In 2019, following Democratic gains in the 2018 elections, he took over as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; he previously was its ranking member from 2013, following Howard Berman's reelection defeat in 2012.

[citation needed] In 1977, Engel entered the special election for a seat in the New York State Assembly after the incumbent Democrat Alan Hochberg was forced to resign.

However, reflecting the increasing Democratic trend in the Bronx at the federal level, Engel would never face another general election contest nearly as close as his first one.

As a measure of the district's growing Democratic trend, Biaggi is the last candidate running on the Republican line to clear the 40 percent mark.

[8] In 2000, Engel defeated State Senator Larry Seabrook, who had the support of Bronx County Democratic Party Chairman Roberto Ramirez, 50%-41%.

In 2010 he was a strong supporter of the landmark Affordable Care Act once he secured provisions that New York would not be penalized for providing more generous benefits than other states.

[32] This measure would provide increased U.S. support for international Tuberculosis control activities, and promotes research to develop new drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines.

It was designed to promote America's national security and economic stability by reducing dependence on foreign oil through the use of clean alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies.

The law also requires improved energy efficiency standards for appliances, lighting and buildings, and the development of American-grown biofuels like cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, and biobutanol.

Engel introduced the Open Fuel Standards Act, alongside Congressmen Kingston, Steve Israel (D-NY) and Bob Inglis (R-SC).

He played a key role in negotiating the American Clean Energy and Security Act, HR 2454,[35] which passed the House on June 26, 2009.

In 2010, Engel urged the Federal Housing Finance Agency to stop their plan to ban private transfer fees on cooperative apartment sales.

Some developers and investors had been abusing the system by imposing transfer fees that would have provided them with percentages on all future sales of the property over many decades.

Employers/schools would be barred from requesting or requiring usernames or passwords to social media sites as part of the hiring, employment, or enrollment process.

In 2003, he authored the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 12, 2003.

[53] As Chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Engel called for stronger U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the 110th United States Congress, he introduced the Social Investment and Economic Development Act for the Americas of 2007[55] (re-introduced in 2009, where it also died in committee[56]) and sponsored the Western Hemisphere Energy Compact Act to develop partnerships to strengthen diplomatic relations with the Government of Brazil, and the governments of other countries in the Western Hemisphere (died in committee).

[57] The bi-partisan Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act of 2009 (sponsored by Engel) was passed by the House on December 8, 2009; it would have taken a fresh look at the United States' counter-narcotics efforts, both at home and abroad.

He also wrote the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 12, 2003.

In 2016 Engel was one of only 16 Democrats to join with 200 Republicans and defeat a measure that would have banned the sale of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia who is at war with Yemen.

In November 2018 the CIA determined that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the brutal murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

[69][62] After revelations that intelligence provided to Congress was partially unreliable, and the subsequent problems faced after Saddam Hussein was deposed, Engel has come to regret his decision to support the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and consistently votes in favor of gradual withdrawal.

[73] In 2010, Engel was instrumental in helping Joe Byrne return to the United States, after a bureaucratic problem left him detained in Ireland and separated from his family in Rockland County.

He is co-author of the Harkin–Engel Protocol, along with Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), which addresses child labor in the cocoa fields of West Africa.

[75] Engel sponsored a bill to support the Day of Silence, during which students vow to remain silent to bring attention to the harassment and discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in schools.

In March 2019, the group of lawmakers led by Engel wrote a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that read in part, "This issue is bigger than just China.

"[80] In June 2020, Engel stated that Polish President Andrzej Duda and Poland's nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party "promote horrifying homophobic and anti-LGBTQ stereotypes and policies that run counter to the human rights and values that America should strive to uphold".

[84] The OCE eventually ended its review on Engel and two of the other members of Congress (Doris Matsui and Edolphus Towns) without recommending further investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

In January 2020, he revealed that in a call after he was fired as Trump's National Security Adviser, John Bolton "suggested to [Engel] — unprompted — that the [Foreign Affairs Committee] look into the recall of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

"[89] In April 2020, Engel claimed he had visited his district and taken part in COVID-19 and healthcare related events, before confirming when challenged that he had not returned to New York since March.