Buttigieg wants ‘bold’ changes in transportation
Pete Buttigieg, sworn in Wednesday as transportation secretary, urged his 55,000 employees to embrace “imaginative, bold, forward thinking” as the Transportation Department embarks on a mission to rebuild America’s infrastructure and foster equality.
“We will continue to prioritize safety as the foundation of everything we do,” Buttigieg said in his email message, which was obtained by The Associated Press. “And at the same time, we will break new ground: in ensuring that our economy recovers and rebuilds, in rising to the climate challenge, and in making sure transportation is an engine for equity in this country.”
Praised by President Joe Biden as bringing a “new voice” to the administration, Buttigieg has pledged to quickly get to work promoting safety and restoring consumer trust in America’s transportation networks as airlines, buses, city subway systems and Amtrak reel from plummeting ridership in the coronavirus pandemic. He also is expected to play an important role in promoting Biden’s green initiatives, supporting the president’s push later this year on a $2 trillion climate and infrastructure plan that would rebuild roads and bridges and expand zero-emission mass transit while boosting electric vehicle infrastructure.
Georgia moving to extend lawsuit ban