WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate is about to approve Pete Buttigieg as secretary of transport, the first openly gay person confirmed for a Cabinet post, charged with promoting President Joe Biden’s broad agenda of rebuilding the country’s infrastructure and fighting change climate change.
Buttigieg’s nomination was scheduled for a final vote on Tuesday in the Senate after the 39-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Biden’s former rival in the Democratic presidential primaries, received bipartisan praise at his hearing. confirmation Last week.
“Sir. Buttigieg is an impressive public servant who has already earned the respect and trust of both sides,” said Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., in a speech on Monday. “I look forward to confirm your appointment. ”
Praised by Biden for bringing a “new voice” to the government, Buttigieg would assume a Department of Transportation with 55,000 employees and a budget of tens of billions of dollars. He pledged to start working quickly to promote safety and restore consumer confidence in the United States’ transportation networks, as airlines, buses, city metro systems and Amtrak recover from falling passenger numbers in the US pandemic. coronavirus.
It should also play an important role in promoting Biden’s climate initiatives, helping to oversee stricter automotive fuel economy standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the president’s push later this year on an infrastructure plan and $ 2 trillion climate. This plan will focus in part on rebuilding roads and bridges and expanding mass transit with zero emissions, while boosting electric vehicle infrastructure., including the construction of 500,000 charging stations in the next decade.
During his hearing, some Republican senators signaled fights over the cost and scope of upgrading the country’s roads and bridges, rails and airports, a goal long promised by Donald Trump but never fulfilled in his four years as president. Senators particularly questioned the Biden government’s effort to redirect money to green initiatives, but said they expected more discussions with Buttigieg. He easily passed the Senate Commerce Committee by 21 votes to 3.
“I’m looking forward to seeing Pete Buttigieg confirmed across the Senate,” said Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the panel’s top Republican. “Transport issues have historically been dealt with in a bipartisan manner and I hope to continue this practice with Mr. Buttigieg.”
Biden has not indicated how he intends to pay for a comprehensive infrastructure plan, in addition to a proposed $ 1.9 trillion virus relief plan who encountered some obstacles in Congress. Buttigieg’s suggestion during his hearing that a gas tax hike might be necessary was immediately passed on by his spokesman.
“We need to rebuild our economy, better than ever, and the Department of Transportation can play a central role in that,” said Buttigieg. He noted that the transportation sector, especially car emissions, is the largest single contributor in the United States to global warming.
The Afghan war veteran burst onto the national scene in 2019 after launching a long-running presidential candidacy, generating initial skepticism due to his youth and limited government experience. He exceeded expectations after focusing on a message of generational change, concluding the nation’s first convention in Iowa in a virtual tie with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. But Buttigieg struggled to attract black voters and dropped out of the race after a crushing defeat for Biden in the South Carolina primaries. Buttigieg chose to support Biden quickly, helping him to solidify centrist support against Sanders’ strong liberal challenge.
Buttigieg now points out his experience as mayor and in the election campaign as valuable for his “bottom-up” approach to improving transportation. He described the beginning of a “smart streets” program to make downtown South Bend more friendly for pedestrians and cyclists, while driving hundreds of millions of dollars in economic investments.
It will also bring diversity to the Cabinet. There has never been an openly gay cabinet secretary before. Under President Donald Trump, Richard Grenell served as acting director of national intelligence and is admittedly gay, but did not have to face Senate confirmation as acting director. In the late 1990s, Senate majority leader Trent Lott blocked a vote on the choice of President Bill Clinton to be ambassador to Luxembourg, James Hormel, because of his sexual orientation; Clinton ended up installing Hormel with a recess commitment.
Buttigieg says he remembers seeing the treatment given to Hormel’s indication at age 17 and seeing the limits. Buttigieg says it proved to be an important crack in the glass ceiling for the LGBTQ community.
“While I was in that audience, answering the senators’ questions, you could see my husband, Chasten, over my shoulder, and this is something that has never happened before for a Cabinet nominee,” Buttigieg, reflecting on the moment, said to ABC “The view.” “My hope is that, in turn, it will make it easier for the next person to appear, so that it will never be seen as a barrier for a future generation.”