Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion over modernizing an outdated air traffic control systems, it was reported Monday.
Under Buttigieg, former President Joe Biden's Transportation Department spent more than $80 million on a DEI agenda, the New York Post reported, citing federal spending records and airline industry insiders.
According to the Post story, Buttigieg once told industry executives that air traffic control upgrades would just let them fly more planes. "And so why would that be in his interest?" one air industry official said.
The issues plaguing the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic control network have been years in the making, but a rush of high-profile mishaps, near-misses and a catastrophic crash in January between a U.S. Army helicopter and a regional American Airlines jet that killed 67 has spiked public alarm.
In the previous four years under Buttigieg, DOT annually handed out at least half of its entire budget in DEI grants. Roughly 400 such grants were approved between 2021 and 2024, the Post reported.
"He was definitely pushing an agenda," one air industry official said in the Post story.
The official added that Buttigieg had "little to no interest" and took "definitely zero action" toward air traffic control modernization.
Widely considered a contender for the 2028 presidential Democratic Party nomination, Buttigieg as secretary blamed the airlines for their delays and denied DOT's DEI agenda led to any air traffic control staffing shortages or failure to maintain an ailing safety system, sources told the Post.
"At first, [DOT] and he were reluctant to say there was an air traffic controller shortage or that the shortage had anything to do with flight delays or flight cancellations," the air industry official told the newspaper.
Chris Meagher, a spokesman for Buttigieg, claimed the Biden administration provided $5 billion to improve air traffic facilities' towers and power systems.
"Suggesting that Secretary Buttigieg chose not to pursue air traffic control modernization is absurd," Meagher told the Post. "Secretary Buttigieg's focus was always on safety — not just in aviation, but also on roads and bridges, where 40,000 Americans die on our country's roads each year. Fixing issues with air traffic control was a priority."
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Wednesday called on Congress to award an additional $19 billion to overhaul the aging U.S. air traffic control system after lawmakers approved an initial $12.5 billion over five years in funding.
"We are going to need more money from the Congress," Duffy said at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing, calling for a funding plan backed by airlines and other aviation groups. "We're talking $31.5 billion to do the full project."
Reuters contributed to this story.
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