Biden Reportedly Selecting Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Despite the obscene level of confusion surrounding the U.S. election that’s been left unresolved, the media has reported that Joe Biden is supposed to become the next president (Ed. note — not only that, but the Electoral College has certified Biden’s win). While we cannot speak to continued legal challenges being presented or the now-reported FBI corruption probe looking into international money-laundering allegations against the Biden family, we do know that Joe is supposedly tapping Pete Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary.

The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has never held federal office before, is being reported by Reuters as the former VPs pick for the cabinet role. While that should just about wrap up this story, the outlet wanted to make sure you were aware of the importance of this somewhat speculative news.

Assuming Buttigieg is offered the role, he would be the “first LGBTQ person nominated to Biden’s administration and, if confirmed, the first LGBTQ Cabinet secretary to be approved by the U.S. Senate.” Despite this having literally nothing to do with how qualified he would be for the job, Reuters clarified that Buttigieg’s nomination was “also in line with Biden’s stated commitment to diversity in the cabinet.”

It then went on to call him a former rival who later became a “valued Biden supporter on television,” inexplicably noting how formidable his fundraising was. Considering Kamala Harris accused Biden of supporting inexcusably racist policies during the Democratic debates, only to become his running mate later on, Buttigieg’s support seems downright tepid.

From Reuters:

Despite being viewed as a rising star within the party, Buttigieg’s potential nomination to a Cabinet post has been opposed by a number of progressive groups and Black leaders who have criticized his record on civil rights.

During the Democratic primary, Buttigieg faced fierce criticism from African American activists, who argued he did not do enough as mayor to battle systemic racism in South Bend and help Black residents share in the city’s economic revitalization. Buttigieg has long disputed that critique.

On a call with reporters on Tuesday, Jordan Giger, a Black Lives Matter leader in South Bend, called Buttigieg “completely unqualified” for a cabinet-level position.

That might be true. Though we think it has more to do with his general inexperience within the transpiration sector than his sexual identity or inability to address racism and/or income inequality in Indiana — though we doubt that’s making him look better as a potential candidate. Frankly, we’re not certain how valuable any of this information is at assessing his future competency as Transportation Secretary. But Buttigieg did serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve and went to both Oxford University and Harvard College — the latter of which seems to be the only prerequisite one needs to be given a cushy government job.

[Update: 12/06/2020: It was brought to my attention today that Richard Grenell (R) actually became the first openly gay cabinet member when he was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on May 3, 2018. Sorry, Pete.]

[Image: WinTheEra.com]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Jeff S Jeff S on Dec 19, 2020

    Do you really believe a military coup by Trump supporters is the answer? I am not really crazy about Biden but at least he was elected by the majority and received 309 electoral votes. EVs will probably happen despite any Government interference. Over a century ago people were afraid of the horseless carriage and before that people read by candlelight and used whale oil to light lanterns. Computers and smart phones were not part of our lives until recent times. If you really are that concerned about Government and Government's influence on your life then you need to become like the Amish and give up your cars, trucks, suvs, computers, smart phones, tvs, and all smart appliances and devices. Much harder for the Government to control you if you live off the grid. I remember as a kid getting a polio vaccine and numerous other vaccines. I also remember growing up with those who had polio. I had the Chicken Pox and the German Measles and losing my 20/20 vision after going to school sick and not realizing I had the measles for several days until I was so sick I had to go home. There are those antivacciners who believe that vaccines are a Government conspiracy. Most of those antivacciners did not experience the devastating effects of polio, measles, chicken pox, and some of the other diseases that killed, maimed, and made many sick. I get my flu shots yearly and I have gotten my shingles shots along with other shots and yes I will get the Covid-19 vaccine when it is available. There are many who believe that the Covid-19 is a hoax that is a global conspiracy and that the news media is part of it. There are people who still believe that Moon landing was staged and that the Earth is flat. As for Mayor Pete he is no worse than some of the Government cabinet members of the past. The President Elect won the election and has a right to choose who are his cabinet members pending the approval of Congress. In another 4 years there will be another Presidential election and we as citizens can exercise our right to vote. I myself would rather have the right to vote than have a military coup to force a leader into power against the votes of the majority. If you really don't like our leaders then exercise your right to vote. If it becomes too intolerable for you then move to another country. The USA is far from perfect but it is much much better than a lot of other countries.

    • Old_WRX Old_WRX on Dec 19, 2020

      Jeff S, "your right to vote." Aah, the great democracy thing. Each person gets one vote to try to vote against 349,999,999 people who read and swallow the BS on the MSM. Somehow I don't think that is much of a solution.

  • Jeff S Jeff S on Dec 20, 2020

    @Old_WRX--I don't believe talk of a military coup is an answer. True it didn't happen but talk of one is completely against everything that the USA stands for. As imperfect as things are I would rather have our system of government than a dictatorship. BS is not just limited to MSM it is also part of Fox.

    • Old_WRX Old_WRX on Dec 20, 2020

      Jeff S, No, I don't think a military coup is the answer nor election manipulation. At this point I see no answer. With so many people viciously trying to grab power I don't see how there could be anything other than stupid destruction and tedious bullying. A real solution would have to involve real progress away from the dog-eat-dog mentality that seems to motivate so much of human behavior. All media publishes BS. Some more than others. CNN, NYT, and, yes, Fox have alll been caught out in distortions/lies. This is why I prefer sites that publish articles from multiple authors/sources even if those articles blatantly contradict each other. Such sites put the burden of interpretation on the reader; they don't try to spoon feed prefab "truth" to their readers. In a real world (not the MSM world) reporting frequently contains contradiction and other confusion. If the news you are getting is too neat and consistent, then it's not real.

  • Redapple2 Love the wheels
  • Redapple2 Good luck to them. They used to make great cars. 510. 240Z, Sentra SE-R. Maxima. Frontier.
  • Joe65688619 Under Ghosn they went through the same short-term bottom-line thinking that GM did in the 80s/90s, and they have not recovered say, to their heyday in the 50s and 60s in terms of market share and innovation. Poor design decisions (a CVT in their front-wheel drive "4-Door Sports Car", model overlap in a poorly performing segment (they never needed the Altima AND the Maxima...what they needed was one vehicle with different drivetrain, including hybrid, to compete with the Accord/Camry, and decontenting their vehicles: My 2012 QX56 (I know, not a Nissan, but the same holds for the Armada) had power rear windows in the cargo area that could vent, a glass hatch on the back door that could be opened separate from the whole liftgate (in such a tall vehicle, kinda essential if you have it in a garage and want to load the trunk without having to open the garage door to make room for the lift gate), a nice driver's side folding armrest, and a few other quality-of-life details absent from my 2018 QX80. In a competitive market this attention to detai is can be the differentiator that sell cars. Now they are caught in the middle of the market, competing more with Hyundai and Kia and selling discounted vehicles near the same price points, but losing money on them. They invested also invested a lot in niche platforms. The Leaf was one of the first full EVs, but never really evolved. They misjudged the market - luxury EVs are selling, small budget models not so much. Variable compression engines offering little in terms of real-world power or tech, let a lot of complexity that is leading to higher failure rates. Aside from the Z and GT-R (low volume models), not much forced induction (whether your a fan or not, look at what Honda did with the CR-V and Acura RDX - same chassis, slap a turbo on it, make it nicer inside, and now you can sell it as a semi-premium brand with higher markup). That said, I do believe they retain the technical and engineering capability to do far better. About time management realized they need to make smarter investments and understand their markets better.
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Off-road fluff on vehicles that should not be off road needs to die.
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Saw this posted on social media; “Just bought a 2023 Tundra with the 14" screen. Let my son borrow it for the afternoon, he connected his phone to listen to his iTunes.The next day my insurance company raised my rates and added my son to my policy. The email said that a private company showed that my son drove the vehicle. He already had his own vehicle that he was insuring.My insurance company demanded he give all his insurance info and some private info for proof. He declined for privacy reasons and my insurance cancelled my policy.These new vehicles with their tech are on condition that we give up our privacy to enter their world. It's not worth it people.”
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