The Senate today confirmed Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary, the first openly gay person to be confirmed to a Cabinet post, tasked with advancing President Joe Biden’s ambitious agenda of rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and fighting climate change. Buttigieg, a 39-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Biden’s one-time rival during the Democratic presidential primaries, was approved on a 86-13 vote. This is the most important political representation from the LGBTQ community in American history.
Praised by Biden as bringing a “new voice” to the administration, Buttigieg takes over a Transportation Department with 55,000 employees and a budget of tens of billions dollars. The Afghanistan war veteran burst onto the national scene in 2019 after launching a longshot presidential bid, introducing himself to voters as “Mayor Pete” and drawing initial skepticism due to his youth and limited government experience. He outperformed expectations after zeroing in on a message of generational change, finishing the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses in a virtual tie with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
That moment also made LGBTQ history and was extensively covered here at Queer News Tonight. Buttigieg brings diversity to the Cabinet. There hasn’t been an openly gay Cabinet secretary before. Under President Donald Trump, Richard Grenell served as acting director of national intelligence and is openly gay, but did not have to face Senate confirmation as an acting director. In the late 1990s, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott blocked a confirmation vote on President Bill Clinton’s pick for ambassador to Luxembourg, James Hormel, over his sexual orientation. It is noteworthy that our two senators from Florida, the gayest place on planet earth, both voted no on the confirmation.
Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign said after the vote.
“Congratulations to Secretary Pete Buttigieg on his historic confirmation. This confirmation breaks through a barrier that has existed for too long, where LGBTQ identity served as an impediment to nomination or confirmation at the highest level of government.”
Pete Buttigieg officially makes history as first openly gay Senate Confirmed Cabinet Member.
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