Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) is pregnant with her second child, the congresswoman announced today.
“I am so excited to be welcoming a new baby to our family this fall,” McIver said in a statement. “This moment is filled with so much joy for my family and me. Being a mom is one of the greatest joys of my life, and I am grateful that my family is growing.”
The 39-year-old McIver, like all of her fellow current New Jersey congresswomen, arrived in Congress as a mom; she and her husband have a nine-year-old daughter.
She’ll get to make history, though, by being the first New Jersey member of Congress to give birth while in office. Fifteen other congresswomen from around the country have done so before her, including four in the last few years.
The recent flurry of congressional births prompted an ultimately unsuccessful effort to allow new moms to temporarily cast proxy votes rather than having to show up in D.C. in person. Last February, Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colorado) had to cast a vote on a critical GOP budget resolution with her month-old son in her arms.
In addition to regular House business, McIver will also be spending much of her pregnancy navigating the ongoing federal court case against her. Almost exactly one year ago, McIver was charged with allegedly assaulting federal immigration officers outside the Delaney Hall detention center; she has pleaded not guilty, with the next hearing in the case coming on June 23.
“I have been clear that this case will not keep me from doing my job, and it will not keep me from living my life,” McIver said today. “I will keep fighting against this administration’s cruel agenda and for a better world – that’s what moms do for our babies, and it is what I have always done for my community.”
