Sen. Tammy Duckworth Announces Pregnancy

Jan. 23--Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois announced Tuesday she's pregnant with her second child, making her the first sitting senator to give birth while in office.

The Democratic senator is due in late April -- just weeks after her 50th birthday, her spokesman said.

"Bryan and I are thrilled that our family is getting a little bit bigger, and Abigail is ecstatic to welcome her baby sister home this spring," Duckworth said in a statement.

Duckworth is one of 10 women to give birth while in Congress, but will be the first sitting senator to do so. Her daughter Abigail was born in November 2014 while she served in the House.

"I feel great," Duckworth, who is a little over six months pregnant, told the Chicago Sun Times.

She told the newspaper she underwent multiple in-vitro fertilization cycles and had suffered a miscarriage in 2016 while trying to conceive again after having her first child.

Many of Duckworth's Senate colleagues congratulated her on her pregnancy.

"Congratulations to my friend @SenDuckworth! Proud to have her as my Illinois colleague and prouder still that she will make history by being the first U.S. Senator to have a baby while in office. I couldn't be happier for her," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) tweeted.

"Congratulations to my friend and colleague @SenDuckworth!" Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) tweeted.

"Such wonderful news! Congratulations @SenDuckworth!" Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) tweeted.

Duckworth later thanked those who showed their support.

"Thank you for the outpouring of congratulations and support," she tweeted. "I'm hardly alone or unique as a working parent, and my daughter Abigail has only made me more committed to doing my job and standing up for hardworking families everywhere."

Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost both her legs during combat in 2004, recently made headlines when she called President Trump a "five-deferment draft dodger" and "Cadet Bone Spurs" after he blamed Democrats for the government shutdown.

___

(c)2018 New York Daily News

Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.