SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The former mayor of South Bend is already getting a plan together for his likely new job as transportation secretary on President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet.
If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the first openly gay person to serve in a cabinet position that was confirmed by Congress. Buttigieg told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that he is confident that will happen.
“I’m thankful for the president-elect’s confidence,” he said. “Look, this is a different job. It also brings different resources and opportunity.”
While the COVID relief bill has been at the forefront of the minds of lawmakers in Congress, Buttigieg is calling on them to also starting thinking about passing a bill that would overhaul the nation’s transportation infrastructure.
“The American people are ready for us to finally, actually do something with infrastructure,” Buttigieg said. “We can’t keep letting infrastructure week be a Washington punch line.”
Some of the things Buttigieg has talked about are rebuilding roads that need attention, investing in more charging stations for electric vehicles, and reducing the nation’s transportation footprint on the climate.
