Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., may just win the Dad of the Year contest. His family had come to Washington, D.C., from California to watch him get sworn in on January 3. The new Rep. decided that he needed to bring his son on the floor with him when he cast his first vote for Hakeem Jeffries to become the first Black minority leader in the House.Â
The problem was that the whole process took a bit longer than the family had expected and the vote was going to interfere with the baby’s strict feeding schedule. But Gomez would not be discouraged from bringing his 4-month-old son, Hodge, with him for the historic vote.Â
Gomez told Today, “His feedings are at 7 in the morning, then four hours later at 11, then again at 3, then at 7 o’clock at night. He’s an alarm clock. At three hours he starts getting fussy and cranky, and that’s when you have to keep him occupied because once he gets to three and a half hours, that’s when he gets really upset.”Â
The new dad had to improvise to keep his son occupied until it was his turn to vote. When he had the spotlight, he had a message for the House. He stood with Hodge strapped to his chest in a baby carrier and said, “On behalf of my son Hodge and all the working families who need an expanded Child Tax Credit, I cast my vote for Hakeem Jeffries.”Â
Fellow Democrats applauded and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., gave baby Hodge a belly rub.
The Child Tax Credit is a tax benefit for families that have children under the age of 18, it could reduce the taxes owed by the family and usually results in a tax refund at the end of the year for lower and middle-class families.Â
On behalf of my son Hodge and all the working families who need an expanded #ChildTaxCredit.
I cast my vote for Hakeem Jeffries. pic.twitter.com/C6IALb7Gx9
— Rep. Jimmy Gomez (@RepJimmyGomez) January 3, 2023
