Non-Essential Worker Pete Buttigieg Secretly Was on Paid Paternity Leave Since August and No One Noticed
“While U.S. ports faced anchor-to-anchor traffic and Congress nearly melted down over the president’s infrastructure bill in recent weeks, the usually omnipresent Transportation secretary was lying low.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been on paternity leave since August and no one seemed to notice until the country found itself in a new crisis involving clogged ports and empty store shelves.
It’s very nice that Buttigieg and his husband have adopted two infants, but you have to wonder why he has been secretly on leave for so long, especially in light of this new problem.
From Politico:
Can Pete Buttigieg have it all?
PETE BUTTIGIEG has been MIA.
While U.S. ports faced anchor-to-anchor traffic and Congress nearly melted down over the president’s infrastructure bill in recent weeks, the usually omnipresent Transportation secretary was lying low.
One of the White House’s go-to communicators didn’t appear on TV. He was absent on Capitol Hill during the negotiations over the bill he had been previously helping sell to different members of Congress. Conservative critics tried (unsuccessfully) to get #WheresPete to trend and Fox News ran a story on October 4 with the headline: “Buttigieg quiet on growing port congestion as shipping concerns build ahead of holidays.”
They didn’t previously announce it, but Buttigieg’s office told West Wing Playbook that the secretary has actually been on paid leave since mid-August to spend time with his husband, Chasten, and their two newborn babies.
“For the first four weeks, he was mostly offline except for major agency decisions and matters that could not be delegated,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation. “He has been ramping up activities since then.” As he does that, Buttigieg will “continue to take some time over the coming weeks to support his husband and take care of his new children,” the spokesperson added.
The news garnered a lot of criticism on Twitter:
A cabinet minister in the US has been on leave for months and no one noticed https://t.co/6i7HVxIMRW
— Bruno Maçães (@MacaesBruno) October 15, 2021
And nobody could tell the difference https://t.co/HWRuWdvvnM
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) October 15, 2021
Melania Trump wasn't seen for 6 days and it was a week long news cycle on CNN.
Transportation Secretary takes two months off in the middle of port and supply chain crisis and not a single journalist somehow knew about it. https://t.co/2mX7tiaKHv
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 15, 2021
Buttigieg’s ability to serve in this role is also being questioned.
Joe Concha writes at The Hill:
Amateur hour: Pete Buttigieg’s inexperience exposed as supply chain breaks down
Three years ago, the only people who’d ever heard of Pete Buttigieg were likely to be residents of South Bend, Ind., the town of 103,000 people where he served as mayor.
South Bend is home to Notre Dame University. It has a bus station with a fleet of 60 buses, a small train station and a small regional airport. So, who better for Team Biden to nominate as secretary of the Department of Transportation, which employs more than 58,000 employees – more than half the population of South Bend – and has a budget of $87 billion?
After a quiet first nine months in office, the former mayor has his first crisis on his hands: a massive supply-chain breakdown exploding across the country that will impact every American, particularly the lower and middle classes.
What is Pete Buttigieg doing everyday? Why are there so many ships stuck at sea? He and his “boss” have WRECKED the single greatest economy in the history of time. There needs to be investigations into this, and when Republicans take back the House, they WILL happen!
— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) October 13, 2021
Pete Buttigieg is completely unqualified to handle the supply chain crisis.
The only reason he's the Secretary of Transportation is because he endorsed Joe Biden.
Even Pete knows it.https://t.co/uQro8z9SyZ
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) October 13, 2021
It’s not like we weren’t warned.
For the record, we warned you about @PeteButtigieg
Sincerely,
Indiana
— Tony Katz (@tonykatz) October 15, 2021
Buttigieg looks like he is in over his head. Unfortunately, it’s the American people who will suffer as a result.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Welp, with the logistical slowdown around the nation, that leaves me with nothing to do!
Might as well stay home until this all blows over.
Yup. “The adults are back in charge now.”
Speaking of which, John Hinckley is an adult now…. and the BATF still needs a director.
Shall I get him on the line for you, Joe?
Maybe he would not take the shot?
Thousands of couples have been waiting forever to adopt just one healthy infant.
The gay connected get two.
We keep getting slapped in the face with evidence of the Us vs Them divide.
This is also the first time I’ve ever heard of adopters getting parental leave. Maybe I’m naive about that stuff, but that seems like a privilege only afforded to a connected politician.
I’m sure Pete had a train set when he was a boy. Maybe even a Tonka truck or two. So stop griping about his lack of experience.
But did he drive an 18-wheeler for a logging company in the Great White North?
Poor little Petey only had the Caboose to play with.
Sorry about that reply. It should have gone in the general comments. Maybe the mods can fix it.
In Louisiana, adoptive parents can take parental leave. A woman I worked with adopted a baby about 3 weeks into the year. Didn’t see her until after Christmas.
Wow.
adoption does fall under the fmla framework
My employer offers paid leave for adopters.
The rich and powerful always do well in a Communist country. That is why Communism is so popular with millionaires and billionaires, woke corporate heads, government officials, Hollywood, academia, etc.
Not just the rich and powerful but also the thieving and conniving. Out here (California) we have many refugees from communist countries that come here and immediately have every benefit available and more. They come from a system that rewards those who “play” the system best and they find our system of local, state and Federal benefits a veritable smorgasbord.
I don’t know that he can change the perverse incentives that are blocking distribution networks. That’s Biden.
I am ordering Christmas gifts for relatives in Hawaii and being provided delivery dates of mid-November by companies that use Fed-Ex…uuuggh.
What a dilemma… do something, or anything and he harms the environment.
Can’t do that!
Seriously though, so what if the ports stay open 24/7. Got enough truck drivers?
Limited truck driver, watch their rat-per-mile increase.
Fuel prices going up? Those trucks don’t run on solar power, so another increase to shipping costs.
More costs for the consumer to carry.
Shades of Nero?
More like a projection than a shade.
Putting a smarty-pants mayor with an *ahem* “male partner,* who couldn’t even fix the pot holes in the streets of his mid-size Indiana town, in charge of DoT?
Yeah, we all knew that was gonna work out fine. (*Seinfeld eye roll*)
I’m absolutely sure than an incompetent pretty-boy, who knows nothing about transportation – or much of anything else – would be FAR more qualified if he were heterosexual.
Grizz, I can get why you take exception to that comment. However, I believe the commenter above is pointing out that the only reason Buttigieg has any political profile whatsoever is that he checks a box for the left.
If I’m wrong about Mark’s motivations, then my apologies.
I am only too well aware of what boxes the man ticks. But, the question here is his competence – or lack thereof.
As far as I can tell he is too incompetent to tick off any boxes.
To UserP:
If nothing else, he ticks me off.
How’s your hand, Grizz?
Everything else being the same, if Buttigieg were straight as a board it is highly unlikely anyone would have heard of him (outside of his unfortunate constituents in Indiana). In woke circles straight white male Communist dolts with no useful skills or knowledge are a dime a dozen (see: Beto, Biden*). Buttigieg played the gay card with great skill, and it landed him a plum sinecure with a fat paycheck – and a boatload of fawning, bootlicking media articles as well.
Love your commentary Grizz but you do know he wouldn’t have the job if he were str8.
You have to ask the Question that Dare Not Speak Its Name.
If Pete WERE in the office, working, would he just be making things worse?
Poor kids
USA is becoming a bad joke.
Buttigieg should resign. or be removed
Austin should resign or be removed
Milley should resign or be removed
Garland should resign or be removed
These people are criminally incompetent and/or political hacks
That’s because they make SlowJoe look like the smart guy in the room.
I am starting to think that the smart guy in the room is Alexa.
Biden, Harris, Sullivan and Blinken, too. That’s the problem. There is literally no one competent to serve.
Milley should be dishonorably discharged and live out his life in shame
“Milley should be dishonorably discharged and live out his life in shame”
That requires prayers, as only God has the power to change his heart. Shame is not possible for the leftist. They may become bitter and grow in hardness of heart. Shame requires understanding of right and wrong and a developed conscience.
Probably a good thing he was absent – less likely to make it worse!
I wonder if the liberals who publicly fawn over these two bent dudes’ sick imitation of marriage and parenthood privately want to puke their guts up at the thought of it, just like the rest of us.
Grizz….perhaps you should direct some ire here ^
Just sayin’
Not worth my time.
Just remember that 36 repubs voted to confirm him for that position
here is the list that voted not to confirm this unqualified person
Blackburn (R-TN)
Cassidy (R-LA)
Cotton (R-AR)
Cruz (R-TX)
Hagerty (R-TN)
Hawley (R-MO)
Lankford (R-OK)
Marshall (R-KS)
Rubio (R-FL)
Scott (R-FL)
Scott (R-SC)
Shelby (R-AL)
Tuberville (R-AL)
Toomey did not vote
If he was so fucking unqualified then maybe the fucking RINOs shouldn’t have voted him in 86-13.
You don’t get to vote him in by a massive margin then whine that he’s ‘unqualified’, jackasses.
Unlike, say, Secretary of State, Transportation is one of those NKOTB positions that America did just fine without for the first 200 years. One would suspect it’s one of those sinecure positions that you could safely put in the hands of a Curly Howard, like Ambassador to Lichtenstein.
Its not clear that the problem here is even his competence, when the high level problem is that he just hasn’t been showing up to work at all (while receiving full pay). It’s hard to pass or fail a performance report when there has never been any performance to report.
If we ever have the revolution, violent or otherwise, the country needs, I’m hoping we can return to a constitutional basis of government. Go down the list of all of these agencies clear them out. Every last single one of them. Give the people there in 30 minutes to clean out their desks. I’m feeling terrible, so yes what’s provide them in the boxes and tape for no charge.
If I could have my wish it would be to erase all the laws on the books and start with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I would dissolve all non-essential “spook” agencies and other deep-state cruft. And I would add 2 amendments – one would be Term Limits and the other would tie Congress’ salaries to cost of living increases and no lifetime benefits.
The amendments the Constitution needs first is to specify mandatory PENALTIES for government officeholders and employees who break any of its limitations or guarantees.
Did you ever notice how none of the laws that “protect citizens from the government” ever come with specified penalties; whereas all the laws that citizens can break always do? Check it out, starting with the old “Privacy Bill.” Know what the penalty is on that one? “A citizen has the right to sue the violator, with his own money.” And the violator has the right to defend themselves with all the tax money they can shovel from the slushpile. Wow, that there’s some protection. Same with the Spam laws.
They all knew that when it comes their turn to vote in useless Republicans to cabinet and high positions the Dems won’t fight them because this is how the swamp renews itself, one load of shit on top of another
There is a long standing tradition that a President is given great leeway in appointing his Cabinet or Ambassadors unless they are corrupt or very unfit for the position. As far as I can tell, Butageigerguy isn’t corrupt just inexperienced and incompetent.
So what kind of leave is he using? Do appointees get special leave?
The paternity leave put into effect last year for federal employees can’t be used until you have worked for at least one year.
there are carve outs for people at his level
Curious – how should supply chain problem be fixed?
Change Hour of Service requirements for truck drivers (is it worth sacrificing safety protocols?)
Offer incentives so there are more team drivers on the road?
Offer tax incentives to support overtime pay to the dock workers?
Create policies which prioritize what leaves the docks?
How about we just own up and admit we created the problem (stay-home mandates, moving manufacturing overseas, disincentivizing work with free money, and management adopting “just—in-time” mentality for ordering supplies instead of having the spend capital storing goods in warehouses).
We created it… chances are attempts to “fix” will have unintended consequence. Best to let free-market solve it. I stuck waiting for Enrollment Guides – solution: download electronic version. My neighbor works on appliances – he finds replacement electronics via salvage.
Not saying every solution is going to be easy to find, but I definitely trust ingenuity over bureaucracy.
California also has a law that all the trucks used be newer than 2011, might have something to do with it a little.
does the government have the staffing needed at the ports, the manifests have to be processed and cleared, are they going to stop inspecting random containers for drugs and contraband, are they going to reduce the numbers of containers run through the xray machines?
Great time to smuggle in a baby nuke from Iran or some other hellhole
Didn’t CA also passed the bill that limits independent contractors? Many truck drivers are independent.
Don’t forget that during the shut-downs, many vo-tech schools also shut down, so the truck driving training stopped. Do we have enough replacement drivers for those who retired during C-19?
You know that Biden hasn’t been on a road at night – I remember the interstates being crowded with the semis at night and don’t get in their way! These guys also have a problem if the distribution center is closed or has a limited staff. So, the congestion is all the way through the system, not just at the ports.
Answer to first question.,.AB5.
Restrictions on gig economy, the independent contractors.
Here is the Biden Administration plan (which in reality is the cause rather than the solution):
1. Reduce American manufacturing.
2. Import more goods from China
3. Reduce American oil production
4. Import more oil from Saudi Arabia
5. Erect more barriers to keep Americans from working
6. Bring in more illegal aliens to take over American jobs
7. Tell news media to report that he’s doing a good job.
8. New media reports “Biden is doing a great job! Stuff is getting better all the time.”
Biden is trying to destroy our country and needs to be tried for Treason.
Took the words right out of my mouth.
This guy Butthead is REALLY, REALLY an incompetent clown.
REALLY.
He’s even less useful than Kamala Harris, which is a very damning statement.
That is a very very very damning statement!
If we didn’t miss him, get rid of him!
I can’t imagine any CEO or any C level at any company large or small taking 2 months off for paternity leave. Anything more than a week is unheard of. This is a complete joke.
Aaaawwwwwwww, how thweet…
Joking askide, we have two infants who will grow up not knowing a model of female behavior.
Does it really matter now that gender is fluid and men can chest feed, among other things.
We live in a wonderful world……
of fantasy
Tucker Carlson had a very sharp comment about this instance of parental leave
We need to be very careful here. In a private company or firm, nobody makes nasty remarks about an executive who takes paid paternity or maternity leave. Why should a double standard apply? When a firm hires someone of child-rearing age, there is always the chance that new members of the family will arrive. If Congress enacts a family leave policy, then it should apply to all, even Cabinet members. To me, it is just like giving executives paid vacation days. The theory is that any staff member’s performance is better overall if they get some time off from the job. I suspect that this is particularly true of people holding high-pressure jobs.