His reception at Thursday’s hearing suggests an easy route to confirmation, with the committee’s top Republican, Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, saying he is “quite certain it will be confirmed”. Other applause from the Republican Party followed, including Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who said he had “a lot of respect” for his home state nominee.
“You set up a clinic to define how a nominee should … act,” said Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.). “You didn’t avoid the questions. You went straight. And you know what the hell you’re talking about. “
“This is very refreshing,” added Tester.
Buttigieg’s inaugural presentation in the Senate can be seen as the starting point for a possible presidential candidacy, which will have as a backdrop virtually everything he does as a member of President Joe Biden’s cabinet. And while most Americans consider DOT to be a sleepy agency, it will have a higher profile under Biden, who has promised to raise climate concerns among all arms of the government.
Despite his warm welcome, Buttigieg ended up stumbling over the perpetual political landmine of the federal gas tax. Congress has not raised the tax since 1993, leading to an increasing shortage in the Highway Trust Fund that lawmakers had to fill with deficit spending.
During the hearing, asking how to finance America’s infrastructure, Buttigieg said that “all options need to be on the table” – although he added that with the spread of electric cars and low fuel consumption, “sooner or later, there will be doubts about whether the gas tax can be effective. “
Subsequently, a Buttigieg spokesman told reporters that while “a variety of options must be on the table … raising the gas tax is not among them”.
Speaking about climate change, Buttigieg said that DOT has “a big role” to play in Biden’s “government-wide approach” to slow his progress, adding: “this is our chance” to avoid a climate crisis ” Before it’s too late”. He easily discussed the need for strong fuel economy standards and expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which Biden wants to boost with the construction of 500,000 charging stations.
Even his former rival in the Democratic primaries, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Had a warm welcome by Buttigieg, including the hint that they and their husbands were going to have dinner together soon.
“John and I are looking forward to seeing you and Chasten in a less formal setting outside this courtroom,” she said.
Buttigieg spoke without any obvious confidence in notes on obscure DOT grant programs, security statistics and ongoing trends and transport-related legislation, showing the study that marked his candidacy for president and attracting praise from senators.
Wicker insisted on his education at Harvard and Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar and praised his “impressive credentials” and “intellect”.
The hearing brought some bitter notes mainly on climate issues, in particular related to Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, which Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said “put thousands of union workers out of work on the first day. “
Without litigating the details of the Keystone pipeline itself, Buttigieg insisted that he is “a big fan of the construction business” and that Biden’s climate plan will create “more well-paying union jobs”.
When Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) questioned him about Keystone, Buttigieg’s response was based on the notion of political legacies, to say that history books will judge lawmakers on “whether we have done enough to prevent the destruction of lives and property due to climate change”.
Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) also questioned Buttigieg about the Green New Deal, which Buttigieg supported during the Democratic presidential primaries. Buttigieg noted that Biden, and not him, won the election and that it would be Biden’s climate vision that would advance.
He arrives at the job with a much higher profile than any other nominee in the Department of Transportation, complete with a devoted fan base of Twitter followers who hear every word of him and have studied transportation policy. After their hearing, #TeamPete members tweeted: “we love our nerd policy expert“AND”the world is tilted [sic] because we love Pete so much. “
It is a dynamic that did not escape the senators in charge of vetoing his nomination on Thursday. Wicker teased Buttigieg about his recent wave of TV appearances, saying, “You were on The Tonight Show last night with Jimmy Fallon, and you were on Morning Joe this morning. In terms of exciting experiences, how does being on this committee compare to these? “
“I would characterize this as a unique experience,” replied Buttigieg.