Rep. LaMonica McIver has been engaged in an ongoing legal battle with President Donald Trump’s Justice Department for more than a year. But today, the New Jersey congresswoman has a big reason to smile as she celebrates the birth of her second child.
Video will return here when scrolled back into view
Could the New Pope Be Black?
As of Thursday, McIver has now turned her focus to caring for her daughter. According to an official statement on her website, she is just the 15th member of Congress to have given birth while serving.
This new child also comes after McIver’s decades-long battle with fibroids, which led to her having to undergo multiple surgeries and IVF treatments to conceive. She recently opened up about her struggles with her reproductive health, how she juggled that with her congressional duties and the new legal fight she’s facing with the DOJ in an op-ED for ELLE Magazine in September 2026.
“People might find it crazy that even though I’m facing 17 years in prison, I made the decision to try IVF one more time and get pregnant. But at the end of the day, this is one thing I didn’t want to have consumed by my career or this administration,” she wrote in part.
Related: Black NJ Congresswoman Speaks On Facing 17 Years in Prison for Visiting ICE Detainee
She continued, writing that she hopes her story will inspire others who are dealing with issues of their own.
“Every part of this is worth talking about, because too often women are told not to share. I continue to talk about my experience with fibroids, with infertility, and around IVF because there’s just not enough conversation around what it’s like,” she wrote.
In a post on Thursday to her official X/Twitter and Facebook, McIver released a picture of her and her new child and expressed her excitement over this new journey.
“She’s here! We just welcomed our beautiful baby girl, and words can’t describe how blessed my family feels. Being a mom is one of the greatest joys of my life, and I’m beyond grateful. Thank you, everyone, for your love and support. It means the world,” McIver wrote.
McIver’s office also notes that she will not be granted any paid maternity leave from Congress. However, she still plans to use the month of October “to heal, be with her family, and bond with her new child.” She’s expected to return to voting in November.
As we previously reported, McIver is currently facing up to 17 years in prison over assault and interference charges stemming from a May 2025 visit to New Jersey’s Delaney Hall immigrant detention facility. At the time, she arrived at the ICE facility with New Jersey Democratic House Members Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez to conduct a congressional visit, which federal law allows lawmakers to do without prior notice.
However, things quickly went left after federal agents arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, sparking a chaotic scuffle in which McIver was alleged to have shoved an agent.
The Root sends our congratulations to the Congresswoman!
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.
