Pete Buttigieg Is Joe Biden's Pick for Transportation Secretary
President-Elect Joe Biden is set to nominate Pete Buttigieg as his transportation secretary. If confirmed through the Senate, Buttigieg would make history as the country's first openly LGTBQ cabinet secretary.
Buttigieg already made history as Americaâs first openly gay Democratic presidential candidate. He suspended his campaign on March 1, but he officially announced his run for president almost a year earlier in April 2019. As NewNowNext previously reported, at the top of his announcement speech, he thanked his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, for "giving me the strength to do this and the grounding to be myself as we go.â
Although he suspended his own campaign, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, became a vocal surrogate for Biden's campaign, repeatedly going viral for roasting Fox News on air.
According to CNN, Biden's transportation secretary will play a big role in the president-elect's "push for a bipartisan infrastructure package."
In a statement, Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, called Pete's anticipated nomination "a new milestone in a decades-long effort to ensure LGBTQ people are represented throughout our government."
"Its impact will reverberate well-beyond the department he will lead," Parker continued. "It distances our nation from a troubled legacy of barring out LGBTQ people from government positions and moves us closer to the President-electâs vision of a government that reflects America. As an out LGBTQ person, Pete will bring a unique perspective that will inform and influence policy throughout the federal government. Most important, however, is that Pete will bring his intellect and energy to the Department of Transportation and our nation will be better off because of it."
GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis also celebrated the historic news:
Mayor Pete Buttigieg would be the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary should his nomination make it through the chamber. This will be a historic milestone for LGBTQ visibility. Pete's experience and skills as a leader, manager and brilliant communicator, combined with his heartland roots and his unqualified commitment to diversity and equality, will improve the lives of all Americans as Transportation Secretary. Congratulations to Pete and his husband Chasten on their groundbreaking new roles.
Pete and Chasten were two of the honorees for this year's Logo30. While he was out campaigning, Pete noticed how many people took pride in what he and Chasten were doing. "It wasnât about me; it was about the community and the progress we got to make," he told Logo. "It meant so much to stand with our community. I never thought 'husband' and 'running for president' would both be things in my life at the same time, but we did it together."