(WASHINGTON) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who made history as the first openly gay Cabinet member to be confirmed by the Senate, and husband Chasten Buttigieg are officially fathers — twice over.
After announcing last month that the two were expanding their family, the former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana, mayor, officially introduced the couple’s new babies, sharing a black-and-white photo on social media of him and his husband each cradling a newborn in a hospital bed.
“Chasten and I are beyond thankful for all the kind wishes since first sharing the news that we’re becoming parents,” Pete Buttigieg said on Twitter. “We are delighted to welcome Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg to our family.”
Chasten and I are beyond thankful for all the kind wishes since first sharing the news that we’re becoming parents. We are delighted to welcome Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg to our family. pic.twitter.com/kS89gb11Ax
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) September 4, 2021
Pete Buttigieg, 39, said in a Twitter post last month that he and his husband were wanting to grow their family “for some time,” and they would “share more soon” on becoming parents.
The couple married in 2018. In an interview with The Washington Post in July, Chasten Buttigieg, 32, detailed their experience getting on adoption waiting lists for babies that have been abandoned or surrendered on short notice. He told the newspaper they had been trying to adopt for a year and had several close calls.
“It’s a really weird cycle of anger and frustration and hope,” he said in the interview. “You think it’s finally happening and you get so excited, and then it’s gone.”
While answering questions about his views on paid family leave on the campaign trail back in April 2019, Pete Buttigieg also spoke about wanting to have children.
“We’re hoping to have a little one soon, so I have a personal stake in this one, too,” he said at a rally. “We should have paid parental leave and find a way to have paid leave for anyone who needs caring.”
Pete Buttigieg has not yet revealed his plans for paternity leave.
ABC News’ Morgan Gstalter contributed to this report.
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