AOC's family plans spark a look at presidents with newborns
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at a U.S. Capitol news conference on AI data centers. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) gave an update to her family planning over the weekend as speculation about a potential 2028 presidential run grows.
Why it matters: Ocasio-Cortez is high on the list of expected 2028 presidential candidates. If elected, she would be the first female president — but not the first president to have a child during their White House tenure.
Driving the news: In a series of videos shared over the weekend, Ocasio-Cortez said she had begun the process of freezing her eggs, joining the tens of thousands of women in preserving their parenthood hopes.
- She said her decision to talk about the process could lead to a "political tax."
- "This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life," she said on Instagram.
- Following the announcement, Ocasio-Cortez told ABC News' "This Week" that she had not ruled out running for president or Senate in 2028.
Context: If Ocasio-Cortez eventually did become president, and decided to have a child, she would not be the first president to have a baby while in office.
- Two presidents and four vice presidents had children while serving in the White House.
Yes, but: Due to missing or incomplete birth and death records in the early days of the country's history, it's unclear if other presidents and vice presidents had babies while in office.
Read more below.
Grover Cleveland's two daughters
Flashback: President Grover Cleveland and first lady Frances Cleveland had two daughters during his two terms in office.
- Esther (born in 1893) is the only child of a president who was physically born in the White House.
- Their daughter, Marion, was born at the president's summer cottage in Massachusetts in 1895.
Kennedy tragedy
President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy had their third child, Patrick, in August 1963 while JFK was president.
- Patrick tragically died hours after being born.
Babies of vice presidents
Multiple vice presidents have had children while in office.
- Vice President John Calhoun and his wife, Floride, had 10 children in 18 years — with two of them being born during two separate presidencies. James was born in 1826 while President John Quincy Adams was in office, and William was born in 1829 amid President Andrew Jackson's administration.
- Abraham Lincoln's vice president, Hannibal Hamlin, and his second wife, Ellen, had a son named Frank in 1862.
- Vice President Schuyler Colfax and his wife, Ellen, gave birth to a son, Schuyler Colfax III, in April 1870 under President Ulysses S. Grant.
- Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance welcomed their fourth child, Alec Neel Vance, on July 19, during the second Trump administration.
Go deeper: The push for women to have more children has a powerful ally: Trump
