According to a New York Post report, former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wasted billions of dollars on DEI initiatives while delaying critical air traffic control upgrades.
In one meeting, Buttigieg told industry executives that air traffic control upgrades would just allow them to fly more planes, “and so why would that be in his interest?” sources said.
From The New York Post:
What his department was really interested in was handing out hundreds of diversity, equity and inclusion grants totaling more than $80 billion over four years — at least half of the DOT’s entire budget for a typical fiscal year, records show.
“He was definitely pushing an agenda,” an air industry official said, noting the transportation secretary had “little to no interest” and took “definitely zero action” toward air traffic control modernization.
Buttigieg spent his time in President Joe Biden’s cabinet blaming the airlines for their delays and “vilifying” the industry as a whole while denying his department’s DEI agenda led to any air traffic control staffing shortages or was maintaining an ailing safety system that hasn’t been updated since the Carter administration, sources told The Post.
The flying public paid the price, insiders said.
“At first, [the Department of Transportation] 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 said.
Chris Meagher, a spokesman for Buttigieg, rejected both claims and pointed to increased air traffic controller hiring under the former transportation big, as well as software changes to improve efficiency at airport runways, new flight routes projected to cut up to 100 hours off travel time annually and the development of communications technology to decrease flight delays.
“Suggesting that Secretary Buttigieg chose not to pursue air traffic control modernization is absurd,” said Meagher, adding that Biden’s budget request for fiscal year 2025 included another $8 billion in funding that congressional Republicans blocked.
“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.”
More over at The New York Post:
Pete Buttigieg’s DOT spent $80 billion on DEI grants, delayed air-traffic-control upgrades: records, industry insiders https://t.co/XdeTJHElpy pic.twitter.com/W0Ozs7NQXb
— New York Post (@nypost) July 21, 2025