Former mayor Pete Buttigieg was confirmed as the US transportation secretary on January 2, making him the first ever out LGBTQ+ cabinet member confirmed to the presidential administration.
39-year-old Buttigieg, who identifies as gay, was confirmed by the senate with 86 votes in his favour and 13 against him. He vowed to make safety on public transport his top priority during his role as secretary, saying in a speech before the senate commerce: “Safety is the foundation of the department’s mission, and that takes on new meaning amid this pandemic.
We have to ensure all of our transportation systems – our aviation and public transits, our railways, our railways, roads, ports, our waterways, and pipelines – all of it is managed safely during.