The recent Emerson College national poll had Pete Buttigieg leading the pack among prospective 2028 Democratic presidential candidates at 19%.
Buttigieg has one of the most impressive résumés in American politics—Harvard, Oxford, Rhodes Scholar, Navy Reserve officer, articulate, composed and exceptionally good on television. There is no question that Buttigieg is intelligent.
But intelligence and leadership are not the same thing.
Buttigieg became Secretary of Transportation on February 3, 2021. Six months later, after he and his husband Chasten became parents to premature twins, Buttigieg took two months of paid parental leave.
I have no objection to parental leave. For most people I think it’s a good thing. But there is a fundamental difference between being an employee of an organization and taking on the responsibility for the largest and most complex transportation system on earth —particularly during a national transportation and supply-chain crisis that existed at the time.
Buttigieg defended his absence by explaining that he remained “available when necessary” for important matters, and that Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg could handle responsibilities when he wasn’t available. Available when necessary – was he serious?
As Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg sat atop a cabinet department encompassing 10 major operating administrations and offices responsible for America’s aviation, highways, trucking, railroads, mass transit, pipelines, vehicle safety and maritime transportation.
Two of the defining characteristics of leadership are leading by example and anticipating unplanned circumstances; and neither can be accomplished from a home nursery. Let me ask somewhat rhetorically, what message do you think Buttigieg’s absence sent to the heads of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and every other federal agency that reported to him? Does anyone believe Buttigieg’s actions actually inspired people in those departments to go out and “win one for the Gipper?”
DOT’s portfolio encompasses aviation, highways, automobiles, commercial trucking, railroads, mass transit, pipelines, hazardous-material transportation and maritime transportation. Every one of the agencies faces questions such as. What aren’t we being told? What are we missing? Where are we vulnerable? What’s working today that may fail six months from now? What problem hasn’t yet become serious enough to appear in my briefing book?
And those answers can’t be gained through Zoom meetings or a video conferences. Leaders don’t allow other people to decide what they to know and a Zoom call can’t tell you what your subordinates failed to notice, failed to understand, or mistakenly decided wasn’t important.
Everyone knows Buttigieg’s appointment was political patronage, c’mon, Buttigieg’s principal executive experience before being given the job was that of mayor of South Bend, Indiana with a 47-vehicle bus fleet that seldom ran on time.
~ The results were predictable ~
Three years after Buttigieg took control the Government Accountability Office reported that FAA had determined 51 of its 138 air-traffic-control systems—37%—were “unsustainable” because of outdated functionality, lack of spare parts and other problems. Another 54 were potentially unsustainable and modernization wasn’t expected for another 10 years.
Air-traffic-controller staffing presented another problem. DOT’s Inspector General reported that 20 of 26 critical facilities—77 %—were staffed below the FAA’s 85-percent threshold. In addition, dozens of systems were classified as unsustainable or potentially unsustainable. And most problematic of all, controller shortages persisted, and major modernization projects continued suffering lengthy delays – problems that should have been addressed but were not.
Buttigieg didn’t create this antiquated system – he inherited it. But presidents inherit problems too. The relevant question isn’t who created the problem. It’s what an executive does to remedy the situation once it becomes his responsibility. And in Buttigieg’s case, apparently very little. In fairness, he did accelerate hiring, and the FAA hired 1,800 controllers in fiscal 2024, albeit, using the new standards that complied with the administration’s DEI agenda. Do the Math.
This may sound as if I’m faulting Buttigieg for taking parental leave – I’m not – I criticize him for voluntarily accepting an extraordinary responsibility, a responsibility that affects the daily lives of 340 million Americans – and then delegating it.
Could you image Dwight Eisenhower taking leave during the D-Day invasion or Steve Jobs sitting out the launch of Apple’s iPhone back in 2007? I can’t either. I’m not going to beat a dead horse, and while Pete Buttigieg may be a swell guy, “Leader of the Free World?” – I don’t think so.
Quote of the day: “The Buck Stops Here!”- Harry S. Truman 33rd President of the United States.