On Friday, director Monica Barnabae sent an e-mail to parents passing along a request from the Speaker’s office. Child care workers were told that staffers were looking for at least five kids to participate in a Green the Capitol press conference on June 21. “The Speaker’s staff would like if each child painted pictures of Green ideas that the Speaker could look at,” the e-mail continued, and parents interested in allowing their child to participate were to contact her.

That plea didn’t sit too well with some parents, particularly the GOP ones, who balked at using the day care to troll for adorable children to adorn what they thought sounded like a Democratic photo-op.