Watchdog: Buttigieg Refused Meetings With Dems and Republicans During Paternity Leave
- January 14, 2023
Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, is being questioned about how he manages crises. The recent crisis, which saw every plane grounded in America, marks the beginning of a new era for Buttigieg’s job.
Let’s be honest. Buttigieg was not able to succeed in his current role. He failed as a mayor in a small Midwest city, and was unable to fill the potholes. From there he ran for president and failed to secure his party’s nomination. As a consolation for supporting Joe Biden in 2020’s presidential election, he was elected Secretary of Transportation. He wasn’t qualified Pete was not qualified for the job, but he had to check an important box that Democrats and Biden owed him.
Pete responds defensively to questions regarding his performance as an office worker. He says that everyone understands that in a job as important as his, he must always be available. You’d think everyone would know that. But does Pete? It turns out, Pete turned down calls and meetings with both Republican and Democrat lawmakers while he was at his home with his little family. He was actually, Not Available 24/7. On Thursday, government watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) released information showing that inconvenient truth.
PPT, for example, has obtained documents through a FOIA suit that show Pete denies a request made by Senator Chuck Grassley of an e-mail during his paternity Leave.
PPT has obtained documents from DOT in a FOIA lawsuit. They tell a very different story. Contrary to the Secretary’s explicit claims about taking phone calls, DOT rebuffed a request by Senator Chuck Grassley for a phone conversation with the Secretary during his paternity leave. The Senator tried to resolve an issue involving a $1.2 million bridge project, which was close to completion, while the supply chain crisis was raging.
Michael Chamberlain, Director of PPT, issued a statement.
“As a father myself, I understand that being a parent is the most important job in the world,” stated Michael Chamberlain, Director of Protect the Public’s Trust. “But the Secretary of Transportation’s obligations to the American public are 24/7, as Secretary Buttigieg has admitted. 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. 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.”