Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is taking aim at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for taking paternity leave amid supply-chain issues last year.
âThe secretary of Transportation in the greatest supply-chain crisis of our lives went on paternity leave and was nowhere to be found,â Cruz said on Wednesday.
He added, âTwo years ago, most people didnât know much about our supply-chain, didnât ever really focus on the fact that we had a supply-chain until Biden and the socialists came in and screwed it up. And the people who are hurting working men and women.â
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Buttigieg faced criticism last year after he took paternity leave as supply-chain issues hit the country leading to shortages of products.
Fox Newsâ Tucker Carlson poked fun at the Transportation secretary during a segment on his show.
âPete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child. Paternity leave, they call it,â Carlson said.
He added, âTrying to figure out how to breastfeed, no word on how that went.â
In case you missed it:
https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1448803712344985600
Buttigieg defended the decision to go on paternity leave, telling CNNâs Jake Tapper in October, âAs you might imagine, weâre bottle-feeding, and doing it at all hours of the day and night.â
âAnd Iâm not going to apologize to Tucker Carlson or anyone else for taking care of my premature newborn infant twins,â he continued.
Buttigieg added, âThe work that we are doing is joyful, fulfilling, wonderful work. Itâs important work. And itâs work that every American ought to be able to do when they welcome a new child into their family.â
He also said that his colleagues at the department were doing âphenomenal work.â
âEven though I have been on maternity leave, and Iâm proud of it, obviously, given the nature of my job, when you take a job like mine, you understand and accept that youâre going to have to be available 24/7, depending on whatâs going on, and youâre going to have to engage,â he said.
Buttigieg added, âAnd I did, even if that meant taking a phone call or making a decision from a hospital room. But I am so thankful for the phenomenal work that my colleagues at the Department of Transportation have done and are doing.
