Pete Buttigieg Avoided Calls, Meetings While on Paternity Leave During Supply Chain Crisis, FOIA Documents Show
“even though the transportation secretary claimed he’d be on the clock ’24/7′ during this controversial period”
Pete Buttigieg’s performance as Biden’s transportation secretary is coming under increased scrutiny. He seems to be absent whenever some major problem is unfolding.
According to FOIA documents, when Buttigieg was on paternity leave during the supply chain crisis, he was avoiding calls, meetings, and public appearances.
FOX News reports:
Buttigieg avoided calls, public appearances on paternity leave, FOIA documents show
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg avoided some phone calls and requests for public appearances while he was on paternity leave in 2021, according to internal documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Documents obtained by the group Protect the Public’s Trust show Buttigieg declined a request for a call with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in September 2021 to discuss an application for funds toward a bridge in his state.
“Unfortunately, the Secretary is currently on leave due to the birth of his twins, and that may lead to a delay in possibly scheduling in the future,” a staffer emailed Grassley’s office, according to documents obtained in the FOIA request.
Buttigieg similarly declined to participate in an hour-long Zoom call for an event with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce that invited him to speak.
“I think we can delegate? Can say he’s on leave,” one staffer emailed internally.
“Sounds good will do,” another staffer responded.
Buttigeig was also invited to travel to Illinois to visit the opening of a bridge, but again declined.
“The Secretary is currently out on paternity leave therefore he is unable to travel at this time,” the staffer replied in October 2021.
The Washington Examiner reminds us that Buttigieg claimed he would be available 24/7:
Scandal-ridden Pete Buttigieg skirted a meeting request from a top Republican while on paid paternity leave, even though the transportation secretary claimed he’d be on the clock “24/7” during this controversial period, emails show.
Buttigieg, who came under fire for taking paternity leave in August 2021 amid the supply chain crisis, reassured CNN’s Jake Tapper in October 2021 he was “available 24/7” because of the “nature of my job.” However, the DOT rebuffed the idea of him meeting with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) roughly one month before that interview, claiming Buttigieg was unavailable due to his leave status, according to emails obtained by the watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust and shared with the Washington Examiner.
“Senator Grassley would like to speak to Secretary Buttigieg about the status of a Buy American Waiver Request for the I-74 bridge,” wrote Grassley’s scheduling director, Jennifer Heins, to the DOT on Sept. 20, 2021. “Can we set up a phone call please?”
The senator sought to discuss with Buttigieg an estimated $1.2 billion construction project in relation to a bridge that crosses the Mississippi River and connects Iowa to Illinois.
People are starting to note that Buttigieg may not be qualified for this position.
Pete Buttigieg is wholly unqualified.
He thought he could succeed just by showing up, and it would set him up for whatever political office he wanted next.
Reality has set in, and shown us Buttigieg is woefully inexperienced. He needs to go. https://t.co/L7SBsIpdJZ
— Dan K. Eberhart (@DanKEberhart) January 13, 2023
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Diversity hire is a no work job silly, it’s to fill out the administration’s check list and not to really do any work.
Platitude Pete was a token hire, just like Kamala was. His only “qualification” was his homosexuality.
Summary of Buttigieg:
1. Not qualified for the job. Hired any way.
2. Not hired to work. Hired to look good.
3. Looked good. But no work before paternity leave.
4. Took paternity leave where he did no work.
5. No work since taking paternity leave.
6. Not hired to work. Hired to look good.
7. Looks better every day.
Pete B was on “paternity leave'” without his fashionable wardrobe hence no public appearances.
“He seems to be absent whenever some major problem is unfolding.”
But always “present” to cash the pay check.
Not only was he just loafing off on MULTIPLE vacations on his alleged ‘paternity’ leave, BUT HE TOOK FAR MORE TIME THAN ACTUAL MOTHERS GET AFTER HAVING AN ACTUAL BABY THEMSELVES.
Hey, it’s hard work being a sperm donor – if he even was that.
Duel sperm donors ?
Still waiting for the first male to actually birth a baby, sure the evil doctors are working on it
If you want an example of white privilege by a sissy white man, there you have it. Real black men have too much pride to pull stupid crap like that. They will fight with white people, they will fight with police, they will fight with each other—but real men won’t stoop this low.
And if there was a real black man in congress, instead of the pansy assed, tit sucking, ass kissing, money grubbing politicians we now have, they would be speaking out.
“FAR MORE TIME THAN ACTUAL MOTHERS GET AFTER HAVING AN ACTUAL BABY THEMSELVES.”
Hey, let’s be fair. Is that also true of actual mothers who have cushy, elite Cabinet positions?
Of course, first you’d have to find one of those who was still of childbearing age.
Who’s closest, Gina Raimondo? Still way out of the ballpark…
Equality is about treating people equally so where Maternity leave is offered then why not equivalent Paternity leave? Either we, as a society, want equality and support the implementation of equal access or we do not.
The bigger issue is why is so much leave available for a federal employee. That’s a long time for leave without a medical situation.
It WASN’T. That’s the point. There was no ‘leave’ he was on. Even if he had been ON maternity leave, he took FAR more than the actual authorized amount.
He was literally just blowing off his job and vacationing around the world while collecting a cushy salary.
Federal employees are authorized 12 weeks of leave (paid leave) following the birth of a child or the placement of an adopted child.
Yes. 12 weeks.
And from what people are saying after investigating, he was still not in the office and refusing meetings after THIRTY weeks, and they’re trying to claim he wasn’t actually ‘on leave’, even though he was not in the office, refusing meetings, and in several cases not even in the country.
“The bigger issue is why is so much leave available for a federal employee. ”
That’s because the government has more money than they know what to do with.
Slight correction; the federal govt SPENDS more money than they know what to do with. If they actually had the money they spent we wouldn’t have a budget deficit or a National debt.
I expect nothing better from the kind of bottom-of-the-barrel trash that will work for a pedophile like Biden.
Has he been found at any airports with interesting luggage lately helping out a “friend”
This guy is such a f—king moron: a complete poser, and poster-boy for the dangers of affirmative action.
“The Washington Examiner reminds us that Buttigieg claimed he would be available 24/7.”
He was always available… to tell people no.
Whut?
Mr. Buttigieg, a failed small city mayor and a failed presidential candidate, took the position as Sec. Trans. to do one thing — position himself as a presidential candidate in either 2024 or 2028. That was his job, to put together a better political resume.
How do you do that as Sec. Trans.? Cut ribbons, make simple stuff work, go around the country and shake hands, collect lots and lots of political favors, and behind the scenes build your political machine. It’s not a marquee position and you won’t be in the news every day, but that’s fine — you’re planning for the future.
But the one thing you DON’T do is screw-up the basics of the job. You do have to show up, listen to the briefings, and understand the implications of the ports closing, the rail workers walking out, or the FAA glitching. He didn’t do any of that. As the joke goes at Instapundit, he’s so bad at the things he’s touched that the country actually knows who the Sec. Trans. is.
Mr. Buttigieg is that clueless — he thought he could go to the DoT, nurse his babies, change all the pronouns, and take vacations, and DoT would magically run itself. It doesn’t, and now his presidential ambitions are hosed.
He’s worse at positioning himself than Dan Quayle ever was.
He’ll be kamtoes VP when Biden is forced to leave
He would adopt some more kids and after taking an adequate amount of paternity leave we would see him again some time around 2035.
“” the transportation secretary claimed he’d be on the clock “24/7”””
See, now that’s how people get confused. He meant he’d be taking his salary 24/7, not that he’d be actually doing any work. He’s a bureaucrat, after all. They can’t be expected to actually work.
Ah, so “on the clock” as in punching in / punching out.
He is like the roaches at the roach motel. They check in but don’t check out.
Maybe he did not say “24/7”, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but “7/24”, 7 hours a day 24 days a year – and they just picked the wrong days to call him.
tho thilly
Pete Buttigieg, like Hillary Clinton, thinks that a Cabinet position is just a resume filler between runs for electoral office. Neither one of them have any clue that they are actually supposed to show up and do something.
This is what happens when diversity trumps merit as a job qualification
If you’re McKinsey & Co. aren’t you embarrassed this guy has you on his resume?
Since he took paternity and not maternity leave, I assume he’s the “man” in his screwed up relationship. Just like Britney Griner is the “man” in her screwed up relationship. The difference is that Griner wears a “strap-on” in hers, and Buttplug doesn’t need to. Follow???
So, he’s auditioning to president in the Barry-O style.