Biden Taps Ex-Rival Buttigieg to Be Transportation Secretary
- Buttigieg would become first openly gay cabinet secretary
- Position will inherit an industry reeling from virus pandemic
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President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, to be his transportation secretary, assigning a one-time rival an important role in fulfilling a campaign pledge to “build back better.”
In a statement announcing the pick, Biden described Buttigieg as “a patriot and a problem-solver who speaks to the best of who we are as a nation,” and that he wants him to lead the Transportation Department “because this position stands at the nexus of so many of the interlocking challenges and opportunities ahead of us.