Free Republic

He has a new, carefully groomed beard. He bantered with bros for hours on an irreverent comedy podcast. And on Tuesday, he criticized the Trump administration through an appeal to patriotism in a state early on the presidential nominating calendar. Pete Buttigieg is inching back into the Democrats’ spotlight this spring with a series of appearances that have prompted speculation about how one of the party’s most evidently ambitious politicians might spend the lead-up to 2028. With Democrats still searching for a direction and a standard-bearer after November’s loss to President Trump, supporters of Mr. Buttigieg, a smooth-talking former mayor...

Pete Buttigieg said he’s contemplating a run for the Senate next year in his adopted home state of Michigan. “I’ve been looking at it,” the former Department of Transportation secretary and former presidential candidate acknowledged in his latest interview, as he pointed to the emerging race to succeed Sen. Gary Peters. The two-term Democrat announced in January that he won’t seek re-election in 2026. “I’m going to continue to work on the things that I care about,” Buttigieg elaborated as he appeared Tuesday night on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Buttigieg emphasized, “I have not decided what that...

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Some believe the Democratic Party’s next savior is living here, huddled with family, in the relative obscurity of a small city on the shores of Lake Michigan. Pete Buttigieg has yet to decide if that’s a responsibility he wants. For now, Buttigieg, the 43-year-old former U.S. transportation secretary, is discussing his future with party officials, labor leaders and top strategists. He must decide soon whether he wants to return to the national spotlight as a candidate in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race or step aside to instead seek a much bigger role as his party’s next...

California Democrats have written to outgoing Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to ask for more than half a billion dollars in funding for an ailing high-speed rail project that President-elect Donald Trump defunded in 2019. As Breitbart News reported, Trump withheld $1 billion in funding from the project after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) canceled the original project. Newsom had explained to the state legislature that the original plan for a Los Angeles-to-San Francisco “bullet” train “would cost too much and, respectfully, would take too long.” Trump then demanded the state refund the money federal taxpayers had given it — applying...

The massive flooding across NC and East Tennessee happened on Sept. 27. One of the busiest Interstate highways, I-40 is closed at the border of those two states after the roadway was washed away. Bridges have washed away, trapping people who can't get out. Where is the U.S. Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg? He has not uttered one statement, for the three days after this disaster. He is proof your sexual preferences do not qualify you to manage the infrastructure in this country.

On Tuesday’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who appeared in his personal capacity, responded to 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris abandoning multiple positions from her previous presidential run like her support for Medicare for all and a ban on fracking by saying that “your time in government and just the evolution of the situation around you means it makes sense to continue developing your policies.” And there’s been a lot of “change and dynamism…not just in the administration, but just in the world around us right now.” Co-host Steve Inskeep asked, [relevant exchange...

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg praised abortion for making men “more free” during a virtual campaign event called “White Dudes for Harris” on Monday. “I’m so glad she has made freedom the theme of her campaign because I think in so many ways that’s at stake,” Buttigieg said of Vice President Kamala Harris...“Of course, women’s freedom is Exhibit A after Donald Trump demolished the right to choose. But, of course, men are also more free in a country where we have a president who stands up for things like access to abortion care. ... “Pete Buttigieg is right. Men...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg couldn’t give a time frame Sunday for when debris from the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse will be cleared from the critical mega US shipping channel. “We haven’t received a timeline yet,” the country’s top transportation chief told CBS’ “Face the Nation” of the massive expected clean-up of the wreckage from the destroyed Baltimore span, which runs roughly 1.6 miles over the Patapsco River, a key transportation route that handled a whopping $80 billion in cargo last year. “This is going to be a very complex process, there are even now forces acting on that steel,”...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg vowed the federal government would rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland on Tuesday, calling it a 'cathedral' of American infrastructure. 'This is no ordinary bridge, this is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure,' he said. 'It has been part of the skyline of this region longer than many of us has been alive.' He cautioned that the 'path to normalcy' for the Baltimore community after the tragedy 'will not be easy, will not be quick, and will not be inexpensive Buttigieg spoke at a press conference in Baltimore Tuesday afternoon, several...

On last Monday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that he doubts “that Americans in 2050 are still going to be driving that old technology, that combustion technology that we inherited from the 20th century.” Buttigieg said, “[T]he share of EVs has been dramatically increasing every single year, and that’s continuing. Now, our goal is, by the end of this decade, to be about half-and-half. We think that that can and will happen. But what isn’t guaranteed is, first of all, is that EV revolution going to continue to be made in...

While ignoring a cornucopia of crises in his two-plus years as Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg has found a supposed crisis that he will address, and it sounds a lot like his previously trotted-out theory that bridges are a tool of racism. Speaking with Al Sharpton on MSNBC, Buttigieg declared "we've got a crisis when it comes to roadway fatalities in America" before making his usual pivot to frame the problem as one of race. "We lose about 40,000 people every year," Buttigieg told Sharpton, adding roadway fatalities are "a level that's comparable to gun violence" for emphasis. "And we...

Mayor Pete Buttguy, sometimes Secretary of Transportation, announced the return of Trans World Airlines (TWA). Mayor Pete arranged the public/private partnership between the Transportation Department and Richard Branson (noted for his failed Virgin Orbit and successful Virgin Group). Mayor Pete brought the idea of a separate airlines just for LGBTQP+++ air travel customer segment to Richard. Richard bought into the idea immediately, with special emphasis on the "trans" crowd. Specialization would include: in-flight child grooming, in-flight drag queen shows, in-flight fashion shows, trans flight crews, and trans tailored meals and drinks. The real sales pitch will be that the Trans...

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigeg lashed out at critics on Sunday, calling Fox News’ Tucker Carlson — born and raised in California — a member of the “East Coast elite” who did not understand the working class. Buttigieg has come under fire lately for his mishandling of a toxic trail derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. He has also been slammed for being on unannounced parental leave during the cargo crisis of 2021, and for being on vacation in Portugal last year as a rail strike loomed — while pretending that he was still in the country.

The Washington Post reviewed “every possible regulatory change” that was made under the Trump administration and found that none of them contributed to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.“We decided to examine every possible regulatory change made under Trump that could be related to the accident and assess whether it could have made an impact,” read a review published Monday by Glenn Kessler at the Washington Post.“From our analysis, none of the regulatory changes made during the Trump administration at this point can be cited as contributing to the accident,” Kessler added.The review of “every possible regulatory change” made...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday apologized after losing his “train of thought” while speaking to the press in East Palestine, Ohio. His act of contrition came nearly three weeks after the toxic train derailment devastated the local community there. Speaking of the dangers of what he described as “misinformation injected into this situation, none of which is to the benefit of the community,” Buttigieg appeared to lose his place. “So I think — sorry I lost my train of thought,” Buttigieg said, prompting some to note the irony of his word choice.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged Tuesday that he "could have spoken sooner" about the disastrous Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that has caused serious health and environmental concerns because of the hazardous chemicals it was transporting. The 38 cars that derailed roughly two weeks ago [cut] "I have followed the normal practice of transportation secretaries in the early days after a crash, allowing NTSB to lead the safety work and staying out of their way," he said. "But I am very eager to have conversations with people in East Palestine about how this is impacted them." [cut]...

The Trump administration has finalized a roll back of Obama-era regulations for oil trains. The rules, which date back to 2015, required railroads carrying crude oil or other flammable liquids to outfit their trains with more responsive electronic braking systems. The rules came in response to concerns about explosions and spills from mile-long trains of crude and ethanol. In the Northwest, those trains move along the Columbia River and through cities to coastal refineries. The U.S. Department of Transportation, which has been working on rescinding the rules since last December, said in statement this week that its analysis showed the...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday sidestepped a question on whether he wants President Biden to run for a second White House term in 2024, lauding the president’s accomplishments but saying he “can’t talk campaigns.” “Do you want him to run? Do you want him to run again?” host Jonathan Karl asked Buttigieg on ABC’s “This Week,” highlighting recent polling data that suggests Democrats may not want another four years with Biden.

On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) stated that Secretary of State Pete Buttigieg hasn’t had enough involvement in trying to avert a potential rail strike, which, along with rising diesel costs, “will be a one-two shot to an already struggling economy.” Waltz said that in addition to the cost of gas spiking if there’s a rail strike, “the cost of diesel is through the roof as well. You know, the average trucker used to spend 300, $400 to fill up his rig. Now, he’s spending over $1,000, and this will be...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was pressed on comments from Vice President Kamala Harris that critics said suggested Hurricane Ian relief aid be delegated based on factors other than purely loss claims. Harris had said that "it is our lowest-income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions… We have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity." On "Your World" Tuesday, Buttigieg was asked about those remarks as his own department seeks to help...