Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) — who recently announced she is expecting her second child in April — said in a new interview that she can’t “technically take maternity leave.”
“Because if I take maternity leave, then I won’t be allowed to sponsor legislation or vote during that time period,” she said in the latest episode of Politico’s “Women Rule” podcast.
{mosads}Duckworth, who would become the first woman to give birth while serving in the Senate, said during the interview she wants to figure out with leadership how she can still vote during her planned 12 weeks of paid leave.
“It’s going to change some Senate rules,” Duckworth said.
She also noted that people aren’t allowed to bring children onto the floor of the Senate.
“If I have to vote, and I’m breastfeeding my child, especially during my maternity leave period, what do I do? Leave her sitting outside?” she asked.
Duckworth during the interview also discussed her recent attacks on President Trump, whom she has referred to as “Cadet Bone Spurs.”
“I just think it’s descriptive. I think bullies need to have a taste of their own medicine, and he is a bully. And you stand up to bullies,” she said.
“He was a cadet in a prep school,” she added.
“And the bone spurs thing, I just think it’s ironic that you have an injury that is so severe it keeps you out of serving your country, but you don’t remember which foot it was in, or whether it was in both feet.”
Duckworth was referring to Trump’s multiple deferments from the draft during the Vietnam War, one of which was for heel spurs, or bone protrusions caused by calcium buildup.
Duckworth, a military veteran who lost both of her legs when her helicopter was shot down over Iraq in 2004, ripped Trump as a “five-deferment draft dodger” during a previous speech on the Senate floor.