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Derek Tran
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Derek Tran
Derek Truyen Tran (born Duc Truyen Tran on December 22, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative from California's 45th congressional district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, Tran is the third Vietnamese American to be elected to Congress and the first to represent California.
Tran was born in Los Angeles County, California, on December 22, 1980. Tran grew up in the San Gabriel Valley as the son of Vietnamese refugees. His father fled Vietnam in 1975 after the fall of Saigon as a boat person. Their boat capsized, resulting in the deaths of his first wife and children. Later, his father returned to Vietnam and met Tran's mother. After living in a refugee camp for about a year, his parents immigrated to the U.S. and established a corner store.
Tran claimed that his family's reliance on government assistance, such as SNAP, WIC, and Section 8, inspired him to enlist in the United States Army when he turned 18 without telling his parents or friends. He spent eight years serving in the U.S. Army Reserve, including some time spent training at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos. He was activated for Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom before receiving an honorable discharge. Afterward, Tran attended Bentley University, graduating with a B.S. and a J.D. from Glendale University College of Law. In 2012, he moved to Orange County, California.
Tran has worked as an attorney since 2014; in 2020, he founded his own law firm, the Tran Firm, in Huntington Beach. The now-defunct firm's website said it focused on personal injury and employment law. In 2023, Feher Law, a practice based in Torrance, acquired Tran's firm.
Tran has served on the board of the Consumer Attorneys Association of America and was appointed traffic commissioner for Orange. With his wife, he co-owns a pharmacy in Anaheim.
During the 2024 House election, Tran received criticism from his opponent, Michelle Steel, for previously supporting legal clients who had employment terminated due to workplace incidents such as sexual harassment, sexual assault, and hanging a noose.
At the end of 2023, Tran announced that he would enter the 2024 all-party "top two" primary in California's 45th congressional district. HuffPost reported that, unlike the other Democratic candidates who lacked financial support, Tran was a significant fundraiser according to FEC data. In March, 23 days after the primary, it was determined that Republican incumbent Michelle Steel finished first while Tran had placed second by finishing ahead of Kim Nguyen-Penaloza by 366 votes.
Steel was running for a third term in the competitive "battleground district". The majority-minority district encompasses parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties including the predominantly Vietnamese cities of Westminster, Fountain Valley, and Garden Grove in Little Saigon in addition to the predominantly Asian American communities of Artesia and Cerritos. Hence, Tran's campaign emphasized the centrality of his Vietnamese American identity to his bid. KABC, the Los Angeles ABC affiliate, reported that the district was 39% Asian.
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Derek Tran
Derek Truyen Tran (born Duc Truyen Tran on December 22, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative from California's 45th congressional district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, Tran is the third Vietnamese American to be elected to Congress and the first to represent California.
Tran was born in Los Angeles County, California, on December 22, 1980. Tran grew up in the San Gabriel Valley as the son of Vietnamese refugees. His father fled Vietnam in 1975 after the fall of Saigon as a boat person. Their boat capsized, resulting in the deaths of his first wife and children. Later, his father returned to Vietnam and met Tran's mother. After living in a refugee camp for about a year, his parents immigrated to the U.S. and established a corner store.
Tran claimed that his family's reliance on government assistance, such as SNAP, WIC, and Section 8, inspired him to enlist in the United States Army when he turned 18 without telling his parents or friends. He spent eight years serving in the U.S. Army Reserve, including some time spent training at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos. He was activated for Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom before receiving an honorable discharge. Afterward, Tran attended Bentley University, graduating with a B.S. and a J.D. from Glendale University College of Law. In 2012, he moved to Orange County, California.
Tran has worked as an attorney since 2014; in 2020, he founded his own law firm, the Tran Firm, in Huntington Beach. The now-defunct firm's website said it focused on personal injury and employment law. In 2023, Feher Law, a practice based in Torrance, acquired Tran's firm.
Tran has served on the board of the Consumer Attorneys Association of America and was appointed traffic commissioner for Orange. With his wife, he co-owns a pharmacy in Anaheim.
During the 2024 House election, Tran received criticism from his opponent, Michelle Steel, for previously supporting legal clients who had employment terminated due to workplace incidents such as sexual harassment, sexual assault, and hanging a noose.
At the end of 2023, Tran announced that he would enter the 2024 all-party "top two" primary in California's 45th congressional district. HuffPost reported that, unlike the other Democratic candidates who lacked financial support, Tran was a significant fundraiser according to FEC data. In March, 23 days after the primary, it was determined that Republican incumbent Michelle Steel finished first while Tran had placed second by finishing ahead of Kim Nguyen-Penaloza by 366 votes.
Steel was running for a third term in the competitive "battleground district". The majority-minority district encompasses parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties including the predominantly Vietnamese cities of Westminster, Fountain Valley, and Garden Grove in Little Saigon in addition to the predominantly Asian American communities of Artesia and Cerritos. Hence, Tran's campaign emphasized the centrality of his Vietnamese American identity to his bid. KABC, the Los Angeles ABC affiliate, reported that the district was 39% Asian.
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