Biden to tap Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to be his secretary of transportation, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.

According to The Washington Post, the 38-year-old former South Bend, Indiana, mayor is expected to play a pivotal role in the Biden administration’s “push to rebuild American infrastructure and the economy.”

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Buttigieg, the first openly gay major party candidate to win delegates in a bid for the White House, could also be the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary. He would also be the first former Biden rival for the presidency to join the Cabinet, CNN reported.

According to the network, the transportation chief is expected to play a “central role in Biden’s push for a bipartisan infrastructure package.”

As a presidential candidate, Buttigieg unveiled a $1 trillion plan, prioritizing upgrades to the country’s crumbling infrastructure and expanding broadband internet access via payments to state and local governments, CNN reported.

He bowed out of the presidential race, providing a powerful endorsement for Biden just ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries in March and earning the “highest compliment” the now president-elect said he could bestow by comparing the former intelligence officer for the Navy Reserve to his late son, Beau, the Post reported.

“I promise you, you’re going to end up, over your lifetime, seeing a hell of a lot more of Pete than you are of me,” Biden said following Buttigieg’s endorsement, citing his “moral courage.”

Cox Media Group