GOP senators have raised concerns about a new resolution that allows babies under a year old onto the Senate floor during votes but were not worried enough to vote against the measure.
While the measure cleared the chamber by unanimous consent, a number of Senators expressed that they are still unsure about the new rule introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who recently became the first senator to give birth while in office.
{mosads}Longtime Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah), who has six children, 14 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren, said he had “no problem” with the new rule for the chamber, but asked what would happen “if there are 10 babies on the floor of the Senate,” according to The Associated Press.
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) also told the AP that while he didn’t object to the change, he didn’t think it was “necessary” to allow newborns on the chamber floor.
But the move was heralded by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Rules Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) did not stand in the way of the resolution.
“We are proud to have Senator Tammy Duckworth — working mom to a newborn — among our ranks and I’m glad the Rules Committee was able to swiftly make this historic rule change for her and future senators,” Klobuchar said in a statement.
The new mother herself praised the Senate for “leading by example” to create a kid-friendly workplace for working moms.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a 40-year-old father of two, also said he had no issues with the rules change, but hedged his support for a suggestion by Roberts for the infants to only be allowed in the Senate’s cloakroom as “a good compromise.”
Duckworth, who uses a wheelchair after losing both of her legs during her military tour in Iraq, said that the room was not wheelchair accessible. Some senators initially proposed an exception for her case.
While senators of both parties have reportedly expressed concerns in private, Klobuchar said that reassurances by Republicans and Democrats have “been going on for weeks.”
For Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) joked that the new rule won’t be a huge change for the overwhelmingly elderly group of senators.
“Why would I object to it? We have plenty of babies on the floor,” the 46-year-old joked.