Tammy Duckworth

Biography

Overview

Tammy Duckworth is a Democratic U.S. Senator from Illinois, serving since 2017. Born in Bangkok, Thailand in 1968, she is an Army National Guard veteran who lost both legs in a 2004 Black Hawk helicopter attack in Iraq. She previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017, representing Illinois's 8th district. Duckworth is the first Thai American woman elected to Congress, the first person born in Thailand elected to Congress, the first woman with a disability elected to Congress, and the first female double amputee in the Senate. She is also the first senator to give birth while in office.

Career

Duckworth has been recognized as a highly effective legislator. The Center for Effective Lawmaking ranked her the fifth-most effective Democratic senator in the 116th Congress and the most effective on transportation policy. As a freshman senator, she ranked 11th highest out of 48 Democratic senators in legislative effectiveness. She led opposition to H.R. 620, credited with saving the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2018, she sponsored Senate Resolution 463, which changed Senate rules to allow senators to bring children under one year old to the Senate floor—a change implemented after she became the first senator to give birth while in office. She has sponsored 77 bills in one Congress, with multiple becoming law.

Prior political experience

Duckworth first ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House in 2006, losing by 4,810 votes in Illinois's 6th district. In 2012, she was elected to represent Illinois's 8th district with 55% of the vote, defeating incumbent Joe Walsh. She was reelected in 2014 with 56% of the vote against Marine Corps officer Larry Kaifesh. In 2016, Duckworth was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating Republican incumbent Mark Kirk 55% to 40%. She was reelected in 2022 with 57% of the vote against Republican Kathy Salvi, making her the first woman reelected to the Senate from Illinois.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal

Conservative

119th Congress-0.345

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1

+1

+0.056

Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 619 scored votes

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Officeholding history

Term	Seat	Term dates	Termination	Predecessor	Successor
2nd	U.S. Senate IL Class 3	2023–present	In progress	Tammy Duckworth	—
1st	U.S. Senate IL Class 3	2017–2023	Term ended	—	Tammy Duckworth
2nd	U.S. House IL-8	2015–2017	Term ended	Tammy Duckworth	Raja Krishnamoorthi
1st	U.S. House IL-8	2013–2015	Term ended	—	Tammy Duckworth

Committee assignments

Aviation, Space, and Innovation
SenateRanking Member· 2023–present
Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy, and Environmental Policy
SenateRanking Member· 2023–present
Europe and Regional Security Cooperation
Senate· 2023–present
Personnel
Senate· 2023–present
State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development
Senate· 2023–present
Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety
Senate· 2023–present
Readiness and Management Support
Senate· 2023–present
Airland
Senate· 2023–present
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Senate· 2023–present
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Senate· 2023–present
Telecommunications and Media
Senate· 2023–present
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Senate· 2023–present
Senate Committee on Armed Services
Senate· 2023–present

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term10

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

Year	Seat	Result	Vote share	Field
—	—	Pending	—	—