Tag: Buttigieg

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Pete and Chasten Buttigieg Welcome 2 Kids to Their Household

Pete and Chasten Buttigieg Welcome 2 Children to Their Family

Pete Buttigieg, the Secretary of Transportation, said Saturday that he and his husband Chasten are now the parents of two children, making him the first openly gay cabinet secretary to become a parent during his tenure.

“We are delighted to have Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg in our family,” said Mr Buttigieg, 39, in a statement on social media, sharing a photo of his daughter and son for the first time since the announcement last month become parents.

In the picture, the couple, sitting on a hospital bed, are smiling while each cradles a newborn baby. The Buttigieges did not respond to a call asking for comment.

Mr Buttigieg surfaced in national politics when he ran the 2019 presidential election as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. That year, Mr. Buttigieg and Chasten, 32, moved to Washington after Mr. Buttigieg became Secretary of Transportation, making him the first openly gay cabinet member to be ratified by the Senate. He is also the youngest member of President Biden’s cabinet.

Mr. Buttigieg and Chasten, a former middle school teacher, married in 2018. Since Mr. Buttigieg stepped into the national spotlight, they have tried many times to turn the perception of gay relationships upside down.

“People are used to politics being different, and you’re here to make sure it can be different,” Chasten said in an interview with the New York Times earlier this year.

The couple had been considering adopting in the past few months. Chasten, who penned a memoir about growing up gay in the Midwest in June, recently told USA Today that the couple were in the process of raising a family.

“We have quite a few friends in our circle who have done this, so we’ve just had a lot of conversations with friends trying to figure out what works for us,” he said.

After the couple stated last month they were completing the parenting process, activists said the Buttigieges’ announcement could change assumptions about gay fatherhood.

“As parents, you will now put a national spotlight on LGBTQ families who are often faced with daunting challenges due to outdated guidelines that define families,” said Annise Parker, president of the Victory Institute, an organization that prepares LGBTQ people Run for political office, it said in a statement.

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Car mileage tax might be on the desk in infrastructure talks, Buttigieg says

Vehicle mileage tax could be on the table in infrastructure talks, Buttigieg says

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said a vehicle mileage tax could be on the table in talks to fund the White House’s expected multi-trillion dollar infrastructure proposal.

Buttigieg, who spoke to CNBC’s Kayla Tausche on Friday, also claimed that President Joe Biden’s upcoming plans to rebuild the country’s roads, bridges and waterways would result in a net gain for the U.S. taxpayer, not a net expense .

“When you think of infrastructure, this is a classic example of the type of investment that comes out of that investment,” he said. “That is one of many reasons why we think this is so important. This is a job vision as well as an infrastructure vision, a climate vision and much more.”

He also discussed various potential revenue generating options to fund the project. He spoke fondly of a mileage levy that travelers would tax based on the distance of the trip rather than the consumption of gasoline.

“What is known as a vehicle mileage tax, or whatever you want to call it, could be one way of doing this,” he said.

Democrats have slowly moved away from a gasoline tax in favor of a mileage tax, while at the same time climate-friendly efforts have been made to encourage consumers to drive electric cars.

Pete Buttigieg speaks at the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation nomination hearings to review his awaited nomination for Secretary of Transportation in Washington.

Ken Cedeno | Reuters

“I hear a lot of appetite that there are sustainable flows of funding,” said the transport minister. A mileage tax “is promising if we believe in what is known as the user pays principle: the idea that you pay part of our road costs depends on how much you drive.”

He added, “You hear a lot of ‘maybe’ here because all of these things need to be balanced and could be part of the mix.”

The Secretary of Transportation’s comments came as President Joe Biden prepares for detailed infrastructure proposals that could cost $ 3-4 trillion while on a trip to Pittsburgh next week.

In his presidency’s first press conference Thursday, Biden said rebuilding the U.S.’s physical and technological infrastructure was his next priority, which is vital not only to restore the economy but also to stay competitive with competitors like China.

Buttigieg added Friday that the White House is considering reviving Build America Bonds, a special class of municipal bonds first introduced in the Obama administration whose interest bills are funded by the US Treasury Department.

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BABs show “great promise in terms of the way we use this type of funding. There have also been ideas about things like a national infrastructure bank.”

His remarks on Friday came a day after he asked Congress on Thursday to make a “generational investment” to improve the country’s roads, bridges and waterways and to tackle climate change and racial inequality.

“It is almost universally accepted that a larger recovery requires a national commitment to repair and remodel American infrastructure,” Buttigieg told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Clarification: The heading of this story has been updated to take into account that these guidelines might be on the table in infrastructure talks.

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Senate confirms Pete Buttigieg as Transportation secretary

Senate confirms Pete Buttigieg as Transportation secretary

Pete Buttigieg speaks at the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation nomination hearings to review his awaited nomination for Secretary of Transportation in Washington.

Ken Cedeno | Reuters

The U.S. Senate confirmed Pete Buttigieg as Secretary of Transportation on Tuesday, presenting the former presidential candidate with a myriad of challenges – from President Joe Biden’s environmental priorities to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, easily received approval from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation last week after a largely amicable hearing. He was asked about issues related to Covid-19, the much-needed improvement in infrastructure, and strengthening the powers of the Federal Aviation Administration if he were to lead the DOT, which has 55,000 employees.

The Senate approved Buttigieg’s 86-13 nomination with an overwhelming majority.

In the first two weeks, Biden’s government has already taken strict measures regarding transportation measures to contain the spread of Covid-19. Biden extended an entry ban for most non-US citizens who have recently been to Brazil, the UK and much of Europe. On Tuesday, the US government asked passengers to wear masks on planes, trains, buses, ferries and other means of transport.

Buttigieg’s DOT could become a driving or limiting force in the adoption of new technologies, especially autonomous and electric vehicles.

Biden has already directed federal agencies to consider revising the Trump administration’s lowered fuel emission standards for vehicles. He also said he plans to replace the government’s fleet of cars and trucks with U.S.-assembled electric vehicles

The 39-year-old will be the first openly gay person to hold a cabinet position and one of the youngest ever.

– CNBC’s Michael Wayland contributed to this article.

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Pete Buttigieg donors scored contracts from South Bend when he was mayor

Pete Buttigieg donors scored contracts from South Bend when he was mayor

Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s candidate for Secretary of Transportation, reacts to his nomination as Biden looks on during a press conference on December 16, 2020 at Biden’s interim headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, USA .

Kevin Lemarque | Reuters

Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden’s election as Secretary of Transportation and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, received presidential campaign donations from executives of companies that had public works contracts with the city while he was running it.

A CNBC review of dozens of the city’s infrastructure contracts during his second term as mayor from 2016-2020 shows that under Buttigieg, some of the city’s spending went to contractors who would later become donors to his presidential campaign, which he launched in 2019.

If approved by the US Senate, Buttigieg, as head of the Department of Transportation, would be responsible for driving the incoming administration’s infrastructure proposals forward.

Buttigieg is 38 years old and is considered a rising star in the National Democratic Party. His role as transport secretary could strengthen him if he aspires to a higher office again.

Several of the contractors produced new roads, bridges and buildings for the city. South Bend’s latest budget is over $ 350 million. The Department of Transportation will start the new year with a budget of over $ 80 billion. Buttigieg proposed a $ 1 trillion infrastructure plan when he ran for president.

Data from the bipartisan Center for Responsive Politics shows Buttigieg raised nearly $ 100 million during his presidential campaign. About $ 2 million came from real estate donors.

A report from the Center for Public Integrity and progressive media company The Young Turks shows that Buttigieg received similar contributions from city entrepreneurs when he first ran for mayor in 2011. In this case, potential contractors gave something to his political organization, and they then received funding agreements from the city after submitting competitive bids. These offers were then approved by the Public Works Authority.

The Buttigieg team answers

After CNBC finalized most of the contracts and resulting contributions to the Biden transition team, a Buttigieg spokesperson sent CNBC a detailed response. The representative declined to be included in this story.

The spokesman said Buttigieg was not involved in the projects while noting that the companies did business with the city before Buttigieg became mayor. The spokesman also said leaders have run other Democratic presidential campaigns in the past, including Bidens, Hillary Clintons and Barack Obamas. Some also gave up to Republicans.

“Pete avoided delving into who got those contracts for that very reason. And I’d also like to point out that on Pete’s first day as mayor, he put in place a code of ethics and signed a responsible bidder regulation in 2018 to ensure that taxpayers’ dollars are preserved efficiently spent by responsible contractors, “said the Buttigieg spokesman.

The spokesman noted that Buttigieg signed an executive order in 2012 that stipulated that any government employee, including himself, would not knowingly solicit or receive gifts or favors from any person who has a business relationship or seeks business from a city authority.

“You link to contracts that have been approved by the Board of Public Works, which meets in public, does its business in public and approves those contracts through an open and transparent procurement process that goes through a bidding process, and as I said earlier – has little involvement from the mayor, “said the representative.

CNBC provided the City of South Bend with details of most of the contracts approved by the Board of Public Works and the executives who later contributed to Buttigieg’s presidential campaign. A spokesman defended the company.

“Each of these firms is highly regarded and has a local reputation for providing quality services to the city and residents of South Bend,” Mayor’s press secretary Caleb Bauer told CNBC. “Each of these contracts also went through a professional procurement process, which is public and transparent, before being approved by the public works agency, which is governed by state law.”

Still, some Democrats expect Republicans to make a big deal out of the contributions Buttigieg has received from contractors.

“He’s been charged with conflicts of interest, and if the Republicans hold the Senate, he’s going to go through a very, very tough ratification process,” said veteran Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf.

Companies and contracts

In 2017, construction company Walsh & Kelly signed a $ 600,000 contract with South Bend for a future Courtyard Marriott hotel. Two years later, the company received contracts valued at just over $ 2.4 million from South Bend. The hotel opened in 2018.

Walsh & Kelly President Kevin Kelly contributed $ 2,700 to Buttigieg’s presidential campaign, according to CRP data. This is almost the maximum contribution a person can legally make to a campaign.

Walsh & Kelly did not return comments-seeking calls.

Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott, gave Buttigieg’s campaign the maximum amount of $ 2,800, records show.

A Marriott spokeswoman defended Sorenson’s donation to Buttigieg’s political organization.

“Arne Sorenson personally supported Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign because his wife and children were inspired by his campaign,” Elynsey Price, a spokesman for the hotel chain, told CNBC. “Whatever was going on near or in relation to the South Bend hotels would have been the responsibility of our franchisees or owners, not Marriott.”

South Bend real estate development firm JSK Hospitality closed one of its largest deals in 2018 when a subsidiary of the company bought the former College Football Hall of Fame building in town for over $ 525,000, according to the South Bend Tribune. The CEO, AJ Patel, gave $ 1,000 to the Buttigieg campaign. The Courtyard Marriott is part of the company’s hotel portfolio.

CNBC was unable to leave a message on JSK Hospitality’s general voicemail box on Tuesday because the voicemail was full. The same was true of Patel’s line. Instead, CNBC left a message for the company’s CFO, who didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In 2017, the city reached an agreement with Epoch Architecture to build a new fire station in South Bend. The company agreed to make payments from the city of over $ 280,000 for the project. The director of the engineering and architecture firm, Kyle Copelin, later gave $ 500 to the Buttigieg campaign, records show.

Copelin did not respond to a request for comment.

In 2017, the city signed at least three contracts with Jones Petrie Rafinski, an architecture and engineering firm with offices in South Bend. The company had over $ 200,000 worth of business with the city that year. Two years later, the company’s vice president David Rafinski donated $ 500 to Buttigieg’s presidential campaign. His company also had other contracts with South Bend in 2019.

Rafinski told CNBC that he has no interaction with Buttigieg’s executive team while his company works for South Bend.

“We have been a customer of South Bend since Pete was in high school,” said Rafinski. “The work we do is done through the Board of Public Works. We had no interaction with Pete at all with our work. It was all through the Board of Public Works.” Rafinski said he supported Buttigieg’s presidential campaign because he believed the former mayor’s “compassion” was needed in national politics.

South Bend also signed a consultancy agreement with the Canadian company Stantec in 2017. The order was valued at over $ 105,000. The agreement with the design and engineering firm appeared to go through the nearby Chicago offices. Later, Michael Toolis, who is a Stantec vice president according to LinkedIn, gave $ 2,000 to Buttigieg’s presidential campaign. Toolis was once employed by VOA Associates, a Midwestern design firm that previously worked at the University of Notre Dame. VOA was taken over by Stantec in 2016.

“The company does not allow political contributions to candidates on its behalf,” Stantec spokeswoman Laura Leopold replied in a one-line email to questions from CNBC.

American Structurepoint, an engineering firm headquartered in Indianapolis, won at least seven $ 300,000 contracts in 2018 for consulting and other services for South Bend. Greg Henneke, the senior executive vice president, gave Buttigieg’s presidential campaign $ 2,700 a year later.

Both Stantec and American Structurepoint had contracts with the city in 2019.

An American Structurepoint spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

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Joe Biden selects Pete Buttigieg as Transportation secretary

Joe Biden selects Pete Buttigieg as Transportation secretary

U.S. 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Former Vice President Joe Biden, pose on the second night of the first Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate in Miami, Florida on June 27, 2019.

Carlo Allegri | Reuters

President-elect Joe Biden has elected former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary, three people familiar with the discussions told NBC News.

Buttigieg, who opposed Biden in the 2020 primary, is expected to play a central role in the future president’s plans to restore and repair roads and bridges in the United States

The president-elect has said for months that smart, climate-friendly infrastructure projects can help the US emerge stronger from the coronavirus recession and support thousands of jobs.

A spokesman for the Biden transition team did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The 38-year-old Buttigieg quickly became a household name in the 2020 elections as the younger but still moderate option for Democrats hoping to prevent a second term for President Donald Trump.

Although Buttigieg was eliminated from the race in March 2020 despite winning in Iowa, the openly gay politician soon approved of Biden as president.

The president-elect has often lauded Buttigieg as a symbol of the next generation of Democrats and was widely expected to be appointed to a senior administrative post.

A Biden business ally told CNBC that Buttigieg could have a huge impact on the government’s infrastructure proposal as it is not tied to stagnant talks in Congress about paying for such a plan.

“He’s not inhibited by the restrictions on Capitol Hill,” the person said. I “haven’t spoken to him yet, but I’ll be sure when it happens.”

This person declined to be named in order to speak freely.

Among the many proposals made by the Biden campaign was a $ 2 trillion plan that, coupled with its climate goals, would “build new American infrastructure and a clean energy economy.”

The expansive plan includes more general investments in roads and bridges, as well as more specific proposals like providing high-quality, zero-emission public transportation to any American city of 100,000 or more residents.

Buttigieg, a military veteran, is perhaps best known in politics for his two terms as Mayor of South Bend from 2012 to 2020.

During his tenure, the city embarked on extensive urban development and revitalization projects similar to those that Biden campaigned for to revitalize American infrastructure.

Critics of his time as mayor said his revitalization plans for South Bend did not necessarily have helped racist minorities as much as hoped.

For example, many were optimistic about his plans to demolish or repair almost all of the city’s vacant houses, a demanding initiative that experts believed was impossible. The program focused on the city’s low-income black and Hispanic neighborhoods, where homes were in disrepair.

And while many said they were glad that derelict structures were removed, they complained about the lack of planning of what would fill the space.

– CNBC’s Brian Schwartz contributed to the coverage.