The House of Representatives approved an amendment to a spending bill allowing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's salary to be cut to just $1, Fox News reported. The measure was first introduced by Georgia GOP Rep. Taylor Greene and approved by voice vote.
The amendment was added to the 2024 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act. It is meant to fund agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and General Services Administration, among others.
"I’m proud to announce my amendment to FIRE Pete Buttigieg just PASSED the House. Pothole Pete staged fake bike rides to the White House and used private planes funded by taxpayers to receive awards for the way certain people have sex," Greene posted to social media Tuesday.
"American taxpayers should not be on the hook for paying for his lavish trips or his salary. Pete Buttigieg doesn’t do his job," Greene added.
"It’s all about fake photo ops and taxpayer-funded private jet trip to accept LGBTQ awards for him. I’m happy my amendment passed, but he doesn’t deserve a single penny," Greene said.
Even for a bureaucrat, Buttigieg has been particularly useless since joining President Joe Biden's cabinet in 2021. Arguably, his greatest failure was the Department of Transportation's handling of a train derailment in early 2023.
In February, a Norfolk Southern railroad locomotive that was carrying dangerous materials jumped the track in East Palestine, Ohio. The cargo was a volatile and dangerous chemical vinyl chloride, which officials decided to burn rather than risk explosion, NBC News reported.
This sent a toxic plume into the air that hung over the town and had residents sick with worry about the health impacts. Meanwhile, Buttigieg was nowhere to be found and didn't bother to tour the site until weeks later.
"I want them to know they're not alone. That before, during and after the national attention, they're going to have support," Buttigieg promised despite his weeks-long absence, CBS News reported.
"They're going to have support from us when it comes to holding Norfolk Southern accountable. They're going to have support from the EPA when it comes to making sure they get accurate information about the safety of their air, water, and soil," Buttigieg said at the time, though the story has largely disappeared from anyone's radar since.
The transportation secretary's problems go beyond a railroad disaster. During his tenure, Buttigieg has overseen many issues with commercial airlines, including flight cancellations, pilot shortages, and even the complete shutdown of air travel.
In January 2023, at least 10,000 flights were grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration because of a problem with the computers and the pilot alert system, Reuters reported. It was the first time such action was taken since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
While all of this is happening, Buttigieg has eschewed commercial fights and has flown using government private jets at least 18 times during his tenure. Not only are they costly to taxpayers, but they show hypocrisy and a lack of confidence in the system he's charged with overseeing.
There's no excuse for Buttigieg to be on the taxpayer dole while being so terrible at his job. At least Greene addressed the money issue, but Buttigieg should be completely out of a job based on his performance.
