Newborn in the House: Pettersen’s Vote Shakes Up Outdated Rules

Colorado Rep. Pettersen flies to DC with her 4‑week‑old son to cast a defiant vote against a Republican budget resolution, demanding proxy voting for new parents.

Last month, the Republican budget resolution passed Congress to Democrats' dismay and Americans' detriment. Despite Democrats' unanimous opposition they were still outnumbered by the MAGA majority. As Americans brace for the impact, out of control Republicans accelerate towards March 14th.

Will there be a government shutdown? Who knows?

While the people await their fate, one story about the February 25th opposition vote deserves notice. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) brought her newborn son with her to vote no on the house floor. At just four weeks old, Sam became a notable part of history while helping his mom make an important point: Congress should allow new mothers in the House to vote while on maternity leave.

Pettersen brings newborn son to Congress in historic vote

In the 119 terms of the United States Congress, only 13 Congresswomen gave birth while in office. Representative Brittany Pettersen of Colorado recently became the 14th historic mom. On January 25th, 2025 Pettersen and her husband welcomed their second son, Samuel Lee Silverii, born healthy and happy in Colorado's 7th district.

“We are overjoyed to welcome our baby boy, Sam, to our family. My two boys remind me of what’s at stake, and I’m more committed than ever to making sure my constituents’ voices are heard in Washington,” said Representative Pettersen in a January 2025 press release.

While the new Pettersen family recovered at home, the Congresswoman anticipated her return to work. Unfortunately, she does not work for an organization supportive of mothers.

Congress requires members to be physically present in the House to vote. It is prohibited to vote remotely or by proxy. So while Petterson was on maternity leave in her home district she was not allowed to vote until she could return to DC.

Just four weeks after giving birth, she flew to DC with her newborn to vote against the Republican budget resolution. The daring congresswoman made the trip alone. Her husband stayed home to care for their five-year-old son, Davis.

“Nothing is easy when you're traveling with a newborn, and doing it alone was challenging. Then just being here, because he sleeps one or two hours here and there, so I am exhausted,” said Pettersen in an interview reported by Colorado Public Radio.

Her trip to DC for the February 25th vote represented the first time she could vote since January 13th. This was the date her doctor advised her against air travel, which is standard practice for women in the final weeks of pregnancy.

Pettersen delivers powerful floor speech with baby in arms

During the budget debate on the House floor, Pettersen gave a powerful address while holding a sleeping baby Sam.

“I rise today with my newborn, Sam, who’s just four weeks old. Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the opportunity to vote remotely after giving birth just a few weeks ago, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from being here to represent my constituents and vote no on this disastrous Republican budget proposal,” Pettersen stated on the House floor, as seen in a video by Forbes Breaking News.

Bipartisan lawmakers push for proxy voting for new parents

Leading up to her powerful address, Pettersen introduced a simple resolution to House rules: allow proxy voting for new parents. In practice the resolution would allow expecting parents to designate another member to vote on their behalf for 12 weeks after welcoming a child. The proposal is popular in the House and has widespread support from colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

Image: cpr.org

Pettersen gained bipartisan support from Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) who signed on to co-lead the resolution along with Sarah Jacobs (D-CA). The resolution is personal to Luna because she faced the same inability to vote when on maternity leave in 2023. Lawler also has a personal connection as a recent dad who had to immediately return to DC after his daughter's birth in 2022.

In a January 2025 press conference, Representative Anna Paulina Luna told reporters,

“No parent should have to choose between caring for their child, or recovering from childbirth, and fulfilling their duties in Congress to represent their constituents. Congress needs to get with the times. This bipartisan proposal is vital in promoting a pro-family Washington,” according to a report by The Hill.

Representative Jacobs offers another a compelling argument in favor of the resolution. At 36, she is one of the youngest congresswomen in the house. She delayed starting a family because of travel demands.

“The 119th Congress is the third oldest Congress since 1789 – and our internal House rules are partially to blame for that. The House has largely failed to modernize and make changes to be more inclusive, accessible, and welcoming to young people including new parents and soon-to-be parents. During my first year in Congress, I froze my eggs and delayed starting a family partly because of the demands of this job and the constant travel,” said Jacobs in January 2025 press release from her office.

Her argument resonates with Americans angry about the older Congress. The resolution would help attract young, fresh talent to Congress by making the role more accessible for aspiring parents.

In addition to four co-leads, the resolution has eight bipartisan co-sponsors.

Republicans

• Brian Fitzpatrick (PA)

• Juan Ciscomani (AZ)

• Young Kim (CA)

• Jeff Van Drew (NJ).

Democrats

• Jimmy Gomez (CA)

• Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM)

• Marie Glusenkamp Perez (WA)

• Joe Neguse (CA)

Republican leadership blocks resolution despite broad support

Despite broad bipartisan support, the resolution faces an uphill battle. Speaker Mike Johnson has repeatedly refused to let the House vote on the resolution to allow proxy voting for new parents.

In an interview with Glamour, Pettersen explained,

“What we have is a resolution to change the House rules. It’s what governs our body, and it’s not a privileged resolution, so it doesn’t come up for a floor vote unless it’s brought up for a floor vote by leadership. This isn’t going through the process of a bill that has to pass the House and the Senate and be signed by a president. We just have to pass it in the House. We just need leadership to support it, and we have overwhelming support in the body.

Still Speaker John recently refused to include the measure in the latest House rules package. Once again, he cited his long-held belief that proxy voting is unconstitutional.

In a post on X, Speaker Johnson wrote,

“I’ve filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court asserting that proxy vote is unconstitutional. That’s been my belief as a constitutional law litigator, and I don’t see any way around that. I have great sympathy, empathy for all of our young women legislators who are of birthing age. It’s a real quandary. But I’m afraid it doesn’t fit with the language of the Constitution, and that’s the inescapable truth that we have.”

It is a quandary, given the Speaker’s stance contradicts legal precedent. Every court challenge to proxy voting has been upheld, and similar measures have been used in times of crisis, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More importantly, members of Congress—Republican and Democrat alike—agree that no parent should have to choose between representing their constituents and caring for a newborn.

Final Thoughts

At this point in Project 2025, women will not be surprised by Mike Johnson’s decision to overlook Pettersen’s resolution to accommodate new moms in Congress. Women in the US are all too familiar with the “conservative” disregard for working moms. After all, the US remains the only first-world nation without paid parental leave. American women are fortunate to receive six weeks of paid maternity leave; anything more is a luxury, and anything less is unsurprising.

The lack of security for pregnant women is just another example of the war on women's rights and reproductive health. Once again, Mike Johnson ignores the health and wellbeing of women despite his family-first ideologies.

It is not difficult to see the real reason Johnson refuses to bring the resolution to a vote. Moses Mike does not follow Christian principles, he follows the Heritage Foundation’s Conservative Mandate.

There is a reason Pettersen is one of just a few women in Congress with a toddler. The role was not designed for women, least of all new moms. But Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen made one thing clear to the House—women are designed for Congress.

Do you think Congresswomen should be able to vote by proxy on maternity leave? How do you feel about Speaker Johnson’s refusal to vote? Comment below!

References

Hubbard, K., Yilek, C. (2025, February 26). House adopts GOP budget resolution to implement Trump agenda in major victory for Johnson. CBS News. www.cbsnews.com/news

Brewster, J. (2025, March 7). House Republicans push budget resolution advancing Trump's agenda. CBS News. www.cbsnews.com/article

Office of Representative Pettersen. (January 27, 2025). [Press Release]. www.pettersen.house.gov/press-release

Timotija, F. (2024, January 18). New bill would allow lawmakers to vote by proxy after giving birth. The Hill. www.thehill.com/article

Fields, A. (2025, January 15). Pregnant lawmaker pushes for House voting rules accommodations. The Hill. www.thehill.com/article

Office of Representative Jacobs. (2025, January 9). [Press Release]. www.sarajacobs.house.gov

Gonzalez, A. (2025, February). Rep. Brittany Pettersen: I can't do my job in Congress because I'm about to have a baby. Glamour. www.glamour.com/article

The 19th. (2025, January). Congress new parents proxy voting: Brittany Pettersen. www.19thnews.org/article

Colorado Public Radio. (2025, February 25). Pettersen baby Republican budget resolution vote. Colorado Public Radio. www.cpr.org/news