Pete Buttigieg
Secretary of Transportation
Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg was born in January 1982 in South Bend, Indiana. He earned an undergraduate degree in history and literature from Harvard University. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from Pembroke College, Oxford. While at Oxford, he was an investigative news reporter.
After earning his Oxford degree, he became a consultant at a management consulting firm in Chicago.
He joined the U.S. Navy Reserve and was sworn in as an ensign in naval intelligence. He spent some time deployed to Afghanistan and, among other things, was an armed driver for his commander on more than 100 trips into Kabul. He resigned his commission after eight years.
He was elected Mayor of South Bend, Indiana in 2011, serving two terms (part of which was spent in his Reserve duties in Afghanistan). He was a candidate for the office of President of the United States in the 2020 election, but he withdrew after the South Carolina primary.
He was nominated by President Joe Biden to be Secretary of Transportation, was confirmed by the Senate, and was sworn into office in early February 2021.
Buttigieg is married to Chasten. They have two adopted children. He is an Anglican Christian.
In the News…
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated that he has serious doubts that in another 25 years, Americans will still be “driving that old technology, that combustion technology that we inherited from the 20th century.”
“[T]he share of EVs has been dramatically increasing every single year, and that’s continuing. Now, our goal is, by the end of this decade, to be about half-and-half,” he said. “We think that that can and will happen. But what isn’t guaranteed is, first of all, is that EV revolution going to continue to be made in America?“
“As somebody who comes from the industrial Midwest, sees how the auto industry creates so much by way of livelihoods where I come from and really around the country, I’m much more excited about the jobs being created on U.S. soil, and that doesn’t just happen. We’ve got to make sure that the U.S. leads the way as this technology changes.”
He added, “The lower maintenance, the fact that it costs less to maintain, the fact that they break down [with] less frequency, and the cost savings that you get by not having to buy gas or diesel are I think why you almost never meet somebody who has an EV who says, I want to go back to the old technology.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Secretary Buttigieg today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Pete Buttigieg
Secretary of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20590
