Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was taken off breathing tube that had aided her breathing since she was shot in the head Jan. 8, hospital officials said in a statement.

Giffords is in critical condition at University Medical Center in Arizona. She was shot when Jared Lee Loughner allegedly opened fire on a crowd at a Tucson Safeway, killing six people and injuring 14, including Giffords.

Politico reports:

The breathing tube had been kept in to help ward off infection, and its removal is a sign of major progress in her recovery from a gunshot wound to the head. Doctors have said removing the tube would allow Giffords to talk and would give them a preliminary indication of her cognitive functioning.

The congresswoman and two others remain in the hospital from the rampage.