Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and husband Chasten announce they have become parents

• Pete Buttigieg announced on Tuesday that he and his husband Chasten have become parents.
• "We're thankful for the love, support, and respect for our privacy that has been offered to us," Buttigieg tweeted.
• The couple had been trying to have a child for a year, Chasten told The Washington Post last month.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that he and his husband Chasten have become parents.

"For some time, Chasten and I have wanted to grow our family. We're overjoyed to share that we've become parents!" Buttigieg tweeted.

He added that the "process isn't done yet" but the couple "can't wait to share more soon."

"We're thankful for the love, support, and respect for our privacy that has been offered to us," Buttigieg wrote.

The Buttigiegs had been trying to adopt a child for a year, Chasten revealed in a Washington Post profile published last month. The couple placed their name on adoption lists, attended parenting workshops, and had "gotten close" to discussing baby names, The Post reported.

The adoption process is a "really weird cycle of anger and frustration and hope," Chasten told The Post at the time. "You think it's finally happening and you get so excited, and then it's gone."

He told the outlet that he hopes to one day tell his future children: "We tried so hard for you. We waited so long for you."

Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was virtually unknown before his trailblazing 2020 presidential run as an LGBTQ candidate. He and Chasten rose to prominence while traveling together on the campaign trail, where Buttigieg highlighted his sexual identity and his marriage, and also defended himself against homophobic attacks.

President Joe Biden picked Buttigieg to lead the US Department of Transportation. He was sworn in as secretary in February, becoming the US's first openly gay Cabinet secretary.