In The News
Sen. Duckworth criticizes Trump's plans to accept new plane from Qatar and cut staff at the VA
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth spoke Friday on several recent developments concerning the Trump administration, including President Trump’s plan to accept a Boeing jet from Qatar and recent moves on aviation and veterans programs. The royal family of Qatar offered to give a jet to Trump, which he would use as the new Air Force One and then take with him once his term ends. Trump said he would put the jet at his future presidential library and it would not be for personal use. Duckworth was not a … Continue Reading
May 15, 2025
Chinese faucets recalled over potential chemical hazards
The federal government is warning Americans not to buy cheap knockoff faucets online that could leach harmful chemicals and heavy metals into their drinking water. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday that it’s recalling four Chinese-made faucets sold on Amazon over unsafe levels of lead exposure. It said the lead can be especially harmful for babies, young children and pregnant women. The recalls come after American faucet brand Moen noticed cheap foreign-made faucets for … Continue Reading
May 15, 2025
Democrats question Hegseth on Trump’s Qatar jet security risks
Several Democratic senators are questioning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over President Trump’s acceptance of a jet from Qatar, stressing in a letter the national security risks and counterintelligence concerns inherent in such a transaction. “The American people deserve to understand this administration’s plans for securing this aircraft, the vulnerabilities its use will present to our national security and the price tag they will be asked to pay for President Trump’s decision to integrate … Continue Reading
May 07, 2025
Veterans Crisis Line Employees Were Caught in Mass Firings. A New Bill Aims for Staff Protections
Firing Veterans Crisis Line employees would trigger notifications to Congress under a bill being introduced by a Democratic senator aiming to give those employees more protections against being terminated. The bill comes after the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledged in a letter to senators last month that 24 support employees at the suicide helpline were "erroneously" told they were being let go during mass Trump administration firings at the beginning of the year. The VA sent the … Continue Reading
May 07, 2025
Duckworth announces legislation protecting VA jobs
May 04, 2025
Sen. Tammy Duckworth says Mike Waltz will have a "brutal hearing" for U.N. ambassador
Washington — Sen. Tammy Duckworth said Sunday that she expects Mike Waltz to have a "brutal hearing" for U.N. ambassador after his surprise departure last week from his post as President Trump's national security adviser. "He's not qualified for the job, just by nature of the fact that he participated in this Signal chain," Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." Duckworth argued that everyone in the group chat where the timing and targets of … Continue Reading
April 29, 2025
Duckworth: Trump making Americans weaker, sicker, less secure
DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - One hundred days into Trump’s second term lawmakers are split on where the country is headed. Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth said in Trump’s first 100 days he made Americans weaker, sicker and less secure. “Middle-class families, service members, veterans are all paying the price for his disastrous policies. Not only are grocery prices high, but we’re also seeing that all the veterans that he’s fired from their jobs, all the federal workers, have been fired … Continue Reading
April 22, 2025
Senate Democrats press Hegseth for answers on Trump order to ban transgender troops
More than a dozen Senate Democrats have signed onto a letter demanding a status update from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over the military's treatment of transgender servicemembers. The letter, drafted by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and first obtained by NPR, calls for Hegseth to explain to lawmakers how the Pentagon is complying with two separate federal court rulings blocking President Trump's executive order attempting to ban transgender troops from military service. Duckworth, an … Continue Reading
April 21, 2025
Duckworth: Hegseth endangering troops with ‘singular stupidity’
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot and combat veteran, said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s “singular stupidity” is putting troops in harm’s way and demanded his resignation — after a new report alleges the secretary shared detailed military plans in a group chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer. “How many times does Pete Hegseth need to leak classified intelligence before Donald Trump and Republicans understand that he isn’t only a … Continue Reading
April 17, 2025
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth hammers President Donald Trump over veterans’ care in 'The Daily Show' interview
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, put jokes aside when she appeared on the political satire The Daily Show this week as she criticized the Trump administration’s treatment of veterans. The Trump administration last month sent out a memo that revealed plans for a reorganization of the Department of Veterans Affairs which included cutting more than 80,000 jobs. Duckworth, who herself is a veteran who served in the Iraq War, said the cuts would impact health care for veterans and their … Continue Reading
April 15, 2025
“It’s My Turn on the Line”
When she spoke to Chicago in late March, a couple of months into the second Trump administration, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth was frank about her state of mind. “I’ve been having a hard time,” she said. “I keep being disappointed by people that I thought would stand up.” But disappointment does not equal resignation. The former army pilot is first and foremost a soldier, and her commitment to the so-called warrior ethos — to always placing the mission first and to never accepting defeat, … Continue Reading
April 13, 2025
Why Trump's pattern of purging our highest-performing military officers is dangerous
"Our standards will be high, uncompromising and clear." --Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Message to the Force, January 25, 2025 President Donald Trump’s pick for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine (retired), possesses an extraordinary record of service—in Iraq, in special access programs and in the National Guard. There is no question of his capacity to lead, devotion to our country, character, courage or competence. But those aren’t the qualifications … Continue Reading
April 11, 2025
Public Health Service officers would receive military leave benefits under bipartisan bill
Commissioned officers of the U.S. Public Health Service and their beneficiaries could be eligible for expanded leave benefits under a bicameral bill that Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is reintroducing — this time with bipartisan support in the Senate and House. “I just think that people don't understand what the Public Health Service does,” Duckworth said in an interview with Government Executive. “They are a uniform service. They are the people that when there's a disaster, when there's a … Continue Reading
April 07, 2025
St. Clair County members talk farm bill, E15 with Duckworth
St. Clair County Farm Bureau members recently met with U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth to discuss pressing issues including the need for a farm bill, Proposition 12 fix, year-round E15 and expansion of ag trade markets. “One of the most immediate things that we can do that is already well on its way is the year-round sale of E15,” Duckworth, D-Hoffman Estates, told RFD Radio Network’s Jim Taylor following the March 30 meeting. She discussed her work with Sen. Debbie Fischer, R-Neb., on getting … Continue Reading
April 01, 2025
Democrats renew push to expand IVF access for military service members
Congressional Democrats are renewing their push to expand in vitro fertilization access for military service members by introducing legislation that would require the Department of Defense's health care program to fund access to IVF for military service members. The legislative effort, being led in the Senate by Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth and in the House by Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs, would bring IVF access afforded to military service members in parity with the services available to … Continue Reading
March 27, 2025
Illinois U.S. senators take Hegseth, other Trump admin. members to task for group chat on military strikes
Both U.S. senators and two members of Congress from Illinois on Wednesday lambasted the Trump administration, and in particular Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, over a group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal that included sensitive details about military strikes in Yemen. White House national security adviser Mike Waltz inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, to the chat. Director of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday called the chats … Continue Reading
March 26, 2025
More Lawmakers Call For Hegseth’s Resignation as Signal Scandal Intensifies
New revelations regarding the disclosure of sensitive military information in an unsecured messaging app by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amplified calls for his resignation on Wednesday, as fallout over the scandal continued for a third day. "Hegseth is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this,” Trump told reporters late Wednesday, hours after The Atlantic published more of the transcripts from a Signal group chat that included Hegseth, other top Trump officials, and journalist … Continue Reading
March 25, 2025
Pritzker, Duckworth call on Pete Hegseth to resign after group chat controversy
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Gov. J.B. Pritzker have both called on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign after a reporter was included in a text chain detailing plans for an offensive strike against Yemen. Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was reportedly included in that chain, in which several key figures in the Trump administration detailed plans for strikes against Yemen before they were carried out earlier this month. Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State … Continue Reading
March 20, 2025
Lawmakers Demand Trump Administration Restore Removed Webpages Celebrating Troops
A group of Senate Democrats will be sending a letter Thursday demanding that President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reverse recent policies "that seek to erase records of the historic accomplishments of our troops" amid the administration's removal of online material about women, minority and LGBTQ+ service members and veterans. The four lawmakers signed onto the letter are Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois; Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut; and Mark Kelly and Ruben … Continue Reading
March 20, 2025