That didnt hold true for much longer.
The following year, Buttigiegs DOT went into overdrive.
Buttigieg is slated to leave office in 2025.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024.Credit:Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
He will be replaced by President-elect Donald Trumps appointee, former Fox News host Sean Duffy.
Travel + Leisurespoke with Sec.
First of all, some of what we have done is now encoded in law.
Transport Sec. Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference with Michael Whitaker, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), right, at Ronald Reagan National Airport in December of 2023.Getty Images
Here’s a chance to make good on that.
And I would add that there is a lot of bipartisan support for this work.
Certainly in the FAA bill, there was bipartisan support for the passenger protections we got in there.
Pete Buttigieg visits with Department of Transportation Investigators at the site of Feb. 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.Getty Images
But I’m not so sure.
Is any of that likely to change under the next administration?
Then there’s a process that historically has taken a year or two to confirm the grant agreement.
U.S. President Joe Biden sits with Pete Buttigieg and others during an interagency briefing on Hurricane Helene response efforts in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Oct. 1, 2024.Yuri Gripas/Getty Images
That means the money is locked down, and then you go into actually spending it.
So that’s one way that we can create some certainty.
Yuri Gripas/Getty Images
Looking back, can you talk a bit about your reflections on the DOTs accomplishments?
Sec. Pete Buttigieg at a new rail facility in Long Beach, California in July 2024.
We really believe in this work.
Can you share what it was like to see so much of the U.S.?
And, you know, one thing you see is just how big this country is.
What are some of the most interesting places youve done one of your press briefings?
And it’s just the most incredible movie style.
I think over there, they’re just used to it.
But I had a very hard time concentrating on my remarks, because it was so beautiful.
So again, you get a real appreciation for the bigness of this country and this world.
That’s, you know, a literal stone throw away from DOT headquarters.
So from here to Mongolia, we’re, we’re doing good work.
Do you have any advice for your successor?
