Lauren Ashley Underwood (born October 4, 1986)[1] is an American politician and registered nurse who is a U.S. representative from Illinois's 14th congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party.

She began her career as a policy professional in the Obama administration in 2014, later working as a senior advisor at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

[5] At age three, she moved with her family to Naperville, Illinois, where she grew up and attended Neuqua Valley High School, graduating in 2004.

[8] In 2014, Underwood became a senior advisor at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she worked to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

[15] In August 2017, Underwood announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Illinois's 14th congressional district.

In a public debate, Underwood, who has a heart condition, said that she had decided to run for the seat because Hultgren voted to repeal the ACA.

Hultgren voted in favor of the Republican American Health Care Act, which passed the House in 2017 but not the Senate, and would have repealed and replaced the ACA.

[31] At a Department of Homeland Security budget hearing in 2019, Underwood remarked on treatment of migrants in United States Border Patrol custody.

She said "Congress has been more than willing to provide the resources and work with you to address the security and humanitarian concerns but at this point, with five kids that have died, 5,000 separated from their families – I feel like, and the evidence is really clear, that this is intentional."

[32] In the 118th Congress, Underwood was elected co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, along with Veronica Escobar and Dean Phillips.