In The News
‘On the backs of veterans’: Senators rail against federal workforce purge as vets hit hard by cuts
WASHINGTON — Marine Corps veteran Andrew Lennox was wrapping up his last day of online orientation as a newly hired administrative officer at Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System in Michigan, when his cell phone pinged alerting him to incoming email. As a supervisor in primary care services at the medical center run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the 35-year-old former staff sergeant certified staff hours, handled equipment purchases and reviewed performance evaluations. “I’ve loved my new … Continue Reading
March 12, 2025
Sen. Tammy Duckworth introduces bill to rehire fired veterans
As the Trump administration continues its efforts to downsize the federal government with massive staffing cuts, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth is fighting back for veterans. Why it matters: Veterans make up more than 30% of the federal workforce. Illinois is home to 20,900 civilian federal employees who are veterans, spouses of veterans, or spouses of active military personnel, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. The latest: Duckworth has co-authored a bill called … Continue Reading
March 10, 2025
Democrats introduce bill forcing Trump administration to rehire fired veterans
Democrats estimated that several thousand veterans were fired in recent weeks. Democrats want to force President Donald Trump's administration to rehire veterans who were laid off as part of large-scale efforts by Trump and Elon Musk to reshape the federal government and its workforce, ABC News has exclusively learned. Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Andy Kim of New Jersey plan to introduce the Protect Veteran Jobs Act in the Senate on Monday. The bill would compel the Trump … Continue Reading
March 10, 2025
Democrats introduce bill forcing Trump administration to rehire fired veterans
Democrats want to force President Donald Trump's administration to rehire veterans who were laid off as part of large-scale efforts by Trump and Elon Musk to reshape the federal government and its workforce, ABC News has exclusively learned. Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Andy Kim of New Jersey plan to introduce the Protect Veteran Jobs Act in the Senate on Monday. The bill would compel the Trump administration to reinstate veterans impacted by recent mass layoffs, according to a copy … Continue Reading
March 06, 2025
In Letter Accusing VA Secretary of 'Cover-Up,' Democrats Demand Answers on DOGE-Led VA Firings
March 06, 2025
Sen. Tammy Duckworth wants details on VA dismissals
The Illinois Democrat is pushing for answers about how staff cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs affected the Veterans Crisis Line. Duckworth and four other Democratic senators wrote Thursday to President Donald Trump and VA Secretary Doug Collins requesting details, by job category, on two waves of VA layoffs. The letter specifically asks how many crisis line staff were dismissed and reinstated. Duckworth’s office said at least two employees involved with crisis line operations were … Continue Reading
February 28, 2025
Dem senators call on EPA to reinstate workers at EJ office
Democratic senators are calling on EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to reinstate almost 170 idled employees involved in environmental justice work, saying they are needed to help meet a key Trump administration objective. Without the “specialized expertise” provided by the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, EPA “will be ill-equipped to achieve your stated outcome that ‘every American should have access to clean air, land and water,'" Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and more … Continue Reading
February 27, 2025
Sen. Tammy Duckworth's lived experience a catalyst for change in Illinois, across the country
For Tammy Duckworth, the personal and the political are intertwined. The junior U.S. senator from Illinois has had a life marked by not only overcoming obstacles, but shaping a sharp vision from them. She’s wielded her own life experiences to make history on the Senate floor, speaking up - often with firsthand experience - for the issues she cares about. In 2004, Duckworth was deployed to Iraq as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot for the Illinois Army National Guard, where she stood among the … Continue Reading
February 26, 2025
Sen. Tammy Duckworth 'Outraged' By More Staff Cuts Tied To Veterans Crisis Line
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said she found out Wednesday that more people were fired from their jobs tied to the Veterans Crisis Line, a week after she pushed VA Secretary Doug Collins to reinstate veterans' jobs with the hotline that were cut as part of Trump's purge of federal employees. "I’m outraged to learn that more VCL workers were caught up in the latest firings -- and worse yet, that Secretary Collins continues to double down and deny that he ever inflicted any damage on the … Continue Reading
February 20, 2025
Scoop: Senate Dems squeeze GOP on Trump's IVF promise
Senate Democrats want to force Republicans to vote on mandating insurance coverage of IVF as part of a debate over the GOP's budget resolution, Axios has learned. Why it matters: President Trump signed an executive order meant to expand access to IVF this week, but Democrats say the directive is toothless. Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) plan to offer their Right to IVF Act as an amendment to the Republican budget resolution on Thursday evening. Trump's executive … Continue Reading
February 20, 2025
Democratic lawmakers warn axing Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will leave troops vulnerable to fraud and scams
Shuttering the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will leave service members who rely on the agency’s accountability initiatives less guarded from career-ending scams and financial crimes, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and other Democratic lawmakers said in a letter Thursday to the bureau’s new acting head. Three members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs urged Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to restart CFPB operations nearly two weeks after he issued a dozen … Continue Reading
February 19, 2025
Democratic senators want answers about Veterans Affairs dismissals
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said she is seeking answers about how last week’s layoffs of more than 1,000 probationary employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs affected efforts to prevent suicide through the confidential Veterans Crisis Line. In a call with journalists, the Illinois Democrat said her staff heard from VA employees who worked for the crisis line or supported the VA claims process. She said two from Illinois may have been reinstated after she intervened, “but they’re still … Continue Reading
February 18, 2025
Democrat Dismisses Trump's IVF Executive Order As 'Lip Service'
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), whose "Right to IVF" bill remains blocked by Republicans, dismissed Trump's executive order on IVF as "just lip-service from a known liar." “Don’t be fooled. Donald Trump’s executive order does nothing to expand access to IVF," she said in a statement. "In fact, he’s the reason IVF is at risk in the first place. But if he is actually serious about taking real action to accomplish his own campaign promise to make IVF free for everyone, there’s a simple way he can … Continue Reading
February 08, 2025
Some Head Start programs still having trouble accessing federal money after Trump funding freeze
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As President Trump continues making cuts to federal programs and funding, Democratic leaders in Illinois are warning about how this is affecting families involved with the Head Start early childhood education program. Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth were at Two Rivers Head Start in Elgin on Saturday, and said ever since Trump ordered a federal funding freeze last week, they've had difficulty accessing federal money, even though courts have blocked the … Continue Reading
February 06, 2025
Duckworth won’t vote for remaining Trump Cabinet nominees
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) will vote “no” on all of President Trump’s remaining Cabinet nominees in protest against the president’s sweeping and disruptive actions in the first few weeks of his administration, she indicated Thursday. While she and all other Senate Democrats voted to confirm Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the opening hours of Trump’s term, the bipartisan cooperation has soured quickly. Duckworth in the last week flipped her “yes” vote to a “no” on Trump’s … Continue Reading
February 05, 2025
‘Unhinged’: Sen. Duckworth blasts Trump tariffs, Gaza proposal
February 05, 2025
Duckworth to oppose Trump’s remaining Cabinet nominees over USAID moves
January 30, 2025
Duckworth slams Trump for implying DEI initiatives caused D.C. plane crash; "How dare he?"
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As the investigation into a deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C., gets underway, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) criticized President Trump for seeming to blame the crash on federal diversity and inclusion initiatives. "That's an attack on those pilots, and how dare he?" Duckworth told CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion. An American Airlines flight collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River while the jet was landing at … Continue Reading
January 27, 2025
Senators are trying — again — to make air travel easier for breastfeeding parents
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois is set to try again on a bill to make air travel easier for breastfeeding parents that has gotten bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and has passed the U.S. Senate. Duckworth on Monday is reintroducing The BABES Enhancement Act with Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, a Democrat, and Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Steve Daines of Montana. The bill aims to ensure that breastfeeding parents can bring breast milk and breastfeeding … Continue Reading
January 23, 2025
Sen. Duckworth Says Hegseth Is Trump’s ‘Least Qualified’ Cabinet Pick
Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report. It’s executive order-palooza week in Washington. Here’s what’s on tap for the day: Sen. Tammy Duckworth doesn’t mince her words about Trump’s defense secretary-nominee, a senior Iranian official says Tehran wants to talk, and newly minted Secretary of State Marco Rubio may be packing his bags for Panama. In a statement to NBC News, Samantha Hegseth said there was no physical abuse in her marriage to Pete Hegseth. “I do not believe your … Continue Reading