Can Pete Buttigieg get back on track?: Weeks of bad headlines, including calls for his resignation, seem to have subsided. Can the Transportation Secretary get back to a place where he’s seen as a big part of the future of the Democratic Party?
What We Know
Pete Buttigieg, after a better-than-expected showing in the 2020 Democratic primaries, was confirmed as Secretary of the Transportation at the start of the Biden Administration.
Buttigieg spent the early part of his time in office mostly emphasizing the electric car future, but hit a wave of bad press earlier this year, due to his response to the train derailment in Ohio, as well as questions about this use of private jets.
The GOP’s official Twitter account, as well as multiple individual members of Congress, have called for Buttigieg to resign.
“Pete Buttigieg has shown that he is unfit to lead the Department of Transportation and must resign immediately,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) said in a floor speech in early March.
“From his first day in office, he has been more focused on diversity training and identity politics than on building and maintaining America’s transportation system,” Collins added. “He has abandoned his department’s mission of improving the safety, technology, and efficiency of our infrastructure in favor of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.”
Mayor Pete: Has the Comeback Begun?
While it’s not clear if the Department of Transportation is spending any more time on such initiatives than what is typical of a cabinet department, the calls for Buttigieg’s resignation appear to have passed.
In mid-March, the White House called on former Vice President Mike Pence to apologize for a joke in which he referred to Buttigieg going on “maternity leave.” Buttigieg took paternity leave in 2021 when he and his husband adopted two babies.
Pete Buttigieg is widely expected to eventually run for president again, although with President Biden likely to run for re-election, that will likely have to wait until at least 2028. Buttigieg also recently switched his voter registration from Indiana to Michigan, although he’s been clear he’s not planning to run for any political office in the 2024 cycle.
Of late, Buttigieg has been doing what Transportation Secretaries typically do: Appearing at ceremonies around the country to tout new projects funded by the department.
What Happens Next for Pete Buttigeg?
The media outlet Freight Waves last week looked at the question of what “transportation wonks” think of Buttigieg’s performance as press secretary.
“He’s among President Joe Biden’s most prominent Cabinet members, a past and potential future presidential candidate whose meteoric rise in the Democratic Party saw his career elevated from small-town mayor to the nation’s top transportation official within a few years,” the article said.
Gene Seroka, executive director at the Port of Los Angeles, praised Buttigieg for remaining accessible, especially compared to his counterparts in the previous administration, and that he has met with Buttigieg a half-dozen times since he took office.
“It was like I had cabinet members on speed dial again,” Seroka told Freight Waves. “It was just amazing how folks hit the ground running. They engaged with us, they returned our phone calls when we went to introduce ourselves. It was just amazing.”
“I won’t say he’s the best secretary ever, but he’s definitely doing a better job than many,” Mortimer Downey, who worked in the Department of Transportation in both the Clinton and Bush Administrations, told the outlet.
“He does understand something that some secretaries have not understood, which is when everything is in a disaster mode, you don’t necessarily have to be there,” Downey added. “It’s kind of a distraction to have you there and leaves the impression that you’re somehow in the cause of whatever it is. But a little more early sympathy for the victims probably would have helped.”
Also this week, the Congressional Black Caucus called on Buttigieg to address the issue of racial inequality in traffic enforcement practices.
Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
