Biden To Introduce Buttigieg as Latest Nominee To Diverse US Cabinet

President-elect 👤Joe Biden on Wednesday plans to formally introduce former rival 👤Pete Buttigieg as his pick for U.S. secretary of transportation, adding to what is shaping up to be the most diverse Cabinet in U.S. history.

If confirmed by the Senate, the 38-year-old former South Bend, Indiana, mayor would be the first openly gay Cabinet secretary.

The nomination caps the political rise of Buttigieg, who emerged from obscurity to mount a surprisingly robust campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. A military veteran who served in Afghanistan, Buttigieg is in the vanguard of the next generation of Democratic politicians and is widely seen as a future White House contender.

When Buttigieg ended his campaign and endorsed Biden in March, Biden offered him high praise, saying the Indiana native reminded him of his late son, Beau.

As transportation secretary, Buttigieg would oversee a sprawling federal agency that regulates the nation’s airlines, transit systems and interstate highways. He would also play a central role in Biden’s proposed infrastructure and environmental initiatives, including plans to add 500,000 charging stations nationwide for electric vehicles.

The outline of Biden’s climate change team is growing clearer; sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Biden intends to make Gina McCarthy, the former Environmental Protection Agency head, his domestic climate “czar” and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm his energy secretary.

Biden has methodically assembled his administration despite President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the election. Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly alleged, contrary to evidence, that the Nov. 3 results were tainted by widespread fraud.