Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday that he and his husband, Chasten, have become parents, following a year-long quest to adopt a child.

“For some time, Chasten and I have wanted to grow our family. We’re overjoyed to share that we’ve become parents!” Pete Buttigieg tweeted. “The process isn’t done yet and we’re thankful for the love, support, and respect for our privacy that has been offered to us.”

Chasten, an author and former teacher, tweeted: “Some news!”

A spokeswoman for Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday that she had no other information to share beyond the tweets. It wasn’t clear whether the transportation secretary would take paternity leave.

The couple, who have been married for three years, had been trying to adopt for a year, taking part in parenting workshops. They were on lists that would allow them to receive a baby who had been abandoned or surrendered at short notice and also were seeking to be matched with a prospective mother.

Several times they were close enough to have gone shopping for baby items and discussed names.

Advertisement

“It’s a really weird cycle of anger and frustration and hope,” Chasten told The Washington Post for a piece last month. “You think it’s finally happening and you get so excited, and then it’s gone.”

Pete and Chasten Buttigieg met on the dating app Hinge in 2015, when Pete Buttigieg was serving as mayor of South Bend, Ind., his hometown. During his confirmation hearings, Pete Buttigieg described proposing at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. He became the first gay person confirmed by the Senate to a cabinet-level job.

Elliot Imse, a spokesman for the Victory Institute, which advocates for LGBTQ people in government office, said parenthood will build on the role as a prominent gay couple that they have inhabited since Pete Buttigieg’s presidential run.

“Them having a child really shows that LGBTQ Americans are just like any other American family,” Imse said. “The way that Pete and Chasten were able to humanize an LGBTQ couple for many Americans, is the same way they humanize LGBTQ people having children.”


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: