Bad Policy? Bad Optics? Both?

Controversial U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg—a vocal proponent of climate action and advocate of increased government control of carbon emissions—has made use of taxpayer-funded private jets at least 18 times since assuming his office in February 2021.

According to flight-tracking data, Buttigieg has traveled both domestically and internationally aboard private jets managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The flight records—obtained by the government watchdog group Americans for Public Trust (APT)—align with Buttigieg's schedule of government stakeholder and public engagements.

APT executive director Caitlin Sutherland remarked: "Everyday Americans face flight [cancellations] and long wait times because Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has completely mismanaged air travel; yet he gets to avoid all that by taking taxpayer-funded private jets to destinations with readily available commercial airline options. Ms. Sutherland added: "And for someone so holier-than-thou on reducing emissions, Buttigieg sure doesn’t seem to mind the pollution caused by his literal jet-setting. This is hypocrisy at its finest, and these troubling expenses to taxpayers must come under immediate scrutiny."

While the exact taxpayer cost of Buttigieg's executive travel is unclear, the FAA—as reported by the Washington Post in 2017—has charged federal agencies roughly $5,000 per hour to use its fleet. Ergo Buttigieg’s travel expenses may be conservatively estimated at $90,000.

Flight-tracking data shows Buttigieg, in August 2021, used taxpayer-funded business jets to travel roundtrip from Washington, D.C. to Las Vegas for purpose of promoting Nevada public works projects. On another occasion, he visited multiple states as part of a tour highlighting grants authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—jetting on taxpayer dollars to Florida, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, and New Hampshire over the course of a trip dubbed the Building a Better America Tour. When asked about his decision to travel to a series of key swing-states upon which recent federal elections hinged, Buttigieg pointed out that Oklahoma wasn’t a swing state, but declined to comment on the remainder of the states he’d visited.

Secretary Buttigieg subsequently used an FAA private jet for a roundtrip journey to Montreal, where he attended both an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) conference and a Canadian gay rights gala at which he received an award for his "contributions to the advancement of LGBTQ rights."

To the subject of Buttigieg’s travel by taxpayer-funded private jet, a U.S. Department of Transportation spokesperson set forth: "Secretary Buttigieg mostly travels by commercial airline, and has directed that travel and logistical decisions be grounded in efficient and responsible use of taxpayer dollars.  …However, there are some cases where it is more efficient and/or less expensive for the Secretary and accompanying personnel to fly on a 9-seater FAA plane rather than commercial flights.”

The spokesperson withheld quantification of the monies the DoT has ostensibly saved taxpayers.

In 2021, on the heels of the publication of his agency’s Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan, Buttigieg proclaimed: "The climate crisis is here today, threatening Americans’ lives and livelihoods, our homes and businesses, and even the way we travel and operate our federal agencies. The good news is that we know what to do about it, and America is fully capable of rising to the occasion."

The Secretary’s proclamation continued: "While we work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the worst outcomes of climate change, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s plan will help ensure that our transportation infrastructure, policies and programs will be more resilient to the climate impacts already facing our country.”

At a 2021 United Nations climate summit, while engaged in climate negotiations with various world leaders, Buttigieg doggedly pushed decarbonization policies, remarking during the event that aviation is a "significant contributor to climate change."

Whether or not Secretary Buttigieg bolstered his argument with an accounting of the vast number of daily commercial flights by which Washington D.C. airports are serviced remains unknown.

FMI: www.transportation.gov