Tammy Duckworth

Tammy Duckworth, born on March twelfth, nineteen sixty-eight, is a distinguished American politician and veteran of the Army National Guard. Currently serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois, a position she has held since two thousand seventeen, Duckworth is a prominent member of the Democratic Party. Prior to her Senate career, she represented Illinois's eighth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from two thousand thirteen to two thousand seventeen.

Born in Bangkok, Thailand, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Duckworth pursued her education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and George Washington University. Her military career began in nineteen ninety-two when she joined the United States Army Reserve. As a helicopter pilot during the Iraq War, she faced a life-altering event in two thousand four when her Black Hawk helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, resulting in the loss of both legs and some mobility in her right arm. Despite these challenges, she continued to serve in the Illinois Army National Guard, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in two thousand fourteen.

Duckworth's political journey began with an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in two thousand six. She later served as the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs from two thousand six to two thousand nine and as assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from two thousand nine to two thousand eleven. In two thousand twelve, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she served two terms before winning a Senate seat in two thousand sixteen, defeating Republican incumbent Mark Kirk.

As a trailblazer, Duckworth holds several historic distinctions: she is the first Thai American woman and the first person born in Thailand elected to Congress, as well as the first woman with a disability and the first female double amputee in the Senate. Additionally, she made history as the first senator to give birth while in office. Duckworth is also the second Asian American woman to serve in the Senate, following Mazie Hirono. In her role, she actively participates on the Senate Armed Services, Commerce, Science, & Transportation, Foreign Relations, and Veterans' Affairs Committees.