Mannequin with breast pumps placed outside office of Nebraska lawmaker who reassigned nursing room

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - After Wednesday’s conversation in the Legislature about the relocation of a male staffer into a private room previously designated as a space for new mothers, the situation has remained mostly unchanged.

The room for pregnant and nursing mothers at the state Capitol is still someone’s private office, even after a number of state senators demanded its return.

On the legislative floor Wednesday, State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha wanted answers as to why the furniture in the mothers’ nursing was moved into the hall so that a male staff member could have an office. State Sen. Dan Hughes, who leads the Executive Committee in charge of rearranging office space, said the space was needed during renovations and was only temporary.

A nursing pod was also placed in the copy room on the first floor of the Nebraska State Capitol, but it doesn’t have a sink to clean pumping equipment nor a refrigerator to store milk.

But Cavanaugh moved out of her office so the new staffer could occupy that space, allowing the mothers’ room to return.

She told 6 News that still hasn’t happened.

Thursday morning, in protest, someone placed a mannequin — complete with breast pumps — outside Hughes’ office at the Capitol.

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Digital Director Gina Dvorak contributed to this report.

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