Tammy Duckworth: podcast appearances and interviews

Ladda Tammy Duckworth is an American politician and Army National Guard veteran serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party and previously represented Illinois's 8th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017. Born in Bangkok, Thailand, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Duckworth attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa and George Washington University. She joined the United States Army Reserve in 1992 and served as a helicopter pilot during the Iraq War. Her service was marked by a significant injury in 2004 when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents; she lost both legs and part of her right arm. Despite these injuries, she received a medical waiver to continue serving in the Illinois Army National Guard, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2014 after a decade of additional service. Duckworth has held various positions including director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2012, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and in 2016 she was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating Republican incumbent Mark Kirk. She has been recognized for numerous firsts, including being the first Thai American woman elected to Congress, the first person born in Thailand to serve in Congress, and the first woman with a disability elected to Congress. She also is the first female double amputee in the Senate and the first senator to give birth while in office. Duckworth serves on several Senate committees including Armed Services, Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Foreign Relations, and Veterans' Affairs.