Rep. LaMonica McIver on Thursday announced the birth of her second child, a girl. “There really aren’t words to describe how blessed my family feels to welcome a new life into the world,” said the New Jersey Democrat, who has spoken previously about her struggles with fertility. “Getting the chance to raise a family is a priority and a delight for me, something I hope everyone who wants to, gets the chance to do.”
McIver, 40, is only the second Black woman to give birth while serving in Congress, and the first in more than 50 years. Former Rep. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke became the first sitting member of Congress to give birth in 1973, and the first Black congresswoman to have a child in office.
Just 14 other women have given birth while serving in the United States House, and only one — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois — has given birth while serving in the Senate. Rep. Kat Cammack, a Florida Republican, was the last congresswoman to welcome a child in office; her daughter was born in August 2025.
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The birth of McIver’s second child comes during a turbulent period for the first-term lawmaker, who may face prison on charges stemming from a scuffle outside a Newark immigration detention center last May. Federal officials have accused McIver, one of several New Jersey Democrats who tried to conduct an oversight visit of the facility that day, of assaulting an officer. McIver has vehemently denied the accusation.
She is the sole member of the delegation to be charged with a felony and the only member of Congress currently facing federal criminal prosecution. McIver and her legal team have called the Justice Department’s charges against her “purely political,” and argued she has legislative immunity for her actions.
“At the end of the day, I want my kids to know that I was on the right side of history,” McIver told The 19th in August, “and this case is exactly that.”
