Eugene Vindman, a retired U.S. soldier who gained prominence for his role as a whistleblower against then-President Donald Trump along with his twin brother Alexander, won the election to the House of Representatives in Virginia, the Associated Press reported on Nov. 6.
The Ukraine-born politician was elected on the same day Donald Trump won the presidential race and secured his return to the White House in January 2025.
Vindman was born in Kyiv in 1975 as Yevhen Vindman, but moved to the U.S. as a child and goes by Eugene.
The two brothers helped reveal the phone call that Trump held with President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019, in which Trump attempted to pressure Ukraine into launching an investigation into the family of Joe Biden, who was widely expected at the time to be the Democratic frontrunner and his likely opponent.
The call was the key component of Trump’s first impeachment. Both brothers were serving as aides to the National Security Council at the time, and Eugene was dismissed in 2020 in what he called a politically-motivated firing.
Vindman beat Republican and former Special Forces officer Derrick Anderson by a narrow margin. Vindman replaced Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who decided to run for governor in 2025 instead.
Vindman focused his campaign on abortion rights and the threat of Trump’s MAGA movement to democracy.
“With the support of our grassroots army, we accomplished something together that many didn’t think was possible,” Vindman said.
“It’s a testament to the power of the American experience that an immigrant who escaped a Soviet Regime and came to this great nation with less than $800 in our pockets would now stand here as a congressman-elect of the United States House of Representatives.”
While it remains unclear whether the Democratic Party will be able to wrestle control of the House from the Republicans, the Republican Party has already won back the Senate.
Vindman became the second Ukrainian native to serve in the U.S. Congress. Victoria Spartz, who was born in Chernihiv Oblast and moved to the U.S. in 2000, was re-elected to Congress representing Indiana’s 5th congressional district.
Spartz initially supported aid for Ukraine and spoken about the war in deeply personal terms, but also attracted controversy for her attacks against President Volodymyr Zelensky and head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak.
Despite being born in Ukraine, she did not vote for the Senate foreign aid bill in April 2024, which contained more than $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine.
Chris York