Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten announced the birth of their son and daughter.
“Chasten and I are beyond thankful for all the kind wishes since first sharing the news that we’re becoming parents,” the Biden Cabinet secretary posted on social media. “We are delighted to welcome Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg to our family.”
Buttigieg shared last month that he and Chasten, an author and former teacher, had become first-time parents.
One of the twins is named for Buttigieg’s father, Joseph, a Notre Dame professor who died in 2019.
Buttigieg, 39, is a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana who came from obscurity to make a strong impression in the Democratic presidential primary in 2020. He is now the first out gay parent in the US cabinet, having already become the first openly gay person to be confirmed by the US Senate for a cabinet post.
Mr. Buttigieg and Chasten, a former middle school teacher, wed in 2018. Since Mr. Buttigieg entered the national spotlight, they have often sought to upend perceptions of gay relationships.
The couple had been exploring adoption in recent months. Chasten, who wrote a memoir published in June about growing up gay in the Midwest, also recently told USA Today that the couple was navigating the process of starting a family.
“We have quite a few friends in our circle who’ve navigated that, so we’ve just been having a lot of conversations with friends and started trying to figure out what will work for us,” he said.
The couple met in 2015 on the dating app Hinge and married three years later. After being appointed to the Biden cabinet, Pete Buttigieg said: “Travel in my mind is synonymous with adventure, growth and even love, so much so that I proposed to my husband, Chasten, in an airport terminal.
When Pete Buttigieg announced that he and Chasten were looking to adopt, first lady Jill Biden shared his tweet and said: “Congratulations to you and Chasten! Welcome to parenthood!”
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