With many Democratic members of Congress boycotting the inauguration of Donald Trump, one lawmaker from the opposition party made clear her desire to participate in the historic ceremony.
"I'm proud to attend," freshman Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told a bipartisan audience on Jan. 19.
Duckworth, who was a elected to her first term last year, spoke to the Heartland Ball in Washington, D.C., that included Midwesterners of both parties from Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri.
She explained her pride in attendance at the inaugural as a sign that she was going "to participate in the greatest democracy on earth."
Duckworth, the scion of a military family and a U.S. Army officer herself, was severely injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004. While in a Blackhawk helicopter, enemy fire struck and she lost the use of both legs and partial use of one arm.
The senator recalled her family's service in uniform and how such service made possible what she called the "celebration of freedom" on Jan. 20.
Among those applauding Duckworth's words at Washington's Marquix Marriott Hotel was Mark Kirk, the former Republican senator she unseated in November.
"Even though we're in different parties and disagree on much, I say Tammy Duckworth is a class act," Illinois State Society President Terry Campo told Newsmax after her remarks.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
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