Press Releases
Duckworth Hosts Veterans Town Hall in Crystal Lake
[CRYSTAL LAKE, IL] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today hosted a town hall in Crystal Lake to hear directly from Veterans and other Illinoisans about how the Trump Administration and Elon Musk’s draconian cuts to federal programs and indiscriminate firings of federal workers are impacting them. Duckworth, who serves on both the U.S. Senate Armed Services (SASC) and Veterans’ Affairs Committees (SVAC), discussed her efforts at the federal level to help Veterans and … Continue Reading
May 16, 2025
Duckworth Joins Schumer, Schiff, Colleagues in Demanding Independent Department of Defense Inquiry of Trump’s Acceptance of Qatari Plane
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and six other Senate national security leaders urging Acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DOD) Steven Stebbins to open an inquiry into DOD’s involvement facilitating the transfer of an unprecedented foreign gift intended for President Trump’s personal use. The Senators’ letter follows reports that President Donald Trump will accept a … Continue Reading
May 15, 2025
Duckworth Slams Republicans for Undermining the Implementation of Bipartisan PACT Act to Expand VA Care for Veterans
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) slammed Congressional Republicans for continuing to enable Donald Trump’s harmful cuts to VA services and its workforce, undermining the VA’s ability to keep up with new demand for care and benefits for our nation’s Veterans under the bipartisan PACT Act. During her remarks at a forum today, Duckworth called out Republicans for defending Trump slashing our VA while failing to exercise their own oversight and … Continue Reading
May 15, 2025
Duckworth, Senate Foreign Relations Democrats Statement on Trump’s Middle East Trip
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Coons (D-DE), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) in releasing the following statement on President Trump’s trip to the Middle East: “The President’s first extended foreign trip abroad should have been about advancing U.S. … Continue Reading
May 15, 2025
Duckworth on Trump Seeking to Deploy National Guard for Immigration Enforcement on US Soil: “This is What Dictators Do to Destroy Democracies”
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement after the Trump Administration reportedly sought to deploy 20,000 National Guardsmen for civilian law enforcement efforts on U.S. soil: “I’m deeply disturbed that Donald Trump keeps escalating his abuse and misuse of our nation’s military for his own partisan benefit—claiming to do so because of make-believe foreign threats. In reality, he’s distracting our troops from executing their … Continue Reading
May 15, 2025
Duckworth Leads Democratic Colleagues in Demanding Answers about the National Security Risks Posed by Trump’s Acceptance of $400 Million Plane-Shaped Qatari Bribe
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) led Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Assistant Minority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and nine other Democratic colleagues across U.S. Senate Armed Services, Appropriations and Intelligence Committees in demanding that the Department of Defense be transparent with them about the substantial national security and operational risks posed by President Trump’s plan to accept a $400 million aircraft “gift” from the Qatari royal family. In a … Continue Reading
May 15, 2025
Bipartisan Duckworth-Daines-Cruz-Hirono Bill to Better Protect Parents Traveling with Breast Milk Passes Senate
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) to make it easier for parents to safely embark on air travel with breast milk and breastfeeding supplies successfully passed through the U.S. Senate. Senator Duckworth’s Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening (BABES) Enhancement Act—co-led by U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI)—would require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to clarify and … Continue Reading
May 14, 2025
Duckworth Presses FAA Officials on What the Agency is Doing Right Now to Prevent Even More Failures Like Recent Newark ATC Blackouts
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Former Blackhawk helicopter pilot and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee—today pressed top FAA officials on what the agency is doing right now to prevent further failures like the ongoing situation at Newark Airport from happening at other airports across the country, in addition to addressing the urgent need to update our air traffic control … Continue Reading
May 13, 2025
Duckworth, Murray, Blumenthal Introduce Resolution to Celebrate VA Researchers and to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Veteran-Focused Research at VA
[WASHINGTON, DC] - To honor our nation’s Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers and commemorate the 100th anniversary of Veteran-focused research beginning at what is now known as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S Senators Murray (D-WA) and Blumenthal (D-CT)—member and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC), respectively—introduced a resolution to designate May 12th to 16th as Veterans Affairs Research … Continue Reading
May 12, 2025
Duckworth, McClain, Delaney, Moylan Introduce Legislation to Expand Leave Benefits for Military Families
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of both the U.S. Senate Armed Services (SASC) and Veterans’ Affairs Committees (SVAC)—and U.S. Representatives April McClain Delaney (D-MD-06) and James Moylan (R-GU-AL) introduced legislation to modernize the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in order to help ensure that military caregiver benefits are available to more people who selflessly care for their servicemember or Veteran family member in … Continue Reading
May 09, 2025
As Trump and DOGE Destroy AmeriCorps, Duckworth, Durbin Meet with Illinois Members to Discuss Impact on Local Communities
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with members of Illinois AmeriCorps to discuss the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) reckless cuts, which ripped away at least $12 million from 26 of the state’s 33 grantees. Duckworth also spoke about how these cuts reduce or even eliminate so many of the essential services AmeriCorps members perform in communities around the state, including caring for … Continue Reading
May 09, 2025
Duckworth Presses Under Secretary of the Army Nominee about Army Restructuring Plans and Effects on Rock Island Arsenal
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) this week pressed Michael Obadal, nominee for Under Secretary of the Army about Army transformation plans, securing a commitment from Mr. Obadal that—if confirmed—he would work with her on any changes, especially those that could affect critical jobs and operations across our sustainment and supply enterprise, including those at Rock Island Arsenal. Video of Duckworth’s remarks can be found on her YouTube. “It’s no … Continue Reading
May 09, 2025
Ahead of Mother’s Day, Duckworth Discusses Ways to Support Moms and Families
[ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Illinois moms and local leaders to highlight the ways our country can better support moms and families. Ahead of Mother’s Day this weekend, Duckworth—a mom of two daughters herself—met with donor and recipient moms who benefitted from the work of Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, a nonprofit milk bank dedicated to providing safe, pasteurized donor human milk to premature and critically ill babies … Continue Reading
May 08, 2025
Duckworth Statement on DOT Secretary Duffy’s Plan to Modernize Our Aging Air Traffic Control System
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and Ranking Member of the CST Aviation Subcommittee—issued the following statement after Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy announced his new plan to modernize our nation’s air traffic control system: “For years, I’ve sounded the alarm that we must modernize our air traffic control system in order to safeguard the flying … Continue Reading
May 08, 2025
Duckworth, Wyden, Murray and Booker Lead Colleagues in Demanding Answers About Firings of Congressionally-Mandated CDC IVF Team
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) today demanded answers from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for eliminating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) team responsible for making sure people who are trying to become parents have the information they need to thoughtfully and safely grow their families—despite Donald Trump’s broken promise to support … Continue Reading
May 08, 2025
Duckworth on GOP’s Attempts to Gut Medicaid: They Don’t Care About Making America Healthy—They Care About Tipping It Even More in Favor of the Wealthy
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Caring Across Generations’ 24-hour Capitol Hill vigil to call out Donald Trump and Elon Musk for their dangerous, heartless, relentless attempts to slash Medicaid funding. Duckworth spoke passionately about the millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid—Americans including pregnant women, children with disabilities as well as people in nursing homes—and demanded that Republicans put their constituents’ lives ahead of … Continue Reading
May 08, 2025
Duckworth Stresses Importance of Illinois’ National Labs to AI Leaders, Condemns Trump & Musk’s Cuts to Technology Innovation Research
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST)—underscored to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and other artificial intelligence (AI) leaders how important Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory are to accelerating scientific breakthroughs in fields such as particle physics, AI and cancer research, as well as how pivotal the labs are to Illinois and our nation’s economy. During her remarks, … Continue Reading
May 07, 2025
Duckworth Slams Far-Right Supreme Court’s Shameful Decision to Allow Enforcement of Trump’s Trans Military Service Ban
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today issued the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump Administration may start enforcing Donald Trump’s un-American, unjust trans military service ban while legal challenges to the ban are still ongoing: “Absolutely shameful. Trump’s trans military service ban hurts our military readiness, makes our military’s recruitment challenges even worse and disrespects Americans who are brave enough to serve in … Continue Reading
May 07, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin, Klobuchar Raise Privacy Concerns About New DOGE Scrutiny of Farmer Finances with USDA Loans
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, joined U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for more information about reports that farm loans and loan guarantees must be inspected and cleared by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees. “We write to express concern about a reported … Continue Reading
May 07, 2025
Duckworth Introduces Bills to Help Protect Lifesaving Veterans Crisis Line and Restore Collective Bargaining Rights for VA Health Care Professionals
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC)—is introducing two bills that would help protect our nation’s devoted VA workers, including nurses, physicians, Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) workers as well as the Veterans they serve against the Trump Administration’s ongoing attacks and harmful cuts. A day after she made it clear to VA Secretary Collins that his work to rehire VCL workers is not … Continue Reading