Duckworth gives birth to baby girl

Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) will start her second term in Congress with a new job title: mom.

Duckworth gave birth to her daughter, Abigail O’kalani Bowlsbey, on Tuesday. 

{mosads}“My husband Bryan and I are thrilled to announce that we are the proud parents of a baby girl,” she said in a Thursday statement. 

Abigail already has ties to the Senate — where Duckworth has been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate to challenge Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). 

“Bryan and I were deeply honored that Sen. Akaka acted as Hawaiian elder and selected her middle name,” said said, referring to former Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii). “We are grateful for the love and support of our family and friends. We also appreciate the respect for our privacy during this important moment in our lives.”

Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran who lost her legs and some use of her right arm after a rocket-propelled grenade hit the helicopter she was flying. She moved to Hawaii as a teenager and went to college at the University of Hawaii. 

Little Abigail made news even before she was born, as Duckworth’s late-stage pregnancy became a point of contention as Democrats met to vote on the top Democrats in congressional committees. Duckworth’s doctor said she couldn’t travel back to Washington for those votes and she had initially sought a proxy vote. But Democratic leadership refused to bend rules that only allow members to vote in person.

That drew complaints from some Democrats that believed the move was political, a way to bolster the bid of California Rep. Anna Eshoo, who House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wanted as the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Duckworth publicly sided with New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, who ultimately won.