Moms are fighting back against TSA's breast milk mistreatment—will this bill finally fix it?
Flying with kids is already stressful—juggling strollers, snacks, and bathroom breaks while rushing to make a flight can feel like an Olympic event. But for parents who breastfeed, the challenges don't stop there. Getting breast milk and pumping supplies through TSA can be an unpredictable ordeal, with parents sometimes being forced to throw out milk or check essential equipment. Now, a bipartisan group of senators is pushing for a fix.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, along with Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Steve Daines (R-MT), has reintroduced the BABES Enhancement Act, which aims to make air travel smoother for breastfeeding parents. The bill would require the TSA to establish clearer, updated guidelines on handling breast milk and pumping equipment and ensure that agents follow them consistently.
'Far too often, traveling moms are mistreated and wrongfully denied access to their breast milk and the breastfeeding equipment they need to pump and feed their babies,' Duckworth said in a statement to The 19th.
If you've ever flown with kids, you know how complicated it can be. Parents already deal with long security lines, cranky toddlers, and the stress of keeping everyone entertained in a tiny airplane seat. Add to that the uncertainty of whether TSA will properly handle breast milk or let essential cooling packs through, and the situation becomes even more overwhelming.
Even though breast milk and infant formula are supposed to be exempt from TSA's strict liquid regulations, parents frequently report inconsistent enforcement. Some have been forced to dump their milk, while others have had ice packs confiscated, making it impossible to safely store pumped milk during travel.
Science TV host Emily Calandrelli went viral in 2022 after sharing how she was forced to check her cold packs at LAX, leaving her without a safe way to transport her milk. Actress Keke Palmer has also spoken out about experiencing 'breast milk discrimination' at airport security. These stories reflect the frustration many parents feel when they are just trying to feed their babies while traveling.
Related: Emily Calandrelli's 'horrible' TSA experience inspires new breastfeeding bill for traveling moms
The BABES Enhancement Act already passed the Senate last year but stalled in the House. Now that it's been reintroduced, lawmakers are hoping to push it across the finish line. If you want to support the bill, you can:
Call or email your representative and ask them to back the BABES Enhancement Act.
Share your own experiences traveling with breast milk on social media to raise awareness.
Support organizations advocating for better maternal and family travel policies.
'Moms have enough on their plates without having to battle TSA. If you've faced challenges traveling with breast milk, sharing your story could help push this bill forward. Let's make air travel easier for parents—because feeding our babies shouldn't come with obstacles.
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Breastfeeding mamas: This new law is going to make traveling SO much easier
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Los Angeles Times
30 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Political violence is threaded through recent U.S. history. The motives and justifications vary
The assassination of one Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife at their homes are just the latest addition to a long and unsettling roll call of political violence in the United States. The list, in the last two months alone: the killing of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C.; the firebombing of a Colorado march calling for the release of Israeli hostages; and the firebombing of the official residence of Pennsylvania's governor — on a Jewish holiday while he and his family were inside. Here is a sampling of other attacks before that — the assassination of a healthcare executive on the streets of New York City late last year; the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally during his presidential campaign last year; the 2022 attack on the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) by a believer in right-wing conspiracy theories; and the 2017 shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) by a gunman at a congressional softball game practice. 'We've entered into this especially scary time in the country where it feels the sort of norms and rhetoric and rules that would tamp down on violence have been lifted,' said Matt Dallek, a political scientist at Georgetown University who studies extremism. 'A lot of people are receiving signals from the culture.' Politics have also driven large-scale massacres. Gunmen who killed 11 worshipers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, 23 shoppers at a heavily Latino Walmart in El Paso in 2019 and 10 Black people at a Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store in 2022 each cited the conspiracy theory that a secret cabal of Jews was trying to replace white people with people of color. That has become a staple on parts of the right that support Trump's push to limit immigration. The Anti-Defamation League found that from 2022 through 2024, all of the 61 political killings in the United States were committed by right-wing extremists. That changed on the first day of 2025, when a Texas man flying the flag of the Islamic State group killed 14 people by driving his truck through a crowded New Orleans street before being fatally shot by police. 'You're seeing acts of violence from all different ideologies,' said Jacob Ware, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who researches terrorism. 'It feels more random and chaotic and more frequent.' The United States has a long and grim history of political violence, including presidential assassinations dating to the killing of President Abraham Lincoln, lynchings and other violence aimed at Black people in the South, and the 1954 shooting inside Congress by four Puerto Rican nationalists. Experts say the last few years, however, have reached a level not seen since the tumultuous days of the 1960s and 1970s, when political leaders the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., President Kennedy, Malcolm X and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. Ware noted that the most recent surge comes after the new Trump administration has closed units that focus on investigating white supremacist extremism and pushed federal law enforcement to spend less time on anti-terrorism and more on detaining people who are in the country illegally. 'We're at the point, after these six weeks, where we have to ask about how effectively the Trump administration is combating terrorism,' Ware said. One of Trump's first acts in office was to pardon those involved in the largest act of domestic political violence this century — the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob intended to prevent Congress from certifying Trump's 2020 election loss. Those pardons broadcast a signal to would-be extremists on either side of the political debate, Dallek said: 'They sent a very strong message that violence, as long as you're a Trump supporter, will be permitted and may be rewarded.' Often, those who engage in political violence don't have clearly defined ideologies that easily map onto the country's partisan divides. A man who died after he detonated a car bomb outside a Palm Springs fertility clinic last month left writings urging people not to procreate and expressed what the FBI called 'nihilistic ideations.' But each political attack seems to inspire partisans to find evidence the attacker is on the other side. Little was known about the man police identified as a suspect in the Minnesota attacks, 57-year-old Vance Boelter. Authorities say they found a list of other apparent targets that included other Democratic officials, abortion clinics and abortion rights advocates, as well as fliers for the day's anti-Trump 'No Kings' parades. Conservatives online seized on the fliers — and the fact that Boelter had apparently once been reappointed to a state workforce development board by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz — to claim the suspect must be a liberal. 'The far left is murderously violent,' billionaire Elon Musk posted on his social media site, X. It was reminiscent of the fallout from the attack on Paul Pelosi, the former House speaker's then-82-year-old husband, who was seriously injured by a man wielding a hammer. Right-wing figures falsely theorized the assailant was a secret lover rather than what authorities said he was: a believer in pro-Trump conspiracy theories who broke into the Pelosi home echoing Jan. 6 rioters who broke into the Capitol by saying: 'Where is Nancy?!' No prominent Republican ever denounced the Pelosi assault, and GOP leaders including Trump joked about the attack at public events in its aftermath. On Saturday, Nancy Pelosi posted a statement on X decrying the Minnesota attack. 'All of us must remember that it's not only the act of violence, but also the reaction to it, that can normalize it,' she wrote. After mocking the Pelosis after the 2022 attack, Trump on Saturday joined in the bipartisan condemnation of the Minnesota shootings, calling them 'horrific violence.' The president has, however, consistently broken new ground with his bellicose rhetoric toward his political opponents, whom he routinely calls 'sick' and 'evil,' and has talked repeatedly about how violence is needed to quell protests. The Minnesota attack occurred after Trump took the extraordinary step of mobilizing the military to try to control protests against his administration's immigration operations in Los Angeles during the last week, when he pledged to 'HIT' disrespectful protesters and warned of a 'migrant invasion' of the city. Dallek said Trump has been 'both a victim and an accelerant' of the charged, dehumanizing political rhetoric that is flooding the country. 'It feels as if the extremists are in the saddle,' he said, 'and the extremists are the ones driving our rhetoric and politics.' Riccardi writes for the Associated Press.
an hour ago
Trump says he 'may' call Walz after Minnesota shootings, calls him 'grossly incompetent'
President Donald Trump told ABC News on Sunday that he "may" call Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after a political assassination sent shockwaves through the state. The president, who condemned the violence, called the Democratic governor a "terrible governor" and "grossly incompetent" in an interview with ABC News' Rachel Scott. "Well, it's a terrible thing. I think he's a terrible governor. I think he's a grossly incompetent person. But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too," the president told Scott. Minnesota is reeling from two back-to-back shootings. Authorities say a masked gunman disguised as a police officer shot and killed Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a former speaker of the state House, and her husband Mark, and wounded a state senator and his wife early Saturday. The suspected gunman, 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, fled on foot and remains on the run. Walz called the shootings an "act of targeted political violence." The president condemned the violence shortly after the attack. "Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place," he said. A source close the Walz told ABC News that Walz and Vice President JD Vance spoke regarding the shootings. 'The Governor expressed appreciation for the ongoing coordination between federal law enforcement and Minnesota public safety officials," the person said. Another source familiar with the Minnesota governor told ABC News early Sunday afternoon that Trump has not called Walz. The source said that former President Joe Biden called Walz "right away." The White House said in a statement that the FBI and the attorney general's office will investigate the shootings and "will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law." Police say the suspected gunman allegedly had dozens of Minnesota Democrats on a target list, which was retrieved from the his vehicle. The assassination comes amid growing concerns about political violence in the U.S. following the recent killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, the arson attack at the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and the attempted assassination of Trump last summer.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Here are the 4 candidates running for DNC vice chair
Four candidates are vying for two vice chair spots on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after a majority of members voted earlier this week to redo the election of David Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta. Oklahoma DNC committee member Kalyn Free, who lost a bid for vice chair, filed a challenge in February over the way the election was conducted, alleging it unfairly advantaged the male candidates running. DNC members voted 294-99 this week to redo its elections following Free's challenge; Hogg decided to forgo a run for his spot amid swirling controversy over his decision to get involved in Democratic primaries. The DNC is holding two separate votes for vice chair positions: one for a male ballot spot and another ballot in which any gender candidate can run. Kenyatta won the spot on the male ballot on Saturday. Three candidates are vying for a spot on the all-gender ballot this week. Here's what to know about the four candidates running for DNC vice chair: Kenyatta was elected as one of the DNC's vice chairs in February and is running for a second time following Free's challenge. He successfully won reelection on the male ballot spot on Saturday. Kenyatta was initially supposed to compete against Hogg under the male ballot slot, but Hogg withdrew. The Pennsylvania lawmaker was first elected to the Pennsylvania state House in 2018 and represents part of Philadelphia County. He ran in the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic primary in 2022, losing to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.); more recently, he ran against Pennsylvania Auditor General Tim DeFoor (R), losing to him by single digits. Kenyatta's website touts his barrier-breaking record, including being the first openly LGBTQ candidate of color to be voted into the Pennsylvania Legislature. Kenyatta told The Hill he's traveled to nine states and Germany since being elected vice chair following the initial February election. He noted the DNC has been investing in local races like the Omaha, Neb., mayoral race and building out Democratic infrastructure in states across the country, including red states. 'No candidate when they get into the general election should have to build anything from scratch as it relates to their organizing, their voter outreach, and even some of the media infrastructure,' Kenyatta said. Shasti Conrad is running again to be a DNC vice chair after she lost a bid for one of the spots during the February election. Conrad was named a DNC associate chair by national committee Chair Ken Martin in March, and she also currently heads the Washington State Democratic Party. Her bio touts that she's worked with three Nobel Peace Prize winners; she's also a campaign alum of former President Obama and and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Of particular importance to Conrad is focusing on Democratic caucuses and councils. 'I would really love to see, you know, more engagement, more connectivity with our caucuses and our councils, both at the national level' and among the state parties, she told The Hill. She noted that not all state parties have an Asian American and Pacific Islander caucus, adding she'd support seeing them 'officially organized and regularly meeting and doing the outreach work that we really need to do, you know, with our communities that don't always feel that they can trust the party.' Free is getting another shot at a DNC vice chair slot after successfully challenging the way the national party conducted its vice chair election in February. Free is a member of the Choctaw Nation and serves as a DNC committee member in Oklahoma. She's previously held elected office as a district attorney for the Haskell and Pittsburg counties in the late 1990s. She previously ran for Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District but was unsuccessful. Free noted a lack of Indigenous representation within DNC leadership, telling The Hill that 'Indian country is critically important, obviously, to me, but it should be important to DNC leadership,' noting lawmakers and politicians have acknowledged that they wouldn't have won their races without the support of Indigenous voters. She also said she's worked on more than 300 campaigns and raised tens of millions of dollars. She said her commitment to the cause was evident in her husband's wedding vows, which she said she wrote. 'My husband vowed to never give aid, comfort, solace, or financial support to any Republican ever running for office. That's how serious I take my Democratic values and how serious I am about building this party.' Jeanna Repass also unsuccessfully sought a vice chair spot the first time around. She currently helms the Kansas Democratic Party and is a former secretary of state candidate in 2022. Repass is both the first Black and Latina woman to lead the Kansas state party, according to the Kansas Democratic Party. During her first run for vice chair, she noted her familiarity with engaging with voters in red states. 'My experience as the chair of the Kansas Democratic Party gives me a unique perspective for how our national party can not only make inroads with voters in red states but also win in these tough elections,' Repass said, according to The Community Voice. Prior to leading the state party, Repass worked in sales and marketing for several radio stations and was a director of urban mission outreach at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, according to The Topeka Capital-Journal. In an interview with State Affairs in March, she also noted a particular focus on rural communities in the state.
