Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he and his husband, Chasten have become parents. He made the announcement today on Twitter.
No other information has been released about the baby yet.
NPR points out: “The news marked a moment of visibility for same-sex partners and parents who, until Buttigieg ‘s confirmation to the Transportation Department, had not had the representation of an openly gay person serving in a Senate-confirmed cabinet position.”
In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Chasten said they had been trying to adopt for a year.
They are on lists that would allow them to receive a baby who has been abandoned or surrendered at very little notice, and through lengthier processes that would allow a prospective mother to choose them in advance (although she wouldn’t know their identities).
He said they had gotten very close to getting a baby a few times. In July there was even an instance where they got a call about “a birth mother who was in labor and wanted to place her baby for adoption.” They scrambled to get ready for the baby one to get a call a few hours later that she had changed her mind.
“It’s a really weird cycle of anger and frustration and hope,” says Chasten. “You think it’s finally happening and you get so excited, and then it’s gone.” He thinks, sometimes, about what they will tell their future child: “We tried so hard for you. We waited so long for you.”
That last statement seems rather fitting with the announcement today.