Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse is on the rise. How high can he climb?

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse is in a hurry, squeezing in a media interview after the last votes of the week before rushing down the halls of the Rayburn House Office Building for a meeting with senior Rep. Bobby Scott, then catching a ride to the White House state dinner for the Kenyan president.

It’s all still a little surreal to the son of Eritrean immigrants, who now represents Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District.

“I’m reminded each and every day the profound honor and privilege that I have to be able to serve in this capacity as someone whose parents came here with very little as immigrants over 40 years ago,” Neguse said in an interview in his Capitol Hill office. “It’s incredibly meaningful to me, and I think a reflection of everything that makes our country so exceptional.”

The next morning, Neguse met with Democratic congressional nominees Sarah Elfreth and Johnny Olszewski in Maryland, then caught a flight to Charleston to join his mentor, longtime Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., for political events.

For the charismatic Coloradan, who just celebrated his 40th birthday, Neguse’s jam-packed, fast-paced schedule is emblematic of his broader political career. Already a member of Democratic leadership, he’s wasting no time and eager to climb the leadership ladder. And his colleagues have taken notice.

“He’s in the mix; he’s had a meteoric rise,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who served with Neguse on the Democratic impeachment team that prosecuted former President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 attack.

But with a slew of other talented, equally ambitious young leaders ahead of him in the pecking order, it’s unclear how exactly Neguse will navigate the bottleneck in the coming years.

In 2022, he ran