WASHINGTON (AP) – Tiny Maile Pearl made Senate history Thursday without making a sound.
The tightly wrapped 10-day-old baby, brought to the well of the chamber by her mother, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, became the first newborn to appear there just one day after the Senate approved a new rule permitting it.
“It’s about time,” the Illinois Democrat and Iraq War veteran told reporters on the way in to vote.
The rule had passed without objection – but there had been plenty of grumbling about babies threatening the Senate’s cherished decorum. But when it actually happened, even stern Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to beam. In fact, he left a Senate vote open to allow Duckworth time to get there.
“Thank you very much,” Duckworth said to the Kentucky Republican. The double amputee, in a wheelchair with Maile, pronounced MAY-lee, in her lap, was on the floor for less than three minutes before they took off.