Meghan Markle phones US senators, urges them to take action for paid family leave

Meghan Markle personally dialed up US senators and urged them to take action for paid family leave. 

As reported by Politico, the Duchess of Sussex reached out to members of Congress as an engaged citizen, calling both Democratic and Republican senators.

The outlet reported senator Shelley Moore Capito as saying that she was driving her car when she received a phone call with the number blocked.

"Honestly … I thought it was Sen. [Joe] Manchin. His calls come in blocked," said the Republican senator from West Virginia (Manchin, a Democrat, is her fellow senator from the state). "And she goes 'Sen. Capito?' I said, 'Yes.' She said, 'This is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.'"

"I couldn't figure out how she got my number," added Capito. 

Meanwhile, Republican senator Maine Susan Collins had a similar story to tell.

"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. "Much to my surprise, she called me on my private line and she introduced herself as the Duchess of Sussex, which is kind of ironic."

A spokesperson for senator Kirsten Gillibrand confirmed to PEOPLE about the Duchess calling the politicians personally, revealing she was the one who gave the senators' numbers to Meghan.

"I talked to each of the women senators and let them know that she's going to reach out, because she only completed two of the calls," Gillibrand said, according to Politico. "She's going to call some others, so I let them know in advance."

Gillibrand continued, "She 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."