Pete Buttigieg Explains Parental Leave to Chris Wallace
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wants all Americans, regardless of gender, to embrace parental leave as the norm and to understand that while it's time away from one's employment, it's not a vacation.Buttigieg appeared on CNN's Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?
over the weekend to discuss his life as transportation secretary in the Biden-Harris administration.The two discussed the scope of his department's responsibilities, Buttigieg's riding to work on a bicycle, his excitement for infrastructure projects, Elon Musk and Tesla electric vehicles, and other related matters.But Buttigieg became the most animated when the topic switched to Republican criticism of his taking parental leave when he and his husband, Chasten, welcomed their twin infants into the world.In August of 2021, Buttigieg took a two-month break from his daily office responsibilities and focused on his growing family.
At the time, Republicans, including Colorado's Rep. Lauren Boebert, criticized the new father for spending time with his family, going so far as to make a homophobic attack."The guy was gone.
The guy was not working. Because why? He was trying to figure out how to chest feed," Boebert said during a video interview at the time.The former Fox News anchor played a clip of Boebert making the comments and then challenged Buttigieg."I understand the benefits of parental leave.
