The New York Post alleges that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pursued DEI initiatives over upgrading the American air travel system.
The Post reported Monday that multiple sources and transportation industry officials claim Buttigieg chose not to upgrade air traffic control systems while he was secretary.
Sources allege that Buttigieg awarded grants for diversity, equity and inclusion of more than $80 billion in four years, an amount that is at least half of the department’s budget for a fiscal year, according to records.
Buttigieg‘s brief run for U.S. president in 2020 may have been a practice run for a presidential bid in 2028.
In early 2025, Buttigieg announced he will not seek an open Michigan seat in the U.S. Senate, and he posted on social media that he would not run for any political office in 2026, also turning down a bid for governor of Michigan.
While Buttigieg, 43, outperformed more experienced Democrats in the Iowa presidential caucuses in 2020, as reported by The Associated Press, he dropped out and then-former Vice President Joe Biden chose him for secretary of the U.D. Department of Transportation.
Based in Traverse City, Mich., since Biden left office in late January, Buttigieg continues to gain a social media following begun while he was Transportation Secretary. Now he posts on X about what congressional Republicans are up to instead of sharing with Americans the latest transportation news.
“You’ll be seeing me on familiar platforms and newer ones, developing this vision and discussing with fellow Americans what they most need from their government and their country at a time like this,” Buttigieg shared on social media in early 2025.
The Post reporting came up with the $80 billion figure by claiming that the Biden Administration committed to awarding contracts for “55 percent of around $150 billion in infrastructure investments to ‘disadvantaged communities,’ pursuant to an executive order Biden signed to ‘advance equitable outcomes.'”
This a lot of mental gymnastics to get to Buttigieg spending $80 billion on DEI.
“Suggesting that Secretary Buttigieg chose not to pursue air traffic control modernization is absurd,” Buttigieg spokesman Chris Meagher said when rejecting both claims.
Meagher pointed to an increase in air traffic controller hiring while Buttigieg was secretary, communications technology that decreased flight delays and software changes that made America‘s airport runways more efficient. New flight routes were projected to cut 100 hours off of travel time each year.
“Secretary Buttigieg’s focus was always on safety — not just in aviation, but also on roads and bridges, where 40,000 Americans die on our country’s roads each year. Fixing issues with air traffic control was a priority,” Meagher said.
On June 12, Buttigieg shared on X that the most inspiring chapters in American history have came when Americans faced down the country’s darkest demons. Those moments were difficult to live through but brought the chance to bring out the best in us.
“I think we’re facing down some pretty dark demons right now,” Buttigieg wrote.
Buttigieg was the first openly gay man in the United States to launch a Democratic presidential campaign and to win a presidential primary or caucus.
A graduate of Harvard and Oxford, he served as an intelligence officer for the U.S. Navy Reserve from 2009 to 2017. In 2014, he was deployed for seven months to Afghanistan.
In 2011, he became mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and came out as gay in 2015. He married schoolteacher Chasten Glezman in 2018 and the couple have two children.
As a high school senior in South Bend, Buttigieg’s class voted him Most Likely to Be U.S. President.
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Rebecca Barnabi
