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Photos Of Tammy Duckworth & Her Baby At Their Senate Floor Debut Are Seriously Too Cute
History was made Thursday when a senator cast a vote with her newborn baby for the first time ever. Photos of Tammy Duckworth and her baby, Maile Pearl Bowlsbey, making their way through the halls of the U.S. Capitol on the way to the Senate floor show a mom who looks absolutely elated to be bringing her daughter to work at our country's biggest political stage.
Prior to making her Senate debut with her little one, Duckworth gave her Twitter followers a glimpse of what her newborn would wear to the Senate floor. Duckworth tweeted, "May have to vote today. Maile's outfit is prepped. Made sure she has a jacket so she doesn't violate the Senate floor dress code requiring blazers. Not sure what the policy is on duckling onesies but I think we're ready."
Duckworth's tweeted reference to violating "the Senate floor dress code" was a little dig at a former rule on Capitol Hill that required female lawmakers as well as journalists to wear sleeves in the Speaker's Lobby or they were denied entry into the room.
On Thursday, CNN's video clip showed a beaming Duckworth and her bundled-up newborn one reporter asked, "How does it feel to be here?" Duckworth smiled, "Great. About time, huh."
Congress reporter for NBC News, Frank Thorp, tweeted a photo of Duckworth with her baby as she arrived at Capitol Hill. The senator could be seen waving at her onlookers as an aide pushed her wheelchair forward past the marble pillars in Washington, D.C.
In another photo taken by Axios reporter Caitlin Owens, a content Duckworth and her baby could be seen in the hallway.
Echoing Duckworth's sentiment that senators should be allowed to bring their infants to the Senate floor, HLNTV anchor Carol Costello said, "It is about time!"
It wasn't just reporters that got to witness Duckworth's historical debut; people outside Capitol Hill, too, could be seen taking photos of the happy senator.
Duckworth has been vocal about her advocacy for allowing parents to bring their infants to their offices. On Wednesday, she thanked her coworkers "from both sides of the aisle" for seeing that "new parents also have responsibilities at work" after the Senate agreed that new parents should be given the permission to bring their newborns to the floor.
Duckworth added, "By ensuring that no Senator will be prevented from performing their constitutional responsibilities simply because they have a young child, the Senate is leading by example and sending the important message that working parents everywhere deserve family-friendly workplace policies." The senator also made a point to say, "These policies aren’t just a women’s issue, they are a commonsense economic issue."
On Thursday, the senator arrived at Capitol Hill to vote on the future administrator for NASA. Shortly after her arrival, Republican Party's pick Rep. James Bridenstine, whom Duckworth did not vote for, won the majority's vote. And yet despite the GOP's victory in the form of Bridenstine, Duckworth currently seems to reign over the media and public's attention primarily due to how monumental, significant, and unprecedented (as far as the United States is concerned) her victory is as a mother and politician.
The Illinois Democrat has won over both colleagues in her own team as well as key players in the Republican party. Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, who also presides over the rules committee for the Senate, praised and supported Duckworth and told The Guardian on Wednesday, "Being a parent is a difficult job, and the Senate rules shouldn’t make it any harder."
"I’m glad we were able to get this done to address the needs of parents in the Senate," Blunt said. "I congratulate Sen Duckworth and her family, and look forward to meeting her daughter."