Buttigieg looks to build bridges
Cabinet member pushing his image as “regular guy”
Pete Buttigieg was a few weeks into his job as transportation secretary, buried in meetings and preparing for the launch of President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion public works plan, when evening arrived along with a time to try something new in Washington.
Instead of climbing into the back seat of a black SUV, he headed to a bikeshare rack. Helmet on, and with Secret Service agents flanking him, he pedaled the mile-long trip to his home in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
It wasn’t a one-time stunt. On Thursday, Buttigieg arrived at the White House for a Cabinet meeting on his two-wheeler. And that wasn’t his only “regular guy” moment. Dog park devotees in the District of Columbia have also seen him there, chatting up anyone from children to members of Congress.
Buttigieg first had his eye on the job of the man who is now his boss, Biden. Buttigieg’s presidential campaign was surprisingly successful and he made a strong impression as someone who represented the future of the Democratic Party.
Now the man known during his campaign as “Mayor Pete” — he was the mayor of South Bend, Indiana — faces the first test of that potential in his first job in Washington: leading a Cabinet department with a $75 billion annual budget and a mandate to help spur an infrastructure program that Biden has likened to the the building of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.
He will have to navigate the complicated politics of an entrenched bureaucracy at the Transportation Department and the politics of a bitterly divided Washington.
He may have found a way by just riding a bike, which has gained fans from even skeptics in Congress.
Biden Thursday tasked Buttigieg and four other Cabinet members with selling the administration’s infrastructure and climate plan. But the plan has already hit a wall with Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., who objects to the corporate tax increases Biden says will pay for the plan and pledges to oppose it “every step of the way.”
In an interview, Buttigieg said he believes that bipartisan consensus is attainable.
“I’ve had enough conversations, especially the one-on-one conversations away from the cameras with members from both sides of the aisle, to know there really is a sincere interest in getting this done,” Buttigieg told the AP. “Now politics can get in the way of that of course. But I think unlike a lot of other issues where there is just deep passionately felt profound disagreement about what to do, here there’s a really healthy overlap in terms of our ideas about what has to happen, even if there is a lot of difference on how to get there.”
The proposal offers big stakes for Buttigieg at the department, where he pledges to promote public transit and other green alternatives to gas-guzzling cars and apply an “equity lens” to infrastructure projects.
Just two months into the job, Buttigieg has met with two dozen House members and 13 senators and in recent days has upped that pace, talking to lawmakers both parties every day.
Republicans describe the former Mckinsey consultant as likable and open-minded, even if they wonder at times about his actual level of sway on legislation.
Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, the top Republican on a key panel overseeing highways, said he’s talked with Buttigieg twice. He called the conversations “really good.”
“I’m very excited to be able to work with him,” said Davis, a cyclist back home, who thinks the former mayor can bring a valuable street-level perspective to filling potholes and easing congested streets. “If he wants to go for a ride to discuss bike lanes and public transit, I’d welcome that.”
Though the youngest Cabinet member at age 39, Buttigieg possesses a star power matched by few others in the group. He’s displayed an ability to command media attention and use those moments to sway the public.
Buttigieg has impressed West Wing aides with his work ethic and willingness to learn, and he was quickly granted approval to pursue a robust engagement with the media.
The president’s advisers also hold warm feelings toward the former mayor for his decision last spring to quickly endorse Biden after abandoning his own campaign, helping accelerate the end of the Democratic primary contest. Now bound to Biden’s agenda and performance, Buttigieg begins a phase likely to enhance his public service portfolio — and life experience.