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Jim Clyburn wins hearts by holding Rep. Pettersen's baby at press conference: ‘So sweet’
Jim Clyburn offered to hold Rep. Brittany Pettersen’s infant son, freeing her hands to speak at a press conference. The video has gone viral.
During a press conference on combating gun violence, Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn made a heartwarming gesture by offering to hold Colorado Representative Brittany Pettersen’s infant son, freeing her hands to speak. A video of the moment has gone viral on social media.
In the clip, Pettersen begins addressing the press while cradling her sleeping baby. Clyburn taps her shoulder and offers to take the child. Pettersen hands over her son, noting he is fast asleep. She then quips into the microphone, "I can’t wait to tell him one day that Representative Clyburn held him at a press conference."
As the clip went viral, many praised Clyburn's gesture.
One person wrote, “This is what AMERICA should look like!”
Another wrote, “Sometimes the smallest gestures speak the loudest.”
A third person commented, “That's very sweet of him.”
Pettersen and her husband, Ian Silverii, welcomed their second child, Samuel Lee Silverii, on January 25, 2025.
“We are overjoyed to welcome our baby boy, Sam, to our family,” Rep. Pettersen said in a statement. “Ian and I are deeply appreciative of the overwhelming love and support we have received from our community in Colorado and my colleagues in Congress. Davis couldn’t be more excited to take on his new role as a big brother!"
She added, “Congress makes no accommodations for new parents, so while I’m recovering and taking care of my newborn at this critical time, it's incredibly unfair that my constituents will not have a voice in Congress until I am physically able to return to Washington. No Member should have to choose between caring for their newborn and representing their constituents. I’m disappointed Speaker Johnson has still refused to move forward with my bipartisan proposal to allow Members to vote remotely while they take care of their newborns, but I won’t stop fighting to bring this to the floor for a vote, even while recovering from childbirth.”
