House Democrat brings newborn baby into Congress for budget vote after GOP bars remote voting
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/house-democrat-brings-newborn-baby-into-congress-for-budget-vote-after-gop-bars-remote-voting/ar-AA1zRwnn?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=ee27d37ac81b4d1fe23e6c0910f03a34&ei=21
Story by Jeremiah Hassel (26 Feb 2025)
A Democratic House representative brought her newborn son into Congress so she could vote against a GOP-sponsored budget proposal after the House's GOP leadership barred her from voting remotely.
Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) posted a picture of her holding her son on the steps of the Capitol to X, detailing her trip to the legislative building for the vote.
"Unfortunately, Republican Leadership denied my ability to vote remotely after giving birth to my son, Sam, but that's not stopping us from showing up to vote NO on this disastrous budget proposal," she wrote.
CNN video from inside the Capitol shows Pettersen delivering a speech while holding the 1-month-old, who cooed at her while she spoke. She seemed a bit flustered in the clip, attempting to manage her son, whom she held carefully in her arms, and deliver her speech detailing why she would be voting no on the budget proposal.
Pettersen has long been an advocate for remote voting in instances when members of the legislative body are sick or, in her case, have just given birth to a child. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), however, is staunchly against remote voting and required her to come in person for the vote or be counted as absent.