Senate confirms Buttigieg as Transportation secretary
By Alex Gangitano - 02/02/21 12:44 PM EST
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Pete Buttigieg to lead the Transportation Department.
The Senate voted 86-13 to approve Buttigieg’s nomination. He is the 19th Transportation secretary and the fifth member of President Biden's Cabinet to be confirmed by the Senate. He is also the first openly gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in U.S. history.
He is the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., and a Navy veteran. He ran against Biden in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary before dropping out of the race and throwing his support to the now-president.
Senators who voted against Buttigieg’s nomination were Republicans Tom Cotton (Ark.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Bill Cassidy (La.), Roger Marshall (Kan.), Rick Scott (Fla.), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.), Richard Shelby (Ala.), Josh Hawley (Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Tim Scott (S.C.), Bill Hagerty (Tenn.), and James Lankford (Okla.).
The Senate already confirmed Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
more
https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/536914-senate-confirms-buttigieg-as-transportation-secretary
