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The Transportation secretary’s job will be to revitalize the nation’s infrastructure with an eye toward also addressing the effects of climate change, Biden said.
Biden said Buttigieg would join “a Cabinet of barrier breakers, a Cabinet of firsts,” by becoming the first LGBTQ person to be confirmed by the Senate to a Cabinet position. The president-elect has vowed to have an administration that “looks like America,” a commitment that at times has had various identity groups jockeying against one another to land prized Cabinet seats.
“Our Cabinet doesn’t just have one first or just two of these firsts, but eight precedent-busting appointments — and today, a ninth,” Biden said.
Wednesday’s announcement came just a day after news outlets reported that Biden had picked Buttigieg, as well as former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm for Energy secretary, to join his incoming administration.
However Buttigieg’s youth also comes with inexperience — particularly in the field of transportation policy — and leading the Department of Transportation is something of a consolation prize after he was passed over for a gig he coveted: ambassador to the United Nations, which went to Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
The DOT also presents a considerable organizational challenge for the former mayor of Indiana’s fourth-largest city, as the agency has nearly 55,000 employees, an $87 billion annual budget and a wide-ranging portfolio.
“At its best, transportation makes the American dream possible,” Buttigieg said. “At its worst, misguided policies and missed opportunities can reinforce racial, economic, and environmental injustice, dividing or isolating neighborhoods, undermining government’s basic role to empower everyone to thrive.”
Buttigieg also peppered his remarks with personal details, including his youthful dream to become an airline pilot and proposing to his now-husband at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, and a barb at the Trump administration’s off-and-on attention to infrastructure issues throughout their four years in office.
“Americans expect us to see to it that the idea of an infrastructure week is associated with results and never again a media punch line,” he said.
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