President Joe Biden’s choices for Transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, and Department of Homeland Security head, Alejandro Mayorkas, were confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday.
Buttigieg received overwhelming bipartisan support – with a vote of 86 to 13 – to become the nation’s first openly gay Senate-confirmed cabinet secretary.
Mayorkas got through with a tighter votoe of 56 to 43.
He’s the first Latino and immigrant to lead DHS, which was formed after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The Senate voted 86 to 13 to confirm Pete Buttigieg (pictured) as President Joe Biden’s Transportation secretary on Tuesday. Buttigieg will be the country’s first Senate-confirmed openly gay cabinet secretary
The Senate also confirmed President Joe Biden’s pick to leader the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas (pictured), seen testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on January 19
The Senate voted Tuesday to confirm former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg as President Joe Biden’s Transportation secretary with a vote of 86-13
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (left), another rival of President Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg’s (right) in the 2020 Democratic primaries, greets Buttigieg and his husband Chasten (center) at a January 21 confirmation hearing
President-elect Joe Biden (right) announed his decision to make Pete Buttigieg (left) his Transportation secretary in mid-December, introducing Buttigieg at the Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware
President Joe Biden (left) and now Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (right) competed against each other in last year’s Demoratic primary and while Buttigieg won the Iowa caucuses, he dropped out at backed Biden by early March before the Super Tuesday primaries
Chasten Buttigieg (right) watches as his husband Pete Buttigieg (left) testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on January 21
Mayorkas, a Cuban-born American, will be sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris early Tuesday evening. He previously served in the Obama administration as deputy secretary of DHS.
Mayorkas’ confirmation process was tripped up by Sen. Josh Hawley, who’s been under fire for his role in the January 6 insurrection, as he backed House Republicans who challenged Electoral College votes, lending credence to former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the election had been stolen from him.
On January 19, Hawley objected to a swift confirmation of Mayorkas over concerns about the incoming administration’s immigration policies.
According to the Missouri Republican, Mayorkas ‘has not adequately explained how he will enforce federal law and secure the southern border given President-elect Biden’s promise to roll back major enforcement and security measures.’
‘I haven’t looked at that specific question,’ Mayorkas answered during a confirmation hearing that day when asked if he would tear down portions of Trump’s border wall.
An inspector general’s report from the Obama years was also problematic for Mayorkas during his confirmation, as it alleged ‘an appearance of favoritism and special access’ for certain visa applicants.
Buttigieg previously competed against Biden in last year’s Democratic primaries, winning the Iowa caucuses, but dropping out and throwing his support behind the former vice president before the Super Tuesday contests in early March.
A key ally to Biden’s campaign, who helped with now Vice President Kamala Harris’ debate prep, Buttigieg was reportedly being considered for a number of roles before Biden settled on Transportation head.
Buttigieg, who was deployed to Afghanistan, had been rumored to be in the running to head Veterans Affairs, and as a possible ambassador to China.
In mid-December, when Biden announced Buttigieg as his DOT pick from Wilmington, Delaware, the ex-mayor said he had a ‘personal love of transportation ever since childhood.’
‘More than once, as a college student, I would convince a friend to travel nearly a 1,000 miles back to Indiana with me on Amtrak,’ Buttigieg recalled.
‘Though I know that in this administration I will be at best aspire to be the second biggest train enthusiast around,’ Buttigieg added, a reference to Biden’s reputation of being ‘Amtrak Joe.’
Buttigieg said, for him, that travel is ‘synonymous with growth, with adventure, even love.’
‘So much so that I proposed to my husband Chasten in an airport terminal,’ Buttigieg said. ‘So don’t let anybody tell you that O’Hare isn’t romantic,’ he added referring to Chicago’s bustling airport.
Buttigieg, who turned 39 last month, also spoke about how his youth made him a barrier-breaker, noting that he’s the ‘first millennial invited to a seat at the table.’
He also said he hoped he would be an example to other LGBTQ Americans, recalling how he watched President Bill Clinton name the openly gay James Hormel to be ambassador to Luxembourg in 1999.
Buttigieg said, at the time, he was years away from coming out – or thinking that a presidential appointment was something that could happen to him.
‘At that age, I was hoping to be an airline pilot,’ Buttigieg said.
But he recalled how the appointment had been blocked by detractors in the Senate, though Clinton got it through using a rare recess appointment executive privilege.
‘I watched that story and I learned something about some of the limits that exist in this country when it comes to who is allowed to belong, but just as important I saw how those limits can be challenged,’ Buttigieg said.
‘I’m thinking about the message today’s announcement is sending,’ he added.
Biden had pledged to have a cabinet of ‘barrier-breakers.’
Buttigieg appeared on Capitol Hill the day after Biden’s swearing-in for a confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
That panel approved Buttigieg’s nomination 21 to 3, setting up Tuesday’s floor vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer previewed the vote earlier Tuesday by saying, ‘I’m excited to call him Secretary Pete by the end of the day.’
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, went by the nickname ‘Mayor Pete’ for much of his political career – in part because Buttigieg was difficult to pronounce.
Out of the gate, Buttigieg will be tasked with ensuring masking is taking place on public transportation, a Biden executive order to slow the spread of COVID-19.
‘We are prepared to make sure that we use all relevant authorities to enforce the President’s executive order to ensure that across all modes of transportation, workers, passengers, commuters are protected,’ Buttigieg said during his January 21 confirmation hearing.
Buttigieg also agreed to work with lawmakers on the long-stalled Gateway tunnel project, which would replace the crumbling Amtrak and commuter railroad tunnel between New York City and New Jersey.
While former President Donald Trump was a native New Yorker, the project was held up under his watch.
‘We need to build our economy back, better than ever, and the Department of Transportation can play a central role in this, by implementing President Biden’s infrastructure vision,’ Buttigieg said in his opening remarks before the committee.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Buttigieg would appear in the briefing room when the administration decides to roll out a larger infrastructure package.
Under Trump, another openly gay public servant, Richard Grenell, briefly held the cabinet-level position of Director of National Intelligence.
The appointment was only temporary, so he wasn’t Senate-confirmed.