Notre Dame faculty fellow and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was confirmed Tuesday by the Senate as the U.S. transportation secretary. By a vote of 86 to 13, Buttigieg is the first openly gay person to be approved by the Senate for a Cabinet position.
The Transportation Department employs over 58,000 people, oversees all federal transportation programs and has a multi-billion dollar budget. As transportation secretary, Buttigieg is expected to play a significant role in President Joe Biden’s green initiatives, including the $2 trillion climate change plan Biden announced last year.
“I’m honored and humbled by today’s vote in the Senate — and ready to get to work,“ Buttigieg said in a tweet.
He served as mayor of South Bend from 2012 to 2020 and ran for president starting in 2019 before dropping out and endorsing Biden.
Buttigieg became a faculty fellow at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) in the fall 2020 semester, teaching an undergraduate course and working on two research projects.
Pete Buttigieg confirmed as transportation secretary
Tom Naatz
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg delivers a speech in 2017 addressing his experiences with innovation and advancement within the city.
