Meghan Markle Personally Called Republican Senators to Promote Paid Leave Programme, Report Says

Last month, the Duchess of Sussex, who is American, sent a letter to Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi calling on them to enhance the national family paid leave programme, which was previously cut by US President Joe Biden.

Meghan Markle personally called two female GOP senators to push through the paid leave programme included in the Biden administration's proposed "Build Back Better" bill, Politico has reported, citing the lawmakers in question. Recalling her conversation with the royal, Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia said the following:

"I'm in my car. I'm driving. It says 'caller ID blocked'. Honestly … I thought it was [Senator Joe] Manchin. His calls come in blocked. And she goes 'Sen. Capito?' I said, 'Yes'. She said, 'This is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex'", Capito said as per Politico.

Senator Susan Collins from Maine said Meghan Markle called her on a private line and said the 39-year-old introduced herself as the Duchess of Sussex "which is kind of ironic", the senator said.

"I was happy to talk with her. But I'm more interested in what the people of Maine are telling me about it", Collins told Politico Senate reporter Marianne LeVine.

It appears Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand gave Meghan Markle the phone numbers of the said senators as she told Politico that she informed both female lawmakers about the royal's desire to speak with them. Ms Gillibrand stressed that Markle plans to call other senators and said she wants to take a more active role in US politics.

"[Meghan] wants to be part of a working group to work on paid leave long term and she's going to be. Whether this comes to fruition now or later, she'll be part of a group of women that hopefully will work on paid leave together", Gillibrand said.

Build Back Better Bill

The development comes almost three weeks after Meghan Markle wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi calling on the two to enhance the national family paid leave programme. The project is part of the "Build Back Better" bill proposed by the Biden administration. The United States is among the few countries that does not provide paid time off for new parents and the bill is aimed at correcting that.

However, due to the massive spending package, President Joe Biden whittled down the project to providing just four weeks of paid leave instead of twelve as was originally planned.

In a letter to Democrats, Meghan Markle wrote about the importance of the programme, calling on lawmakers to enhance it.

"I'm writing to you on behalf of millions of American families who are using their voices to say that comprehensive paid leave should not be a place to compromise or negotiate. In fact, most nations already have paid leave policies in place. No family should have to choose between earning a living and having the freedom to take care of their child (or a loved one, or themselves, as we would see with a comprehensive paid leave plan)", read Markle's letter.

Markle's message caused anger among Republicans. Members of the UK Royal Family are expected to main political neutrality in public. However, in 2020 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from senior roles in the Royal Family because of their desire to "work to become financially independent".

Since the couple moved to the United States, the media has been speculating that Meghan Markle wants to start a political career, with some reports suggesting that she may even join the 2024 presidential race.