‘Damn Refreshing’: Mayor Pete Gets Friendly Reception At Senate Hearing

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22 Янв 2021, 02:54

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Pete Buttigieg speaks after he was nominated to be Transportation Secretary by then-President-elect Joe Biden during a news conference on Dec. 16, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. Buttigieg faced a largely friendly reception at his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday.

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As transportation secretary, Buttigieg would bring some star power to a post that can be low-profile. «Mayor Pete» shot to national attention as one of Biden’s many rivals for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential race. The Norwegian-speaking Rhodes scholar and Harvard graduate served as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve and was deployed to Afghanistan.

He didn’t clinch a spot on the presidential ticket, but he did earn name recognition — and now, a cabinet nomination. If confirmed, as Wicker anticipates, Buttigieg will be the first openly gay member of the cabinet.

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In his confirmation hearing, Buttigieg vowed to enforce safety standards, push for major infrastructure investments and take action on climate change.

Climate would have to be a «central feature» of any infrastructure package under the Biden administration, the former mayor said, arguing that there’s a «unique window of opportunity» for investing in infrastructure while also combatting global warming.

Buttigieg also said that U.S. transportation policy has been too «auto-centric,» and that policy needs to ensure that cars, bicyclists and pedestrians can co-exist on roads.

In South Bend, Buttigieg supported a «Smart Streets» program that addressed the needs of bikers and pedestrians instead of solely centering cars.

On the pandemic, Buttigieg embraced Biden’s executive order calling for mandatory masks on interstate transportation, including airlines, describing it as an important tool for protecting the safety of transportation workers as well as passengers.

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Despite Tester’s praise, the hearing was not just a parade of positivity.

Global warming was at the heart of the most hostile exchange of the hearing, when Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, challenged Buttigieg over Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline permit. Cruz highlighted the union jobs lost as a result.

Buttigieg argued the administration’s climate actions would, taken as a whole, create more union jobs than they eliminated, while also tackling an urgent crisis.

«When the books are written about our careers, one of the main things we’ll be judged on is whether we did enough to stop the destruction of life and property due to climate change,» he told Cruz.

Other Republican senators pressed Buttigieg on permitting requirements, describing them as too onerous.

Buttigieg said his experience as a mayor made him sympathize with the challenges caused by «regulatory complexity,» and that «any time there is an opportunity to be streamlined without compromising on the safety, environmental or other goals that are at stake, I would welcome ways to do that.»