Pete Buttigieg: ‘I’m not going to apologize’ for taking parental leave

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sought to take the high road Sunday after Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked him for taking paternal leave.

“I’m not going to apologize to Tucker Carlson or anyone else for taking care of our premature twins,” Buttigieg told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“The work we are doing is joyful, fulfilling, important work, it’s important work and it’s work that every American ought to be able to do when they welcome a new child into their family,” he added.

Last week, Carlson launched an attack against Buttigieg, who recently adopted newborn twins with his husband.

“Pete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child,” the right-wing host said Thursday. “Paternity leave, they call it, trying to figure out how to breastfeed — no word on how that went.”

The Transportation secretary on Sunday recounted some of his new parenting experiences.

“As you might imagine, we’re bottle-feeding and doing it at all hours of the day and night,” he said.

He also advocated for the paid leave measure in President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion budget package. The legislation, which is up in the air in Congress, would subsidize 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for workers.

“It’s past time to make it possible for every American mother and father to take care of their children when a new child arrives in the family,” Buttigieg said.

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