Records Show Buttigieg Missed Important Meetings While on Parental Leave
- January 13, 2023
Despite claiming that he continued his work while on parental leave, documents reveal that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took advantage of his time off and skipped several important meetings.
According to the Daily Caller, the watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) managed to acquire the records in question after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. After he and his partner adopted twins in August of 2021, Buttigieg used parental leave as an excuse to miss a planned phone call with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who wanted to discuss a “Buy American” waiver request for the I-74 bridge that connects Iowa and Illinois. Buttigieg also delegated away responsibilities for other meetings, including a speaking engagement with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
“It appears as though, during his paternity leave, he was not always available when called upon and did not have some necessary contingencies in place to ensure the continuity of operations at DOT,” said PPT Director Michael Chamberlain. “Perhaps it is not a coincidence that so many crises involving the Department, from the supply chain breakdown to the FAA system outage that grounded flights all over the country, have occurred on his watch.”