In The News
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
January 17, 2025
‘Absolutely Clueless’: Tammy Duckworth Blasts Pete Hegseth and Senate GOP
The Department of Defense is the largest employer in the United States, sending out paychecks to 2.1 million service members and more than 770,000 civilians. Its annual budget — $900 billion dollars — is larger than the GDP of Switzerland. With an estimated 750 bases in at least 80 countries, it is sprawling, extraordinarily complex organization. And, to run it, Donald Trump picked a Fox News haircut with (an alleged) drinking problem. It’s hard to emphasize just how wildly unqualified Pete … Continue Reading
January 17, 2025
Tammy Duckworth Says Pete Hegseth’s Vetting Was Fundamentally Flawed
Sen. Tammy Duckworth voted for both of Donald Trump’s former secretaries of defense, Mark Esper and James Mattis. A combat veteran herself, who lost both her legs in 2004 from a rocket-propelled grenade while flying in Iraq, she’s been able to find common ground with Republicans on military issues and matters of national security. When it comes to Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for the job this time around, however, Duckworth is a hard no. “Let me just say the American people need a SecDef. … Continue Reading
January 14, 2025
Veteran, IL Sen. Duckworth grills Trump's Defense Secretary pick Hegseth: 'You're not qualified'
WASHINGTON (WLS) -- President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Defense secretary was grilled Tuesday on Capitol Hill during his Senate confirmation hearing. Pete Hegseth faced tough questions about his qualifications and his comments on women. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, was in full combat mode as she went hard after Hegseth and his qualifications to lead the nation's military. The decorated, disabled combat veteran's questioning was perhaps the moment of this hearing. "We ask … Continue Reading
January 14, 2025
Pete Hegseth Seems Really Confused About Where Southeast Asia Is
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, revealed an embarrassing ignorance about a major geopolitical organization during his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, was taking questions from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) when she challenged him to share his knowledge about even just one member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. “Can you name the importance of at least one of the nations in ASEAN … Continue Reading
January 13, 2025
‘Not Qualified’ And ‘Out of Touch’: Combat Veteran Tammy Duckworth on Why She Opposes Pete Hegseth’s Nomination
Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Pentagon is, at the moment, the most endangered of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet choices. Hegseth’s hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday—among the first of the incoming Administration—could offer some clarity on whether the former Fox News host is still on track to lead the nation’s largest employer. Central to that debate is likely to be Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat on the committee who happens to be disabled … Continue Reading
January 13, 2025
Hegseth’s track record falls short of military standards: Dem senators
When duty called, both of us considered it an honor to answer. In different wars, under different commanders in chief and secretaries of defense, each of us packed our bags, laced up our boots and deployed to the Middle East — flying combat missions over Iraq because we believed in our country and, crucially, because we believed in the military and civilian leaders who asked us to sacrifice. At any point in time, many of the 1.3 million active-duty U.S. service members stationed across the … Continue Reading