Wednesday December 16, 2020
Democratic young hope
Buttigieg is said to be US Secretary of Transportation
Pete Buttigieg wanted to be a presidential candidate for the Democrats – now he will probably get the post of transport minister in the Biden cabinet. Buttigieg is young, openly gay and is considered one of the party's greatest young talents.
Former US presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is said to be Minister of Transportation under future President Joe Biden. US media such as CNN and the Washington Post report that Biden chose the 38-year-old who caused a sensation in the Democratic primary campaign. If confirmed by the Senate, Buttigieg would be the first openly homosexual minister in US history.
The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, had gone from being a largely unknown outsider to a serious contender for the Democratic presidential run. The eloquent representative of the political center landed first and second in the first two primary elections in February. As a result, he fell back more and more.
Buttigieg finally got out of the presidential race at the beginning of March, which increasingly developed into a duel between Biden and the left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders. He then stood behind Biden, like himself a representative of the moderate Democratic wing. At the time, Biden compared Buttigieg to his son Beau, who died in 2015 of a brain tumor: "He reminds me of my son Beau," said Biden. "That's the biggest compliment I can give."
Ministry of Transport is gaining in importance
Buttigieg also supported Biden in the election campaign against President Donald Trump. The Afghanistan veteran and former management consultant, who speaks seven languages, is considered one of the Democratic Party's great hopes for young talent. Biden was expected to give him a post in his government. The Ministry of Transport is likely to be of great importance in the Biden government: The elected president wants to modernize the country's ailing infrastructure with massive investments.
Biden has nominated a number of ministers since beating Trump in the November 3 presidential election. His longtime foreign policy advisor Antony Blinken is said to be foreign minister, former Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen as the first woman in US history to become Treasury Secretary and the retired four-star General Lloyd Austin as the first African-American Secretary of Defense.
Buttigieg would be the first openly gay minister in US history to be approved by the Senate. The Victory Institute, which stands up for the interests of politicians in the LGBTQ community, spoke of a "milestone" on Tuesday. The Human Rights Campaign said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris would keep their promise to create a government team that would reflect the country's social "diversity".
Under the outgoing President Donald Trump, the openly gay former US ambassador to Berlin, Richard Grenell, already temporarily had cabinet rank in his role as executive director of the secret service. However, this only for a few months and without confirmation from the Senate.
Biden is due to be sworn in as the 46th US President on January 20. On Monday his election victory was confirmed by the electors of the so-called Electoral College. The former Vice President received 306 of the 538 electoral votes, Trump 232.
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