Katie Miller Podcast - The Right Squad America Actually Needs | KMP Ep. 39
Aired: 2026-05-12
Duration: 43:03


=== Balancing Careers and Motherhood (14:30) ===

[00:00:00]  Where are we on gentle parenting versus the old school way of parenting?
[00:00:04]  Old school.
[00:00:05]  Old school.
[00:00:05]  No one believes in the gentle parenting.
[00:00:07]  Tough love.
[00:00:07]  I'm a boy mom.
[00:00:08]  I was in law school.
[00:00:10]  I had a newborn and an 11 month old.
[00:00:12]  So I told people on the scale of bad ideas that one might take the case.
[00:00:16]  When I started in sports many, many years ago, I was one of very few women covering sports.
[00:00:21]  I always looked at it as I'm a journalist competing in a journalist world.
[00:00:25]  I'm not going to let my gender come in here and define me.
[00:00:28]  They looked back at traditional statewide campaigns and they're like, okay, we've never designed one that.
[00:00:34]  fits a mom's schedule.
[00:00:35]  And I was like, well, it's just going to have to look different.
[00:00:38]  So, and it did.
[00:00:39]  83% of the American people are for the Save America Act.
[00:00:43]  Let's get this done.
[00:00:45]  Come on.
[00:00:46]  That's our superpower as women in these positions.
[00:00:48]  And I'm so proud to be here with all of these strong women ahead of Mother's Day because I think about using those opportunities not as a prop, but as an opportunity to use our platform and our voice.
[00:01:10]  Hi, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of the Katie Miller Podcast.
[00:01:13]  We're so excited to be doing something a little bit different this week.
[00:01:16]  We're joined by the women of the United States Senate.
[00:01:19]  We start with Katie Britt, Marsha Blackburn, Michelle, you're running for Senate in Minnesota.
[00:01:24]  Yes.
[00:01:25]  How exciting.
[00:01:26]  Thank you.
[00:01:27]  I am excited.
[00:01:28]  Ashley Hinson and Ashley Moody.
[00:01:30]  Thank you all for doing this.
[00:01:32]  So, briefly, can we do a 30 second, 15 second introduction of what is your top issue in the United States Senate with what gets you out of bed in the morning?
[00:01:41]  The next generation.
[00:01:43]  Marsha?
[00:01:44]  Making the lives of Tennesseans and future generations better every day.
[00:01:50]  Getting rid of fraud in Minnesota.
[00:01:54]  I think all Americans would agree with you.
[00:01:56]  Yes.
[00:01:57]  Making sure this country remains the country of freedom and a government that our founders intended.
[00:02:04]  The other party these days seems to be wanting a different kind of America and doing everything in their power to make it so.
[00:02:09]  So we wake up every day.
[00:02:11]  Trying to remain true to the principles of this nation.
[00:02:14]  And telling people stories and solving their problems.
[00:02:16]  That's why we're all here, to be problem solvers.
[00:02:20]  So, there's a lot of, I would say, TV and movies that categorize, and you look at women around a table in the United States Senator and Congress.
[00:02:29]  I was most recently watching Scandal, and you look at the women who were like, gonna come and take down the men.
[00:02:34]  Are there similar meetings that happen in the United States Senate?
[00:02:37]  We probably should.
[00:02:39]  Add that to our to do list, which is very long.
[00:02:44]  I think it's important that we bring that diversity of opinion in a different perspective.
[00:02:50]  Women have much more of a circuitous process in their careers.
[00:02:59]  And they take time out for children.
[00:03:02]  They take time out to care for elderly parents.
[00:03:06]  They're in and out of careers.
[00:03:08]  And guys look at things on a trajectory.
[00:03:11]  And we look at a problem set.
[00:03:14]  Problem and we need to solve it.
[00:03:16]  And let's get it done in the most effective, efficient way that we possibly can get it done.
[00:03:22]  So I think we bring a difference of opinion and perspective.
[00:03:25]  And the word she used there efficiency, I think women, moms especially, we get up here and we're like, we're dealing with backpack issues right now.
[00:03:32]  Like the dangers to our children right now, example, technology, other things, we're grappling with those at night.
[00:03:39]  How do we parent?
[00:03:39]  How do we supervise?
[00:03:40]  How do we warn our fellow moms?
[00:03:42]  So the immediacy of getting things done and that.
[00:03:45]  Need when we get up here, I think you find a fire in us.
[00:03:49]  Like, how do we make this more efficient?
[00:03:51]  How do we bring this to a conclusion?
[00:03:53]  Sometimes in Washington, there is a tendency to allow the discussion to go on for so long and nothing gets done.
[00:04:01]  Action is merited right now for this next generation, as Senator Britt said, and I think all of us are signed up to do that.
[00:04:07]  I'm ready to bring action.
[00:04:08]  I mean, you know, seriously, it's seeing the problems before they even happen.
[00:04:14]  I don't know about y'all, my kids are older now, but when I walk the dog, I'm like Secret Service.
[00:04:19]  I'm looking at where can there be trouble for this dog?
[00:04:21]  What's he going to try to get into?
[00:04:23]  You did that with your kids the whole time they were growing up.
[00:04:25]  You're looking for, oh, don't go over there.
[00:04:27]  Don't, you know, let's be careful about that.
[00:04:28]  Not helicopter y, but the sense that we know there are things out there that we have to anticipate and hit them hard before they get to be big.
[00:04:36]  Since you brought it up, where are we on gentle parenting versus the old school way of parenting?
[00:04:42]  Old school.
[00:04:42]  Old school.
[00:04:43]  No one believes in the gentle parenting.
[00:04:45]  Tough love.
[00:04:45]  I'm a boy mom, right?
[00:04:46]  So two boys, two teenage boys.
[00:04:48]  which actually is the best training for serving in Congress is being a teenage boy mom because you negotiate with unreasonable people all the time, which is what we do here.
[00:04:59]  Oh, that's good.
[00:05:00]  And, you know, they smell bad.
[00:05:01]  This place can smell bad from time to time.
[00:05:04]  And, again, you have to hold firm, right?
[00:05:06]  You have to stand for your principles.
[00:05:08]  And I think so there's a lot of synergy between being a mom, give something to a busy woman if you want it done.
[00:05:12]  And that's my approach to governing here in D.C.
[00:05:15]  Yeah, and I think too, and this kind of goes back to your previous question and this one, like this group right here, I think anybody can identify a problem.
[00:05:25]  And you have a lot of people who get to Congress or get to the United States Senate because they can.
[00:05:30]  The difference in the group of women that are sitting here is we are going to find a solution.
[00:05:36]  And that's one thing I said when I ran.
[00:05:37]  That's one thing that I have seen.
[00:05:40]  From the women on this panel, it's one thing to talk about it, Katie, but it's another one to kind of sort of put the nuts and bolts together in a way that actually achieves results for the American people.
[00:05:51]  And so we are results oriented and we're doers.
[00:05:55]  And so we're not going to sit by and let a problem persist.
[00:05:59]  We're going to get in a room and figure out how to solve it.
[00:06:02]  That's exactly right.
[00:06:03]  And it's so frustrating when you say, this is what we should be doing, and then you have the talk, talk, talk.
[00:06:11]  Party that takes place for the next six months.
[00:06:13]  So, what's the last example of that happening?
[00:06:15]  Is that like voter ID where it's not getting done?
[00:06:18]  Well, and that's a great example.
[00:06:20]  83% of the American people are for the Save America Act.
[00:06:24]  Let's get this done.
[00:06:26]  Come on.
[00:06:27]  You know, when you look at DHS funding, people want the Department of Homeland Security funded.
[00:06:33]  Whether it's FEMA, TSA, Homeland Security Investigations, ICE, people want to be secure.
[00:06:40]  And so, moving to a reconciliation bill.
[00:06:43]  So, we're saying that are the problem here.
[00:06:45]  Yeah.
[00:06:47]  I think action is the problem.
[00:06:50]  It is very frustrating.
[00:06:51]  And I think the American people are frustrated with a lot of talk and no action.
[00:06:57]  And it is women who are multitaskers who are bringing forward solutions.
[00:07:02]  If you don't like the solution I propose, tell me what is better.
[00:07:06]  But let's get the job done.
[00:07:09]  One of the things you all have in common is that you're all mothers, and a grandmom.
[00:07:15]  And a grandma get a special award for that one.
[00:07:18]  And her grandbabies are getting so big, too.
[00:07:20]  They're growing.
[00:07:21]  I think that's when you're truly rich, is when your babies have babies and then you get to have more babies.
[00:07:26]  My mom told me that she finally realized why she had us.
[00:07:29]  It was to have them.
[00:07:30]  So I was like, well, that's some tough luck right now.
[00:07:32]  That's some tough luck.
[00:07:33]  Thanks, mom.
[00:07:34]  Yah, yah for the win.
[00:07:35]  My mother in law said, if I had known grandchildren was going to be so fun, I would have done that first.
[00:07:40]  They're awesome.
[00:07:41]  But where we're going with this is one of the criticisms that I get a lot, especially as a young mother, is that I choose to be a working mother while espousing views that.
[00:07:50]  You know, women should have babies younger.
[00:07:53]  They shouldn't put careers sometimes ahead of the choice to have a marriage and have babies, especially as we all see the fertility rate declining in our country.
[00:08:01]  And, you know, we talk a lot, especially among the Republican Party, about the importance of family and family unit.
[00:08:07]  How do you guys each square the circle of saying that I'm a working mom, but yet I'm telling other women that they should have babies as well?
[00:08:14]  Well, I think you can do it all, right?
[00:08:16]  And you never know what you're capable of doing until you have to do it.
[00:08:18]  And I think we all can say there's no manual for how to be a good parent.
[00:08:22]  But you figure it out.
[00:08:24]  And as long as you prioritize the right things, you can be successful at all of those things.
[00:08:28]  And I look at my boys, and I'm sure the other women here have had the same experience.
[00:08:32]  Women get asked the question of, How are you going to do all this with your kids?
[00:08:36]  when men would never get asked that question.
[00:08:38]  And at the door, when I was out campaigning in my first race, I had a woman who actually said, Oh, how dare you leave your children and go run for office.
[00:08:46]  And I actually said, Well, it turns out they have a great father who is not their babysitter, he's their father.
[00:08:51]  And you just figure out how to get it done.
[00:08:53]  So, would you say something you all have in common is a very supportive spouse?
[00:08:56]  Absolutely.
[00:08:57]  Yes, your question was 100%.
[00:09:00]  The whole time I was working in television, I was gone half the week, every single week.
[00:09:06]  I was gone from Wednesday to Monday.
[00:09:09]  But would you say that's something that, and I'm not being critical, it's stuff pointed at myself as well, that is something that us as conservatives, we talk about the importance of this nuclear family unit and the mother being the primary caregiver, but yet some of us are not living that same example.
[00:09:25]  I differ with that just a little bit, Katie, because I feel like that God uses non traditional leaders and he uses godly women, and there are examples of that in the Old Testament.
[00:09:40]  You look At Deborah, you look at Esther, and they used what God had called them to, to benefit their people.
[00:09:50]  You look at Proverbs 31 and how it lays out what a godly woman should do.
[00:09:59]  So I believe if you are called to this and you know God has placed that call on your life, then of course you're going to be able to follow that.
[00:10:11]  And to move forward and to be a great example for your family, for your daughters, your granddaughters, and show and other women and show how you can purposefully and intentionally lead and have an impact on your community and your state and your country.
[00:10:36]  And I think it's wonderful if you can commit that time and take time away from.
[00:10:42]  Your work life and stay home.
[00:10:43]  And my mother stayed home with us for a very long time in our lives.
[00:10:49]  I think it is amazing, and there is a role for the mother that is so unique and so needed and so necessary.
[00:10:56]  And so I would say what I've always tried to do is work, and my spouse understands this, and he has been absolutely amazing.
[00:11:04]  And it's not just does he take on extra tasks, which I'm sure he does, but it's also I understand that being a mother is your number one priority.
[00:11:14]  He'll often remind me, and a wife.
[00:11:15]  Which is true.
[00:11:16]  But being a mother is your number one priority, and I want to make sure that you can meet that goal of yours.
[00:11:24]  I believe that is my calling as well, being a mother, and do this.
[00:11:28]  And so when I started taking on other things in life, I just said, if I can't be the best mom and maintain that traditional role, in fact, if we didn't have things like Instacart and Amazon and all of the things, I have ordered cleats walking into meetings, ordered cleats delivered that same day.
[00:11:48]  If I could not take on that traditional role of being a great mom, and if I let that slip at all, I wouldn't do these other things.
[00:11:56]  That's just always been an agreement that I've had with myself, number one, with my husband.
[00:12:02]  And he is amazing at making sure that not only I'm being number one mom, but that he's helping me achieve that and that he's supporting me and encouraging me along the way.
[00:12:11]  So what's the funniest thing someone's spouse has done to step into that role while you guys are here in D.C.?
[00:12:17]  Because I know there's a good story somewhere.
[00:12:19]  Okay, I'll have one.
[00:12:20]  We were going through infertility issues.
[00:12:23]  It was brutal.
[00:12:23]  It was, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
[00:12:26]  And I was going to cover an NBA game and my husband was going with me.
[00:12:29]  And we were doing the shots and all the drugs and stuff to try to get pregnant.
[00:12:33]  And we got to the airport and realized we had forgotten one very important shot that we needed.
[00:12:41]  We're in the airport and he ran, got in a cab, offered the cabbie a huge tip to get him home, to get the vial, to get back to the airport.
[00:12:51]  And literally, I'm standing at the gate of the plane.
[00:12:53]  They're like, ma'am, we've got to shut the doors.
[00:12:55]  I said, I promise you he's coming.
[00:12:56]  We just need this shot.
[00:12:58]  We're trying to have a baby.
[00:13:00]  And I see him sprinting down the concourse toward the airplane door.
[00:13:06]  And he couldn't, we finally got on the plane, and everyone was like clapping for us.
[00:13:09]  He couldn't breathe for about 10 minutes.
[00:13:11]  He was just so exhausted from having to run home and get that vial so we could try to have this baby.
[00:13:16]  That's so good.
[00:13:18]  That is good.
[00:13:18]  He's the best.
[00:13:20]  He's the best.
[00:13:21]  I have a similar story with Stephen going to like run home to get like the Nanit baby camera, just as like we're going on our first trip, like spritz to the airport.
[00:13:28]  He makes it, it's fine.
[00:13:29]  I love it.
[00:13:30]  That's great.
[00:13:31]  My husband is so funny, he's a jokester.
[00:13:34]  He has, it tells lots of jokes.
[00:13:37]  And whether it was with children or now with grandchildren, when he's doing something that kind of helps fill that void, sometimes he'll sing, When a Man Loves a Woman.
[00:13:49]  And the next line of the song is, Whatever it is that he is doing, you know, that is helping with that chore.
[00:13:59]  And so that is always our reminder.
[00:14:03]  Humor.
[00:14:03]  Yeah.
[00:14:04]  For sure.
[00:14:04]  You know, when you're trying to do a lot of things in a short amount of time, And I've always just said, okay, I'm going to make this work and I'm going to build the schedule around to make sure we're doing it all and we're doing it all well.
[00:14:16]  But sometimes things fall through their cracks.
[00:14:18]  For example, you may have multiple events that require different kinds of clothing because you're moving from, at least in my state, you're going from a farm and you may end up at the Space Coast.
[00:14:28]  You know, it just depends.

=== Scheduling Around Family Needs (16:11) ===

[00:14:30]  So multiple times I've had to say, oh my goodness, I didn't pack anything.
[00:14:35]  Can you please bring it with you?
[00:14:37]  And then I open up the bag.
[00:14:39]  And it is atrocious what he has put together.
[00:14:43]  And then I feel so bad because he's taken so much time to try and match the shoes to the outfit.
[00:14:50]  And I just pretend like this is wonderful.
[00:14:53]  And then I feel like a clown when I'm walking in.
[00:14:56]  But I still try because I don't want him to refuse next time.
[00:14:59]  So I'm trying to be, you know, positive reinforcement.
[00:15:02]  Yeah, I'm packing by FaceTime.
[00:15:04]  Yes, right.
[00:15:04]  Tell me what all you can put in there.
[00:15:06]  And I think that's probably one thing that we all share too we wouldn't be in this without it.
[00:15:11]  Been a joint conversation between us and our spouse.
[00:15:14]  I mean, Wesley and I prayed about this and prayed about it and prayed about it some more.
[00:15:17]  And to be truthful with you, the fact that, you know, I knew my children would be home during the week and I would be here a plane flight away and I knew that I would be missing things and moments in their life was a real tug.
[00:15:29]  It was ultimately my kids that talked to me and said, No, mom, you know, you've got to do this.
[00:15:35]  And my daughter even, you know, ended up saying, I said, Baby, it's a really hard thing.
[00:15:39]  And she said, Mom, doesn't God call you to do hard things?
[00:15:43]  And, you know, I certainly want to be that kind of sort of model for my daughter, but I also want to be it for my son too.
[00:15:52]  And I think it's important for them to see women who are working to make it work.
[00:15:57]  And look, if you have or want the opportunity to stay home, I want that for you.
[00:16:01]  But if you.
[00:16:02]  So where do you come down to the trad wife?
[00:16:03]  Put it on that.
[00:16:04]  Well, if you want or need the opportunity to enter the workforce, then let's figure out how to make that work too.
[00:16:10]  And I think it's the lack of judgment that we need here.
[00:16:14]  I want as many women to have as many babies and to bring life into this world.
[00:16:19]  But know that God, as Marcia said, calls each and every one of us to a different plan or purpose.
[00:16:25]  And I think when you're thinking about the mom who is working nights at the hospital all night long, who may be missing moments too, or someone who's a truck driver who's gone for two weeks, or someone who serves our country and leaves for months on end, never knowing if they're going to have an opportunity to return home.
[00:16:41]  I think we've got to move back to a posture of lack of judgment, encouragement of people to figure out how to build their family, but knowing that each and every one of us is called to do something different.
[00:16:52]  So, the two follow ups I have on that is so, what do you think of the trad wife phenomena?
[00:16:55]  I mean, you got to kind of explain it to me.
[00:16:58]  I mean, you're not chronically online to see these videos.
[00:17:02]  Is anyone else that we're talking about?
[00:17:04]  I think it's, you know, I don't know.
[00:17:06]  Seriously?
[00:17:07]  I don't know that it's a phenomenon.
[00:17:08]  I don't think it's a new term.
[00:17:10]  I've seen women have always wanted to see these videos.
[00:17:12]  No, it's just a new term.
[00:17:14]  I don't think you guys actually need to know this, but it's like they make fun of conservative women who, like, they take these videos of them, like, cooking the food, taking care of the kids.
[00:17:21]  It's like these chronically online women, like Nara Smith.
[00:17:24]  No, this doesn't.
[00:17:25]  No.
[00:17:26]  You don't want to talk.
[00:17:27]  Someone?
[00:17:28]  I cook Sunday lunch every Sunday.
[00:17:31]  I'm terrible at cooking.
[00:17:33]  Everyone else over here knows what I'm talking about, correct?
[00:17:35]  My children are kind of like, please don't.
[00:17:37]  But if I don't, can dads do that?
[00:17:39]  I mean, my kids are.
[00:17:41]  Oh, I did cook for one time.
[00:17:43]  Bridgeway had his.
[00:17:44]  But they take videos of them cooking.
[00:17:46]  Of themselves?
[00:17:47]  Yes.
[00:17:48]  And are they bragging?
[00:17:49]  Yeah, they're like bragging that they're like making stuff wholly from scratch.
[00:17:53]  Okay, good for them.
[00:17:54]  I do that all the time.
[00:17:55]  She actually does this.
[00:17:57]  She actually does it.
[00:17:58]  You don't want.
[00:17:59]  Me to do that.
[00:17:59]  I do that.
[00:18:00]  I think it's a good idea.
[00:18:01]  We've done cooking videos.
[00:18:03]  I mean, am I the Tread Grandma or?
[00:18:05]  Tread Grandma.
[00:18:07]  Put that out.
[00:18:08]  Yeah.
[00:18:09]  No, but Katie, I do that.
[00:18:11]  No, I do that.
[00:18:12]  Yesterday.
[00:18:13]  She does.
[00:18:13]  She does.
[00:18:14]  I showed Katie Sunday.
[00:18:16]  I do Sunday lunch every Sunday for our family.
[00:18:20]  And so we're always sending photos back and forth, settings and things.
[00:18:26]  Yesterday.
[00:18:27]  We're Judiciary Committee.
[00:18:29]  And I showed her this photo.
[00:18:30]  I said, Katie, look, here was my salad.
[00:18:33]  platter for Sunday lunch.
[00:18:36]  It was fantastic.
[00:18:37]  And it was so beautiful and colorful.
[00:18:41]  And Eric Schmidt was in between us.
[00:18:43]  I know.
[00:18:43]  Eric was having, he had no clue what was going on.
[00:18:46]  Food, feed.
[00:18:48]  And I had shaved some Brussels sprouts on top of the lettuce.
[00:18:52]  She did.
[00:18:53]  And it looked absolutely beautiful.
[00:18:55]  It was beautiful.
[00:18:56]  And with the table setting that was like 100.
[00:18:58]  It was great.
[00:19:00]  I don't have the patience for that kind of thing.
[00:19:02]  I'd rather just have someone else do it and order it.
[00:19:05]  I can't shave Brussels sprouts.
[00:19:06]  See, I love it.
[00:19:07]  I love it.
[00:19:08]  Okay, so we're going to take a little turn now since I asked about Troutwives.
[00:19:11]  Does anyone else know what the Alex Cooper, Alex Earl feud is about?
[00:19:15]  No, this is totally fine.
[00:19:17]  You know what?
[00:19:17]  Honestly, don't care.
[00:19:20]  I'm like, I don't know.
[00:19:21]  Somebody teach me something.
[00:19:22]  Don't have time.
[00:19:24]  Clearly, our cob shops have some work to do.
[00:19:26]  You know, I do.
[00:19:27]  Yeah, I think we need to.
[00:19:28]  I get like a news of the day.
[00:19:30]  Maybe we need like a, you know, here's what's trending of the day.
[00:19:34]  Yeah, maybe we do.
[00:19:35]  My kids tell me I need to have a pop.
[00:19:39]  Briefing every week because I just.
[00:19:43]  Lingo and issue.
[00:19:44]  I'm so focused on delivering for Tennesseans.
[00:19:49]  I don't look at all of that.
[00:19:50]  I don't look online.
[00:19:52]  So incredible.
[00:19:53]  But I think the key here is that you're not seeing.
[00:19:56]  I'm dying.
[00:19:56]  This is the funniest thing.
[00:19:57]  You're not seeing any of us here choose between.
[00:20:00]  I think we were a bunch of boomers.
[00:20:02]  Is that what you're thinking?
[00:20:03]  Oh, that would never be that mean.
[00:20:05]  I would only do that to Democrats.
[00:20:07]  No, but I think what you're getting is you're isolating the two things as if you have to have one or another.
[00:20:13]  One of the things I see these wonderful, amazing ladies do, and I watch her every day, and it is such a great example of it.
[00:20:20]  You can embrace so much of what makes mothers unique and a lot of the traditional efforts that we bring to a family, and yet add on additional responsibilities to serve in a way that you feel called.
[00:20:32]  I don't believe one necessarily excludes the other.
[00:20:35]  I just think it has to look different than the traditional ways that these roles look.
[00:20:40]  So, on being women, I would say that one of the things that was very big in the Biden years was talking about.
[00:20:46]  Celebrating women and this diversity of women, and all these symposiums that said women only, and we must hire more women and have these diversity quotas, right?
[00:20:53]  That pushed women into these leadership roles.
[00:20:55]  And I think all of you would agree that you're there based on merit, not just because of your gender.
[00:21:02]  I would never want anyone to hire me because I was a woman.
[00:21:05]  I would want to beat out everyone.
[00:21:07]  I am very competitive.
[00:21:09]  I would not want anyone to give me that edge.
[00:21:11]  Let me win fair and square.
[00:21:12]  So, what I would say is, how do you square that when I'm sure you guys are all getting invited to big events that celebrate women as this or women in something?
[00:21:23]  I'm sure you guys all go because it's great exposure.
[00:21:26]  But do you ever think, hmm, like, what are we actually doing here?
[00:21:30]  You know, when I started in sports many, many years ago, I was one of very few women covering sports.
[00:21:35]  And so, very often in the press conferences, I was the only woman.
[00:21:39]  And it was pointed out to me quite a bit, you know, and how is it competing in a man's world?
[00:21:44]  Well, I always looked at it as I'm a journalist competing in a journalist's world.
[00:21:48]  I'm not going to let my gender come in here and define me.
[00:21:52]  Now, there are things that I'm going to, you know, look, I embrace the fact that I'm a woman.
[00:21:57]  I know we're all different.
[00:21:58]  You know, you can't put men and women's Sports, that I know for sure.
[00:22:02]  She had marked 30 years.
[00:22:04]  But what I'm saying is that it doesn't, it doesn't like, I don't want to fall into this neat category.
[00:22:12]  Like, I remember Hillary Clinton saying women have to vote for other women.
[00:22:16]  Hillary, I didn't vote for you.
[00:22:18]  I'm sorry because you're not the kind of woman that I believed made the leader.
[00:22:21]  So I'm reticent to just say that all women need to do things as a monolithic block because I don't think that's true.
[00:22:31]  But if you embrace the role, the unique, necessary, loving, giving, caring role of a mother, you invited us all here today to celebrate Mother's Day and talk about how we are living out that role of being a mom and balancing the calling that we have all had to become public servants.
[00:22:51]  And that's unique.
[00:22:53]  And so we can talk about those things because we may be trying to fulfill these important roles at home while we are serving our fellow American citizen.
[00:23:03]  And that is what makes this unique.
[00:23:04]  Again, I can share with you stories, funny stories about my husband picking out my outfits or trying to come up with a recipe in the middle of a hearing.
[00:23:13]  And that might be unique to us because we're trying, again, and I go back to how I started if my number one role right now is being a great mom, how can I do that and also use that experience to serve?
[00:23:25]  Yeah, and you talk about the platform, right?
[00:23:27]  So if these positions are being elevated or celebrated in many cases, I think we should own that and use that platform.
[00:23:33]  To talk about the issues we want to be here to solve, right?
[00:23:35]  And I think that's our superpower as women in these positions.
[00:23:38]  And I'm so proud to be here with all of these strong women ahead of Mother's Day because I think about using those opportunities not as a prop, but as an opportunity to use our platform and our voice.
[00:23:49]  Before we started rolling, we were talking about everyone's different motherhood journey from when you had babies in the first place.
[00:23:57]  And how you guys never talk about that because you often don't get asked, or because a male probably asks them the question finds it inappropriate to ask the female, like, Tell me about your maternity leave.
[00:24:07]  One, you didn't have a baby yesterday.
[00:24:10]  So, for women out there, I would say just like myself, who are going to make a different choice and not choose to probably take a three month or six month maternity leave because that's not my DNA.
[00:24:21]  What did you guys each do?
[00:24:22]  And how did that work when you guys were having kids?
[00:24:25]  So, I was anchoring morning news at the time, getting out of bed at 2 a.m., which I figure if you can do that, you can do just about anything.
[00:24:31]  Yes.
[00:24:32]  Terrible schedule.
[00:24:33]  But I worked up right until the moment when I literally went into labor.
[00:24:36]  I anchored the morning news.
[00:24:38]  That day, the day I had Max, my water broke while I was emceeing a breakfast.
[00:24:42]  I finished emceeing the breakfast, I went to the hospital, I had my baby.
[00:24:46]  And then I chose to take my maternity leave because I actually got more sleep on maternity leave, which is wild, than I did while I was working.
[00:24:53]  But I think it was really important to spend that time with my baby.
[00:24:57]  And I did that with both my boys.
[00:24:58]  And I thought it was a really good bonding time.
[00:25:01]  And I kind of wish that I had almost had the flexibility to split up because you think about when they're babies and they're really, really little.
[00:25:09]  And, you know, you feed them, they sleep, you go through that process over and over again.
[00:25:14]  At about six months is when they really start to have the personality, right?
[00:25:17]  And so I wish I could have split it up, you know, if I could look back and do it again.
[00:25:20]  Do you think the government and specifically you all should do more to give women that choice?
[00:25:25]  Or do you think that's up to the private sector?
[00:25:28]  Well, I think there should be flexibility in the private sector.
[00:25:30]  I had a great experience in the private sector with what they offered, and I know that a number of companies do.
[00:25:36]  Look, I mentioned earlier we really struggled.
[00:25:39]  When I had my baby finally, I did take some maternity leave, and it was glorious.
[00:25:46]  After that, we adopted our second child, and so we had to spend seven weeks in Bogota, Colombia, going through that process.
[00:25:53]  She had to have surgery.
[00:25:54]  She was a tiny little peanut, three months old, and had to have surgery on her heart while we were there.
[00:26:00]  So it was very, very challenging.
[00:26:03]  We were both fortunate.
[00:26:04]  My husband works for himself, so we were able to take that time to go do that.
[00:26:08]  But again, that was the private sector doing its work, him having his own company and being able to take the time, and me saying, if you want me to continue working, I'm going to take these seven weeks, period, the end, I'm going to get my daughter.
[00:26:21]  And so, you know, that was, I was very fortunate that way.
[00:26:25]  So I don't know that every company is as giving of that.
[00:26:30]  I think it's flexibility.
[00:26:32]  That people want.
[00:26:34]  One size fits all doesn't necessarily work for everyone.
[00:26:39]  And so many times I'll talk with women and they just want that flexibility so that they can handle a newborn or handle maybe it's the second or third baby in their family.
[00:26:55]  So I hope that there are ways that whether it's the private sector or the public sector, that people can have that flexibility to make it work for them.
[00:27:05]  I was in law school.
[00:27:07]  I had a newborn and an 11-month-old, so I tell people on the scale of bad ideas that one might take the pain.
[00:27:14]  And so just kind of sort of processing through that.
[00:27:15]  I remember, too, I was a little bit older when I had gone back to school.
[00:27:19]  I had worked and then gone back and, you know, being pregnant in class and all of the things and just kind of sort of figuring out, particularly as they were little, you know, when they are, you know, babies and get sick and you cannot send them to childcare.
[00:27:37]  I mean, I was taking them to class with me in a number of instances.
[00:27:40]  So I think, you know, I often think if I can get through that, then we can get through just about anything, just like Ashley said.
[00:27:50]  But I think it's such an important time to be able to bond with your child, however your situation allows you to do that.
[00:27:56]  We talked briefly about everyone's clothes and shoes and how we all have to get ready.
[00:28:01]  And it's much harder on a woman than it is a man, especially to be on camera as much as you all are.
[00:28:07]  I take it, how are you guys each shopping for your clothes?
[00:28:11]  And then what's it like to walk?
[00:28:13]  And I don't think people know this, but what's it like to walk the Senate halls where there are marble floors all day long in heels?
[00:28:20]  Chunky heels.
[00:28:21]  It's the only way to go because otherwise your feet will just kill by the time you get to the Senate.
[00:28:25]  Seven miles a day is about what we log coming and going to and from committees.
[00:28:30]  You know, I'm always looking for the great foot cream, right?
[00:28:34]  I think we all are.
[00:28:36]  So, what's the secret?
[00:28:36]  What's the great cream?
[00:28:38]  I don't know.
[00:28:39]  She's still walking.
[00:28:41]  She's still walking.
[00:28:42]  There's no one.
[00:28:44]  That's right.
[00:28:45]  Ashley's right.
[00:28:46]  She's right.
[00:28:47]  I'll put on my heels when I need to, but like the walking back and forth will get to you.
[00:28:51]  So for shopping, because we don't have time.
[00:28:54]  I mean, it's just so busy around here.
[00:28:55]  So I call myself the frugal fashionista.
[00:28:57]  I'm on all the, I buy a lot of my clothes actually used and have them dry cleaned.
[00:29:01]  That's so smart.
[00:29:02]  So where are you buying them used?
[00:29:04]  Mercari, Poshmark, eBay.
[00:29:06]  You know, I shop for them.
[00:29:07]  Have you had that luck where like you're selling fake clothes?
[00:29:10]  No.
[00:29:10]  So I buy brands that I know fit me and are nice brands and then I just have them dry cleaned.
[00:29:14]  And you have to have such a fancy wardrobe around here that I'm from Iowa.
[00:29:19]  I was raised very, very frugally.
[00:29:22]  And I think that that.
[00:29:23]  Has helped me to make sure you can still be styling and professional, but do it on a budget.
[00:29:27]  And so, actually, Virginia Fox in the house, I know her size and I shop for her too sometimes.
[00:29:35]  I think it's great, but we're so busy.
[00:29:38]  And you also have to be, you know, you have to come into it saying, I am not going to be hard on myself because if you're trying to make all of these things work and have all of these balls in the air, there's going to be less time for that kind of thing.
[00:29:52]  And so, when you go back and you look at a A choice photograph that maybe someone's decided to run, and maybe your outfit wasn't perfect that morning because somebody helped you put it together.
[00:30:02]  You have to be okay with that and give yourself a break and just understand this is what it's going to look like.
[00:30:11]  I remember when I first resigned from the bench to run to be the Attorney General in Florida, and I talked to my team about how I am going to make sure I am maintaining all the things I'm doing at home, but yet run a successful statewide campaign with over 20 million people, and you know.
[00:30:27]  Takes a really long time to get from Pensacola to Key West.
[00:30:30]  So, I, you know, they looked back at traditional statewide campaigns and they're like, okay, we've never designed one that fits a mom's schedule.
[00:30:39]  And I was like, well, it's just going to have to look different.

=== Embracing Imperfect Campaign Photos (02:42) ===

[00:30:41]  So, and it did.
[00:30:43]  We were successful both in 18 and in 22.
[00:30:47]  I'm in a campaign again right now.
[00:30:48]  It's going to look different than the traditional campaigns look because I am also a mom.
[00:30:54]  But that's the same for fashion.
[00:30:56]  So, it may look a little different.
[00:30:59]  You may end up with one black heel and one navy heel that day, and it may be caught on a photograph.
[00:31:05]  And that is okay.
[00:31:06]  Or different colored socks.
[00:31:08]  When you get to the airport, you take your boots off, you're going through screening, and you look down, and you've got a purple sock and a black sock.
[00:31:17]  That's great.
[00:31:18]  So, you know, some of those things.
[00:31:21]  I thought I was just going to say.
[00:31:24]  Ashley just laughed.
[00:31:25]  Ashley just touched on something when she talked about scheduling.
[00:31:27]  This is something that Marsha was really good with.
[00:31:29]  Talking to me about how do you make sure that in this experience, you were with me.
[00:31:33]  Thank you, yes.
[00:31:35]  Um, and like how do you make sure that this experience works for you?
[00:31:38]  And I remember my very first ride, like on Air Force One, and Marsha said, Get out that paper right there.
[00:31:44]  And she said, Write your kids a note, write your kids a note from Air Force One on this.
[00:31:49]  And it was something that they will cherish, and now is in there.
[00:31:52]  And I would have never thought to do that, but she's been there and done it.
[00:31:54]  And the same thing, Ashley and I talk about this a lot with regards to you know raising kids that have a schedule.
[00:32:00]  You know, I now have learned I lay my children's schedule on my calendar first.
[00:32:06]  And then that way, if they have a volleyball tournament down on the coast, then I cluster my meetings and the different things I need to do kind of around that.
[00:32:14]  Or I know if they have a home game or here, if we're going to be in Huntsville for this, then take those meetings that I have and put them there.
[00:32:21]  So it's been a work in progress.
[00:32:23]  It always will be no matter what your job is.
[00:32:25]  But I do think we're kind of hitting our stride on trying to figure out how to do it.
[00:32:30]  I've been doing that with our grandkids.
[00:32:33]  Tell them don't move it.
[00:32:34]  Yeah, don't move it.
[00:32:35]  Yeah, we take the soccer and all the different schedules and we put that on the calendar so that I know where those are and I do my best to make things for the grandkids.
[00:32:50]  I think about it, we've got a 17 year old and a 16 year old.
[00:32:55]  And, pardon me, I don't have many years of their schooling left that I can go do these things.
[00:33:02]  And I'm just like, oh no, you know, because it is such a cornerstone.
[00:33:08]  Part of our family life.
[00:33:10]  Now we've got a five year old and a two year old also, and we'll be able to enjoy those.
[00:33:15]  But showing up and being present in their lives makes all the difference in the world.
[00:33:22]  And so we prioritize that.

=== Cherishing Time With Kids (03:12) ===

[00:33:24]  What's the most offensive question you've gotten from a reporter?
[00:33:28]  I was going to say specifically reporter.
[00:33:31]  That specifically relates to motherhood or babies or being a woman.
[00:33:35]  Because everyone's got one, right?
[00:33:39]  You know, I mean, while you'll think about that, I mean, it kind of goes back to the campaign.
[00:33:43]  I mean, people would ask all the time, like, how are you going to do this?
[00:33:46]  And Wesley was the best at this.
[00:33:47]  Wesley was on the trail with me, and he's wonderful and could not do this without him.
[00:33:52]  But people would say, what are you going to do with your kids?
[00:33:55]  And Wesley would look at them and go, I don't know.
[00:33:58]  We're thinking of keeping them.
[00:33:59]  What do you think?
[00:34:02]  Just to kind of sort of put in perspective, you know, Ed, that this is team ball, and we're all going to do our best, and we're going to keep moving forward.
[00:34:09]  So we're going to roll it out in the next couple sections pretty quick.
[00:34:12]  They're rapid fire.
[00:34:13]  Okay.
[00:34:13]  You can only answer with that of another senator.
[00:34:15]  Oh man, we should have prepared, guys.
[00:34:17]  With that, who is your best friend on the left?
[00:34:23]  John Fetterman.
[00:34:25]  Who acts like they're still in high school?
[00:34:28]  Eric Swalwell.
[00:34:30]  Brutal.
[00:34:33]  Who probably claps when the plane lands?
[00:34:37]  Dusty Johnson.
[00:34:39]  Katie Britt.
[00:34:42]  Who has the most contagious laugh?
[00:34:44]  Cynthia Lummis.
[00:34:47]  Yeah.
[00:34:48]  Who would do the best on Jeopardy?
[00:34:52]  Mike Lee.
[00:34:53]  Yeah.
[00:34:54]  Barrasso, maybe.
[00:34:55]  Yeah, those are good ones.
[00:34:56]  Who has the weirdest Chick fil A order?
[00:35:00]  If Mark Wayne was still in the Senate, I would say Mark Wayne because he likes the other chicken place.
[00:35:06]  Yeah.
[00:35:08]  Who throws the best birthday party?
[00:35:11]  Marsha.
[00:35:12]  She just had our lunch the other day.
[00:35:14]  We do a Senate lunch every Thursday and she knocked it out of the park.
[00:35:18]  Okay, would you rather?
[00:35:19]  This is, you have to pick one or the other.
[00:35:21]  Would you rather filibuster on the Senate floor for 12 hours in four inch heels or for six hours with a completely full bladder?
[00:35:29]  Oh, God.
[00:35:29]  The heels.
[00:35:29]  The heels.
[00:35:30]  Hands down.
[00:35:31]  The heels.
[00:35:32]  Would you rather your best speech get zero coverage or your worst moment go completely viral?
[00:35:37]  Best speech, best speech, zero coverage.
[00:35:40]  Would you rather every Capitol Hill hallway be replaced with a treadmill or have to do 10 jumping jacks at the beginning of every TV hit?
[00:35:47]  Jumping jacks.
[00:35:48]  Like on camera?
[00:35:50]  Like you can do it off camera.
[00:35:50]  Oh, yeah.
[00:35:52]  Just to get yourself.
[00:35:53]  Yeah, I don't know.
[00:35:56]  I'd be out of breath on camera, so it wouldn't work for me.
[00:35:58]  I think treadmill.
[00:35:59]  We're going to do it.
[00:36:00]  Would you rather miss every other flight or make every flight, but always sit in the last row, middle seat next to the bat?
[00:36:06]  Make every flight.
[00:36:09]  Yes.
[00:36:11]  Would you rather have to cast every vote in song form or have to whisper every floor speech like it's a bedtime story?
[00:36:18]  I'm a Tennessean.
[00:36:20]  We sing.
[00:36:21]  Yeah.
[00:36:21]  Yeah.
[00:36:22]  What's a conspiracy theory that you believe in?
[00:36:26]  We're going to go rapid fire around.
[00:36:27]  Voter fraud exists.
[00:36:28]  I agree.
[00:36:29]  Definitely with her.
[00:36:31]  I've prosecuted voter fraud, so.
[00:36:34]  Voter fraud, no question, Minnesota.

=== Staying Vigilant Against AI Bias (03:01) ===

[00:36:37]  Yeah, you've got a lot of issues.
[00:36:39]  We've got a lot of fraud.
[00:36:41]  We're the fraud capital.
[00:36:42]  What's your most liberal take?
[00:36:45]  Love liberally.
[00:36:46]  I don't even know.
[00:36:49]  You don't have a liberal position?
[00:36:50]  Not one?
[00:36:51]  Be generous with loving others.
[00:36:56]  That's it.
[00:36:56]  I think that's an across the board take.
[00:36:58]  Mm hmm.
[00:36:58]  Should be.
[00:36:59]  Mm hmm.
[00:37:00]  What keeps you up at night?
[00:37:02]  Threats from our adversaries.
[00:37:05]  Technology, how do we embrace it, remain competitive, and how do we protect our children?
[00:37:11]  Yes.
[00:37:12]  You're doing a lot on AI for kids.
[00:37:14]  Yes, I am.
[00:37:15]  And protecting our children in the virtual space and preserving our freedoms.
[00:37:21]  You know, and I think about that a lot at 250 years and what that means to make certain we're here and functioning as a free nation and a free people for the next 250 years.
[00:37:36]  And you look at the Threats that come to our children and their lives every single day through the virtual space.
[00:37:45]  And it's imperative that we put some regulation in the virtual space.
[00:37:50]  Do any of you use AI?
[00:37:51]  Yes.
[00:37:52]  Which AI do you use?
[00:37:53]  I use ChatGPT.
[00:37:55]  We're on Claude ChatGPT.
[00:37:57]  We monitor Gemini, Gemma, all of it, simply because you need to be aware of what is transpiring in the space that you're trying to regulate.
[00:38:10]  And also with your kids, like your kids, that's an interesting, I mean, you know, we've said it earlier, but like you don't, we don't have to ask people what it's like to be raising kids.
[00:38:19]  We're living it.
[00:38:20]  And this moment in time with social media, with AI, technology, I think you have to be vigilant both in this space and then as a parent.
[00:38:28]  And if you're embracing AI, which I would, there's a lot you can do with that, I would take the same question you're asking and put it into the different ones and see how it responds.
[00:38:37]  That's good.
[00:38:38]  Oh, that's a great point.
[00:38:39]  My boys.
[00:38:41]  Talk about this a lot, and I think Americans should understand that you're putting you're asking it to give you something back, but these are algorithms, and someone programmed this.
[00:38:51]  And if you do that, then you also bring in critical thinking, which is what I worry most about with my boys and the potential of AI.
[00:38:57]  I don't want it to ever replace their ability to look at a situation and analyze it.
[00:39:01]  And actually, by doing that, you can compare and contrast and really see and use your best judgment as a human, right?
[00:39:07]  You still need to have that human on the board.
[00:39:09]  You can also push back on AI and say, You seem to be a little biased on this.
[00:39:12]  Point, could you give me the other side?
[00:39:13]  And they will say, There you go, Michelle.
[00:39:15]  They will say, Well, you got me there.
[00:39:17]  And let me show you the garbage into an LLM, you're going to get garbage out.
[00:39:25]  Woke in, woke out.
[00:39:26]  In a group chat, are you reply immediately or circle back in three to five days?
[00:39:30]  Oh, you had to say circle back, didn't you?
[00:39:32]  I love circling back.
[00:39:33]  Oh my gosh, I'm the immediate.
[00:39:35]  Otherwise, I can't keep up with all my touch chains.

=== The Human Element in Judgment (02:25) ===

[00:39:38]  Normally, we end with if you could host a dinner party with three people, dead or alive, who's at the table and what are you eating?
[00:39:45]  So, what do you guys got?
[00:39:46]  I know Katie's.
[00:39:47]  Yeah, you do.
[00:39:47]  You got mine.
[00:39:50]  I'll go.
[00:39:51]  When I was younger, in my teen years, my grandmother used to write me notes all the time.
[00:39:56]  I mean, advice, do this, don't do that.
[00:39:58]  It was usually don't do this.
[00:40:00]  I find those notes now.
[00:40:02]  So if I could, right now, dead or alive, no laws of nature apply, I would want my 16 year old self, me now, and my grandmother.
[00:40:15]  That'd be a fun party.
[00:40:16]  Because a lot of the things that I would tell my 16 year old self, I would love her input on now.
[00:40:22]  She's not with us anymore, and that breaks my heart, and I think that would just be very meaningful.
[00:40:28]  So, most people don't know I played in a Jimmy Buffett cover band.
[00:40:30]  That is so cool.
[00:40:33]  I'm a fiddle player, violinist, and pianist, and so I would love to.
[00:40:37]  I covered his music.
[00:40:38]  I would love to sit down with Jimmy Buffett and have a cheeseburger and a margarita and just pick his brain because he's somebody who, you know, was a businessman, a musician.
[00:40:49]  I'd love for him to be at the table and maybe, like, since I am a musician, bring in some classical people too.
[00:40:55]  I like to say I can play anything from Mozart's Margaritaville, so maybe Mozart at the table too.
[00:40:59]  Are you saying three people plus us?
[00:41:01]  Yeah.
[00:41:02]  I would go, and I'm, because I'm a history buff and I, Admire people.
[00:41:06]  I would go Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, and Ben Franklin.
[00:41:09]  I think that would be a fascinating conversation of people with very different backgrounds and styles, but you could learn so much at that table.
[00:41:19]  If I had a music round table, and being a pianist like Ashley is and a musician, I would love to have Bach.
[00:41:28]  I think Bach inventions are wonderful pieces for the piano, and I would love that.
[00:41:35]  Politically, Margaret Thatcher.
[00:41:37]  Someone that I was able to meet and to see how she brought England back is fascinating just to have that conversation with what motivated her to do that.
[00:41:51]  And somebody who never gave up the unique things that made her who she was and her family dynamically.
[00:41:55]  She's famous for cooking for her, you know, the leaders in the cabinet.
[00:41:59]  Did you say Margaret Thatcher?
[00:42:02]  Yeah, I said Bach.

=== Live Reading Bloopers (00:59) ===

[00:42:03]  Oh, and.
[00:42:04]  And then, you know, I'm not sure.
[00:42:08]  Who the third one would be?
[00:42:10]  What are you eating?
[00:42:12]  Oh, something that I cook and something delicious.
[00:42:16]  I would be making dinner and it would have a beautifully set table to honor those that are there.
[00:42:23]  I said normally we end on that question, but I wanted to add in this one to close us off on a funny note is what's the most embarrassing moment of your public life?
[00:42:32]  Should we get into the TV bloopers?
[00:42:34]  Yeah, exactly.
[00:42:36]  Those live on an infinite.
[00:42:37]  They live on.
[00:42:38]  I think that's the.
[00:42:39]  I had a TV blooper once where I messed up, I was reading a.
[00:42:43]  A midday newscast, and the control room was laughing so loud I could hear them from the studio.
[00:42:49]  They're going to ask you for that.
[00:42:50]  We're going to put it up.
[00:42:52]  That's great.
[00:42:53]  Thank you all so much for doing this.
[00:42:55]  Yes, thank you.
[00:42:56]  Thank you.
[00:42:56]  Thank you so much for watching this episode of the Katie Miller podcast.
[00:42:59]  Don't forget to join us every week.
[00:43:01]  We're at 6 p.m. Eastern.
[00:43:03]  See you next week.