President-elect Joe Biden introduced Pete Buttigieg, his pick for transportation secretary, touting him as a fresh face and a future leader in remarks likely to fuel 2024 speculation about the failed 2020 Democratic primary candidate.
Buttigieg, 38, the two-term mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and once a Democratic White House hopeful, was one of Biden’s fiercest opponents during the primary. If confirmed, Buttigieg would be the first openly gay secretary approved by the Senate.
During an unveiling event on Wednesday, Biden described his team as “a Cabinet of barrier breakers, a Cabinet of firsts,” referring to its gender and racial diversity. Biden specifically mentioned the vice president-elect, Kamala Harris.
“The Biden-Harris Cabinet will be a historic Cabinet, a Cabinet that looks like America, a Cabinet that taps into the best of America, a Cabinet that is opening doors and breaking down barriers and accessing the full range of talent we have in this nation,” Biden said in Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden added that the Department of Transportation would be crucial for his agenda, saying it was “at the intersection of some of our most ambitious plans to build back better.”
“Pete’s got a great perspective: of a mayor that solves problems and brings people together. He’s got a vision of a next-generation leader with the experience and the temperament to lead change today,” he said.
Biden also name-checked Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten, and the couple’s close relationship with himself and wife Jill Biden but mispronounced Chasten’s name as “Kristen” before correcting himself.
Biden rolled out Buttigieg’s nomination in a standalone event despite leaks he’s settled on former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as his energy secretary nominee-designate and Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Harris didn’t attend in person, her virtual participation attributed to inclement weather.
Biden selecting Harris as his vice president was widely seen as him choosing her as his heir apparent, as he publicly gives mixed messages regarding whether he’ll seek a second term. But his tapping of Buttigieg muddles that message, if it was ever intended.
Buttigieg would be the country’s second gay Cabinet member. President Trump’s acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell, didn’t need to be confirmed by the Senate. At 38, Buttigieg is Biden’s youngest pick for his Cabinet, as well, after Biden has been criticized for not recruiting people who could be future stalwarts of the party.
