At least five women in President Donald Trump's orbit are expecting babies in 2026, a cluster of pregnancies that social media users have branded the 'MAGA baby boom.'
Second Lady Usha Vance, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, podcaster Katie Miller, deputy chief of staff's wife Samantha Blair, and First Lady Melania Trump's chief of staff Hayley Harrison have all announced or confirmed pregnancies in recent months, Fox News reported.
The announcements arrive as the Trump administration has positioned itself as what it calls 'the most pro-family administration in history.'
Five Pregnancies Driving the 'MAGA Baby Boom'
Usha Vance, 40, is expecting the couple's fourth child - a boy - due in late July. The Vances announced the pregnancy on Instagram in January, and the birth will mark the first time in modern history that a vice presidential family has welcomed a baby while in office since 1870, when Vice President Schuyler Colfax's wife, Ellen, had a son under President Ulysses S. Grant.
The couple already has three children: Ewan, 8, Vivek, 6, and Mirabel, 4. They met at Yale Law School and married in 2014. Before becoming Second Lady, Usha clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and worked as a litigator at Munger, Tolles and Olson in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Leavitt, 28, announced on 26 December 2025 that she and her husband, New Hampshire real estate developer Nicholas Riccio, 60, are expecting a girl due in May. Their son Niko was born in July 2024. Leavitt is the first sitting White House press secretary to be pregnant while serving in the role. A MAGA-themed baby shower was held for her on 22 March at Trump's northern Virginia golf club.
Katie Miller, a conservative podcast host married to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, is expecting the couple's fourth child. They share three children: Mackenzie, Jackson, and Hudson. The Millers announced the pregnancy in a joint Instagram post on 31 December 2025.
Lastly, Samantha Blair, wife of White House deputy chief of staff James Blair, was due in March. Hayley Harrison, Melania Trump's chief of staff, is also expecting, Fox News reported.
Usha Vance Responds to Husband's 'Persuaded' Claim
Vice President JD Vance drew attention on 18 March when he told supporters at an event in Auburn Hills, Michigan, that he had 'persuaded' his wife to have a fourth child.
'I remember when we decided to run for vice president, I said, Honey, I really want to have a fourth kid,' Vance recounted. 'And she said, Well, you can become vice president, or you can have a fourth baby. But, ladies and gentlemen, I am persuasive because I got both.'
Usha Vance addressed the remarks in an interview with NBC News ahead of the launch of her children's podcast, Storytime With the Second Lady. She said he had not actually persuaded her 'in a manner of speaking,' though she noted she had 'never closed the door' on a fourth child, the Irish Star wrote.
'We did feel very complete with a third child, in many ways,' she said. 'But as time passed, I realised that I was feeling more and more kind of excited about that possibility.'
She added: 'I knew that I'd be happy if we only had three kids, and I knew that I'd be happy if we had four. And so here we are.'
The Vances' pregnancy announcement in January followed months of divorce rumours that surfaced after Usha was seen without her wedding ring at public events. Both have since dismissed the speculation.
The wave of pregnancies has renewed attention on the rising pronatalism movement on the American political right. JD Vance has been among its most prominent voices, telling a March for Life rally in January 2025: 'I want more babies in the United States of America. I want more happy children in our country.'
Vance has previously drawn criticism for labelling some Democratic politicians 'childless cat ladies' and has framed declining birth rates as a 'civilisational crisis.' The White House retweeted the Vances' pregnancy announcement in January with the message: 'The most pro-family administration in history!'
