addition to his Committee assignments, Walkinshaw is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. A full list of Walkinshaw’s Caucus memberships are here.
Prior to his election to Congress, Walkinshaw served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from 2020 to September 2025, representing the Braddock District. He chaired the Board’s Legislative Committee, where he successfully secured state funding for local schools, expanded local authority to protect the environment, and advanced common-sense gun safety reforms. He also chaired the Board’s Environmental Committee, where he helped lead efforts to install solar panels on county facilities and support residents and businesses to reduce their emissions and utility bills.
At the regional level, he represented Fairfax County on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and chaired the Regional Transportation Planning Board, where he helped align regional transportation planning with environmental goals and expanded transportation options across our region. In 2023, he served as Chair of the Virginia Railway Express Operations Board, helping lead the system’s historic plan to grow service and ridership.
Walkinshaw also helped lead county efforts to implement collective bargaining for employees, reduce plastic waste, expand affordable housing, strengthen protections against gun violence, and provide tax relief for the spouses of fallen service members.
Before serving in elected office, Walkinshaw spent more than a decade working in Congress as Chief of Staff to Congressman Gerry Connolly. In that role, he advised Congressman Connolly on federal policy, constituent services, and regional priorities such as Metro funding and federal workforce protections.
Walkinshaw graduated from New York University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics. He lives in Fairfax with his wife, Yvette, and their son, Mateo.
