ROOKE: The Left Are Using Children In A Gross Way

Democrats are famous for capitalizing on tragic situations for political gain, which is exactly what Democrat Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen is doing with her little boy.

Pettersen has repeatedly used her child as a political prop to try to change House rules on proxy voting. While I am staunchly and unabashedly pro-life and believe that if our country’s economy makes it increasingly difficult for mothers to afford time off when their babies are born, there should be accommodations made to make it easier on working mothers, that doesn’t mean I agree with Pettersen. Her decision to be a Congressman is entirely a personal choice.

South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn offered to hold Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen’s infant son, freeing her hands to speak at a press conference focused on combatting gun violence. pic.twitter.com/uljw5MvorW

— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 11, 2025

She doesn’t have to work in a field where the rules work against two-parent income households. There are industries where mothers can work and still have the appropriate time to heal from childbirth and connect with their newborns. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)

In fact, in most instances, I support working mothers being able to bring their newborns to work with them. In the first year of their life, they aren’t too much of a disturbance to a mother’s colleagues as long as their basic sleep needs, eating, and keeping dry are met.

“This isn’t designed for young families and for young women, especially.”

Rep. Brittany Pettersen flew across the country with her 4-week-old baby to cast a crucial vote — because Congress doesn’t allow remote voting for new parents. Now, she and a bipartisan group of lawmakers… pic.twitter.com/41qK5kwc6K

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) February 26, 2025

Being a member of Congress actually comes with more perks than a mother working in the private sector. She can bring her child to work with her. Childcare is available on-site for all members. But that’s not what she’s asking for. She doesn’t want to be at work with her child. She wants to be at home with him and still be able to vote on important issues going on in the country without participating in in-person debates with her fellow members. To make this point, Petterson brings her son out to speak on the floor, attend meetings, and give press conferences.

Rep. Brittany Pettersen holds her newborn baby while speaking in favor of a petition to allow remote voting for new parents.

“It is unfathomable that in 2025, we have not modernized Congress.”

House GOP leaders are expected to block the move. https://t.co/uCZvuvwdfo pic.twitter.com/r2RgUBZWv3

— ABC News (@ABC) April 1, 2025

To be clear, this isn’t calling into question whether or not she loves her son. I think it would be hard not to love something that small and cute. However, playing the doting mother for the cameras does make one wonder if she understands that motherhood is the most important job of her life. That the cameras and the viral moments will fade, but how she impacts his life is much more valuable than scoring political points. (ROOKE: Top Trump Lawyer Drops Bombshell Announcement About Riots)

This feels very similar to former President Joe Biden bringing in camera crews and press into the Wilmington hospital room to document his U.S. Senate swearing-in ceremony shortly after his sons lost their mother in a car crash. He even staged his little son, Beau, on a hospital bed.

I applaud her for wanting to be with her child. However, she chose to run for Congress. She chose a career that would take her away from her family and force her to sacrifice the time that most parents get to spend with their children.

No one made her run. Her decision to represent Colorado requires that she be in Washington, D.C. She was aware of this reality from the outset. Using her son as a prop to change the rules she agreed to is quite disgusting. It’s all performative nonsense.

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