Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reportedly spent $80 billion on a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) agenda while in office.
During this time, he failed to replace outdated air traffic control systems, the New York Post reported.
A source told the Post that Buttigieg told industry executives that air traffic control upgrades would just allow them to fly more planes, adding “so why would that be in his interest?”
Records reviewed by the Post show that the DOT was more focused on DEI grants totaling more than $80 billion over four years, at least half of the entire budget for a typical fiscal year (via NYP):
“He was definitely pushing an agenda,” an air industry official said, noting the transportation secretary had “little to no interest” and took “definitely zero action” toward air traffic control modernization.
Buttigieg spent his time in President Joe Biden’s cabinet blaming the airlines for their delays and “vilifying” the industry as a whole while denying his department’s DEI agenda led to any air traffic control staffing shortages or was maintaining an ailing safety system that hasn’t been updated since the Carter administration, sources told The Post.
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Despite the requested changes to the air traffic control systems early in his term, Buttigieg seemed more interested in being “good on TV” than fixing the archaic systems that were flying up to 182 million passengers per year, officials said.
Chris Meagher, a spokesman for Buttigieg, responded to the claims.
“Suggesting that Secretary Buttigieg chose not to pursue air traffic control modernization is absurd,” Meagher told the Post, adding that Biden’s budget request for fiscal year 2025 included another $8 billion in funding that congressional Republicans blocked.
“Secretary Buttigieg’s focus was always on safety — not just in aviation, but also on roads and bridges, where 40,000 Americans die on our country’s roads each year. Fixing issues with air traffic control was a priority,” Meagher added.
That’s not all. Meagher claimed that the DEI grants didn’t delay “the work of the FAA.”
“You can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he responded. “FAA operates completely separately than other modal administrations.”
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