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A Baby On The Senate Floor

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There was a fresh new face on the Senate floor this week.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Yeah. Let's explain here. Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth made history last week when she became the first senator to give birth while in office.

MARTIN: But while Duckworth was pregnant, she realized that she wasn't going to be allowed to bring her child onto the Senate floor. So she pushed to change a Senate rule which Duckworth told CNN was outdated.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TAMMY DUCKWORTH: I thought, wow, I feel like I'm living in the 19th century instead of the 21st, and we need to make some of these changes.

GREENE: Well, the Senate agreed, and they passed the rule change with a unanimous vote on Wednesday. And then yesterday, Senator Duckworth took her 10-day-old daughter Maile onto the floor with her to vote.

MARTIN: Lots of applause for Ms. Duckworth and her baby, Maile, who was dressed for the occasion. Before going onto the Senate floor, Senator Duckworth tweeted out a photo of her daughter's outfit. She said, quote, "I may have to vote today, so Maile's outfit is prepped. I made sure she has a jacket so she doesn't violate the Senate floor dress code, which requires blazers. I'm not sure what the policy is on duckling onesies, but I think we're ready." Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.