Tammy Duckworth serves as a U.S. Senator from Illinois, having been elected to the Senate in 2016. She previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017 and as Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 2009 to 2011. A combat veteran who lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004, she serves on the Armed Services Committee, Foreign Relations Committee, Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Veterans' Affairs Committee. Her legislative work has focused on veterans' issues, military readiness, transportation infrastructure, and disability rights.

Name

Tammy Duckworth

Party

Democratic

State

Illinois

Committees

Foreign Relations Committee, Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation, Personnel Subcommittee

Key Fact 1

Tammy Duckworth is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel who served in the Iraq War and lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down in 2004.

Key Fact 2

She was elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois in 2016 and re-elected in 2022.

Key Fact 3

She previously represented Illinois's 8th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017.

Key Fact 4

She served as Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from 2009 to 2011.

Key Fact 5

She became the first sitting U.S. Senator to give birth while in office when her daughter was born in 2018.

Key Fact 6

She serves on four Senate committees: Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Veterans' Affairs.

Key Fact 7

She holds a Ph.D. in Human Services from Capella University and a Master's degree in International Affairs from George Washington University.

Key Fact 8

She is the first Thai-American woman elected to Congress and the first woman with a disability elected to Congress.

Data from Congress.gov