Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana who ran for president in the Democratic primary last year, has been confirmed as President Biden's new Transportation Secretary. The vote was 86-13.
President Biden has already eliminated thousands of jobs with his executive order to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Buttigieg didn't instill much confidence in lawmakers when he essentially dismissed those workers and said he hoped they could get "different" jobs.
Transportation Secretary nominee Pete Buttigieg defends the elimination of Keystone pipeline jobs: those workers need to get “different ones”https://t.co/S5unR18myh pic.twitter.com/vwhFTGNaGm
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 21, 2021
In addition to his "oh well" attitude toward American workers there's the little issue of him not having the proper experience. In 2019, South Bend was voted as the city that had the ”worst pothole situation in the state." And of all things it was Domino's Pizza that had to step in with a solution.
The grant, created in 2018, asks customers to nominate their hometown to repair potholes so carryout pizza can have a smooth delivery ride home. Domino's consumer public relations specialist Danielle Bulger said only one grant is given per state. South Bend was named Indiana’s recipient.
“We understand that people are passionate about potholes,” South Bend city engineer Kara Boyles said Monday. “We are always trying to be proactive and trying to fill potholes even on days like today (rainy), but we understand people care a lot about potholes.”
With his confirmation, progressive groups note that he is the first openly gay individual to be confirmed for a cabinet position. A few months ago, when Biden first nominated Buttigieg, outlets made it sound as though he was the first openly gay individual to ever serve in a presidential cabinet. Former U.S. ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell had something to say about that.