Tammy Duckworth
DemocratU.S. Senator, IL| Age | 58 (b. 1968-03-12) |
| Gender | Female |
| In office since | 2013-01-03 (~13 yrs) |
| Race / ethnicity | Thai American (Thai mother of Chinese descent, American father of British descent) |
| Religion | Deist (father was Southern Baptist, mother is Buddhist; self-describes as deist) |
| Education | BA Political Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa (1989); MA International Affairs, George Washington University (1992); PhD Human Services, Capella University (2015) |
| Prior occupation | Military officer (Army helicopter pilot, IL Army National Guard); Director, Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (2006–2009); Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2009–2011) |
| Military service | Yes: U.S. Army Reserve / Illinois Army National Guard (Lieutenant Colonel) |
| Birthplace | Bangkok, Thailand (foreign-born) |
| Languages | English, Thai, Indonesian |
| Marital status | married — Bryan Bowlsbey |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Hoffman Estates, Illinois (also owns home in Virginia) |
Pending research: notable relatives · openly lgbtq.
Career & politics
| First elected | 2012 |
| Previous offices | U.S. Representative, Illinois's 8th Congressional District (2013–2017) · Director, Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (2006–2009) · Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2009–2011) |
| Committees | Senate Armed Services Committee · Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee · Senate Foreign Relations Committee · Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee |
| Caucuses | Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus · Senate Taiwan Caucus · Expand Social Security Caucus · Whistleblower Protection Caucus · Environmental Justice Caucus |
| Leadership | Vice Chair, Democratic National Committee (2021–2025) |
| Ideology | Ranked 25th most liberal Democrat in the Senate (DW-NOMINATE, 2019–2020 Congress); described as center-left within the Democratic caucus |
| Signature legislation | Senate Resolution 463 (2018) — unanimous rule change allowing senators to bring infants under one year onto the Senate floor · Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act (introduced, building on ADA) · VSO Equal Tax Treatment (VETT) Act (with Sen. Cassidy) — expanded charitable deduction for veteran organizations · IVF protection legislation (with Sens. Murray and Booker) · HOPE Act and I-VETS Act — protections against deportation of non-violent veteran permanent residents |
Financial
Net worth: disclosed $-4,750,000–$794,000 (2023) · estimate
| USAA (insurance/financial products) | fund · $0–$250,000 · 2023 |
| Lincoln Shareholders Adv Old Contract #953048073 | fund · $0–$100,000 · 2023 |
| AIVSX – American Funds Investment CO of America A | fund · $0–$50,000 · 2023 |
| Bright Directions 529 Mod Age Bsd 09-10 C (college savings) | fund · $0–$50,000 · 2023 |
| VEU – Vanguard FTSE All World Ex-US ETF | fund · $0–$50,000 · 2023 |
| Family residence, Hoffman Estates, IL (mortgage liability $1M–$5M) | real_estate · 2023 |
Scandals & crimes ledger
resolved — Workplace Retaliation Lawsuit — Illinois Dept. of Veterans' Affairs
Two Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs employees, Christine Butler and Denise Goins, filed a lawsuit in 2009 alleging that Duckworth (then Director of IDVA) retaliated against them after they filed internal complaints about a supervisor. Butler alleged her termination was retaliatory (later reversed); Goins alleged she received a negative performance review preventing a raise. The case was settled in June 2016 for $26,000 (covering plaintiffs' attorney fees and court costs) with an express agreement that no law was found to have been violated. Officials characterized the payment as 'nuisance value' to avoid trial costs.